If anybody was in a position to make light of Ben Tulett’s repeated ill fortune at the Volta ao Algarve, it was Geraint Thomas. The Welshman, after all, has picked himself up from more crashes than he would care to remember over the years, and he could empathise with his young Ineos Grenadiers teammate’s travails in Portugal.
“I feel for little Ben. He’s crashed every day,” Thomas said after the stage 4 time trial in Tavira. “Actually, today is the first day he didn’t crash, so that’s good going.”
The Volta ao Algarve was Tulett’s second race for Ineos since joining from Alpecin-Fenix during the off-season, and both have been marred by crashes.
He finished Étoile de Bessèges despite coming down on stage 1, and he was again a faller in the fraught finale to the opening day in the Algarve. Two days later, Tulett hit the ground once more en route to Faro, but, as in France, he was able to complete the race.
“It’s been a tough start to the year. Three times so far this season I’ve been on the deck, but I’m really enjoying being with the new team,” Tulett told Cyclingnews in Lagoa ahead of the final stage.
“Of course, it’s a bit disappointing to crash but super exciting to be with a really strong team here.”
Crashes may be commonplace in professional cycling, but that doesn’t make their consequences in any way routine. Although Tulett escaped lasting injury in each of his early-season crashes, he was managing their effects throughout the Volta ao Algarve. He had initially been slated to race Strade Bianche in early March, but he is now likely to miss the race so as to recover more fully ahead of the Volta a Catalunya later in the month.
“I haven’t been sleeping very well, so we’ve been monitoring that pretty carefully,” Tulett said. “I’ve also got some pretty nasty road rash on my leg and arm, so we’ve been monitoring that as well, but I’ve been trying to carry on. It’s been about taking it day by day.”
Despite that lingering discomfort, Tulett was prominent on the two toughest stages in Portugal, where at Alto da Fóia and Alto do Malhão he was part of the supporting cast riding on behalf of Daniel Martínez and Ethan Hayter, who would go on to finish third and fourth overall, respectively.
“It was really cool to be up there with the guys, to be leading them in. We’ve been really close here as a group, so it’s really good to pull that off as a team,” said Tulett, who was fulfilling something of a childhood dream.
On confirmation of his arrival at Ineos last autumn, after all, Tulett confessed that he had grown up idolising the British squad.
“I remember visiting the Vuelta in 2017 as a fan and seeing Chris Froome and the whole team, thinking, one day… I want my seat on that bus,” he said.
Still only 20 years of age, Tulett enjoyed a fine 2021 campaign with Alpecin-Fenix, capped by ninth overall at the Tour de Pologne, 12th at Flèche Wallonne and a string of fearless displays across the calendar. At Ineos, the two-time junior cyclo-cross world champion now forms part of a cadre of emerging talent alongside riders like Tom Pidcock, Ethan Hayter, Magnus Sheffield and Carlos Rodriguez.
In Portugal last week, he had Pidcock and Hayter for company on the Ineos bus, but he was also able to rely on the guidance of Thomas, who has been racing for this team since Tulett was eight years old.
“I’m really enjoying spending a lot of time with Geraint,” Tulett said.
“For me, he’s a massive role model and someone I’ve always looked up to. It’s quite special for me personally to be spending some time with him. I’m really enjoying that and making the most of it.”
Thomas, for his part, took a relaxed approach to his pastoral role.
“I just lead by example, but I don’t go preaching to them. I try and help them where I can,” he said.
“You forget how young they are. Even Tom: there’s a lot of hype around him and you can see him as the big, mature seasoned pro, but he’s still super young.”
While Thomas will be among the key riders in the Ineos squad at the Tour de France, Tulett is in line to make his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d’Italia.
His near contemporaries Hayter and Pidcock are also expected to form part of a youthful selection, and even his spate of crashes hasn't dampened his enthusiasm at the prospect.
“After my crashes, I think we’re going to skip Strade Bianche and focus on my recovery and getting in some good training towards Catalunya next,” said Tulett.
“The plan is to build up to the Giro. At the moment that’s the priority and that’s what we’re focusing on.”
