Tour de Romandie: Geraint Thomas misses out on yellow jersey after late crash
Geraint Thomas missed out on taking the yellow jersey at the Tour de Romandie after crashing just short of the finishing line; Thomas lost control in the finale of stage four handing victory to Michael Woods; he managed to remount his bike to finish third behind Ben O'Connor
By PA Media
Last Updated: 01/05/21 4:44pm
A crash inside the last 50 metres cost Geraint Thomas the yellow jersey on a dramatic stage four of the Tour de Romandie.
Thomas was battling Michael Woods for victory as sleet fell at the summit finish in Thyon, but the Ineos Grenadiers rider slipped as he climbed out of the saddle for a final dig for the line.
It meant the Canadian Woods took both the stage win and with it the leader's yellow jersey for Israel Start-Up Nation, with overnight leader Marc Soler of Movistar having been distanced on the final climb.
Thomas shook his head as he rolled over the line in third behind Ben O'Connor, 21 seconds after Woods, having struggled to remount his bike.
"I had no feeling whatsoever in my hand, I tried to change gear but instead I just lost the bars," Thomas told CyclingPro.
"It's just so frustrating because even if I had just stayed in that gear and came second place, but to deck it there, I feel like a right whopper."
"I'm fine, it's more about frustration of such a hard day and to lose time like that at the end, it's really frustrating," Thomas said.
"I just want to get into a hot shower now. I just need to have a shower and settle down and not be so emotional and then think about tomorrow."
Assuming there are no lasting injuries, the Welshman will begin Sunday's 16km hilly time trial around Fribourg as the favourite for the overall win given his quality against the clock.
He sits 11 seconds behind Woods, with O'Connor now third overall, 21 seconds off yellow. Soler slipped to fourth, 33 seconds down.
Thomas' crash was a final bit of drama on a 161km stage from Sion packed with incidents, including a controversial decision to neutralise the final descent out of Suen, inadvertently handing a breakaway an extra two minutes worth of advantage.
