Former Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas may be in his 16th full season as a pro, but even a racer as knowledgeable as the Ineos Grenadiers rider was cautious about making too many predictions about Sunday's first incursion into the Alps.
Starting in Switzerland, stage 9 returns the race to France via the long, little-known first-category ascent of Pas de Morgins, before a short drag to the finish at Chatel on the uncategorized climb of Pré La Joux.
A recent winner of the Tour de Suisse, following his slight setback at the Planche des Belles Filles on Friday, Thomas was upbeat after finishing in the main group of 26 riders, including other GC contenders, on stage 8's grippy climb through Lausanne.
But despite his vast experience, Thomas reasoned that in a Tour which has had few of its usual features of the first week, it would be hard to predict how Sunday would play out.
"I don’t know, this race seems to be different, we have to expect the worst and hope for the best," Thomas argued. "We’re definitely ready for a super hard final, so some guys might go all in. We’ll see."
Even if a familiar figure was in yellow, the Tour had failed to follow its established script in the first week, with virtually no bunch sprints and multiple GC battles.
"I’m feeling alright compared to previous years but it’s bonkers isn’t it?" Thomas said. "We’ve only had two bunch sprints which is crazy for the Tour. That’s the way it's going. Breaks aren’t working out so far, either. It’s definitely a different start to the Tour compared to how it used to be."
Even if the racing was moving in different kinds of formats, though, Thomas said he was pleased with how he had managed to bounce back after the setback of La Super Planche des Belles Filles, which was won by race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates).
"After the gap the other day, I was wondering if this was going to hurt but I felt alright. I was actually moving past people instead of going backwards. It was a tougher finish than it looked, but I recognised it from the Tour de Romandie, so it was about getting through it," Thomas said. "I'm happy I got through unscathed.
"We thought a break would stay away and the big crash and the splits probably helped them because we stopped for a while. Then we knew it would come back because Jumbo and BikeExchange rode hard on the front."
After a fourth straight day in which the yellow jersey was always in contention in the finale, Thomas was both fulsome in his praise of Pogačar and he hinted that Ineos Grenadiers could wear him down in the final part of the race.
"He’s an unbelievable talent. He lost a teammate today but I don’t think that will affect him. We need to stay positive and try to use our numbers when it matters later in the race."
How Ineos Grenadiers would be able to play their hand on Sunday's mountainous finale remains to be seen, of course. But if the stage is as unpredictable as Thomas expects it to be, then strength in numbers is hardly a bad thing to have.
