Getting To Know The Grenadiers: Geraint Thomas

As he kicks off his 15th season with the team, we sent Matt Stephens to chat to Geraint Thomas for the latest episode of Getting To Know The Grenadiers. You might learn a thing or two about G!

Did you know Geraint has a podcast!!?? Check out the GTCC pod feed here: https://open.spotify.com/show/5qKyQ1PXthfY49tTAHJtMu

Oh yeah do you want to do the clap should we start filming now so we can get the clap in cuz obviously you know the same clap is AR you is it just clap yeah just yeah that’s that’s a good you done have you done that before we’re not

In a studio we’re in a a stripped out hotel room aren’t we yeah yeah they take I mean they’ done a good job taking out the beds right questions right see I go from tangents right unicycle on the aronburg okay or unicycle up out de he gone from a right tangent now this

This was written down yeah that was straight into it yeah so just I’m guessing like I’d probably go on aronberg it be over quicker right um probably crash after two years but I can’t really like it either have you ever tried no content right there there’s some

Content right there I think we did it as kids could Swifty had one like you know there’s always a kid who’s got all like the gadgets and by these days it’s like Tech but those days it was like Diablos you know those blinging out oh yeah yeah

Of course yeah Swift had them and like yoyos are showing our age now he had a unicycle as well him and bl they were all always on them but uh I must have had it go but yeah I never really got going on it but but yeah back to your

Question yeah I think Aaron B like going about on that’s just what I estimated two hours but I think I’ll be even longer than that cuz what’s what’s the I don’t know what gearing is on there isn’t it gear is it there’s one gear that obviously be I

Guess it’ be super low year wouldn’t it yeah but it’s going to take you ages but also Arenberg is sketchy enough on two wheels isn’t it yeah yeah yeah yeah I just think Arenberg would be more fun okay you know just trying to do it whereas Al would just be like my number

Would okay fair enough uh next up who would you invite onto a tandem with you to do 100 mile ride got one person Pacha Pacha guy cuz he’s lighter but still packing power you okay all right so who would go who would where would you You’

Be front or rear I’d be on the front Okay yeah and they’d be just supplying a m sh it was a hilly ride there wouldn’t it uh oh yeah yeah yeah true this is flat that Ghana for sure yeah definitely you wouldn’t need to Pedal basically

Would you no no that would be great actually and I’d sit behind them so you wouldn’t really be able to tell if I was trying other yeah you can just SW Free Will and just go on your phone and stuff couldn’t you yeah okay gamon fair enough CH one podcast okay what’s occurring

GTCC or Matt Stevens unplugged you can only choose one one to delete or to listen to again you can it just says choose one you could just bin one off if you wanted then oh this is going to be cool I’m bit sweating here no yours is decent

Have you listened to it yeah I’ve listen to a couple okay yeah yeah yeah yeah they’re all good they’re all entertaining they all bring something different like GTCC has got Tom for those who help me write my books yeah yeah that’s very like it’s a lot more

Professional yeah yeah we used to be Chief Sports figher for the BBC he knows what he’s doing yeah and he can like help sort of there more of a structure to it yeah exactly more prep goes into it whereas what’s occuring absolutely no prep whatsoever it’s bit more Whimsical

Isn’t it yeah it just goes off you’re both do you ever not do it in in bed cuz no lying down they’re all like but like a bed pod isn’t it yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah cuz I’m me getting a massage myself or lying in the same bed as Luke yeah um

Even when I do the ones with Tom I’m lying in my bed because apparently soft Furnishings are good for the sound quality I did a voiceover once for um ITV um under a duv yeah I’ve also done similar I had to do something for someone I can’t even

Remember what it was now but you know those kids TP things yes I had to do that in Max’s TP yeah actually went inside yeah so satting his little TP doing a little voice thing I love that I absolutely love that uh coffee or beer same thing I need some parameters

Like what is this like just I’m just going off my notes um okay um time in to day as well F you can’t I mean okay let’s let’s put put it right let’s do it this way you could only have one for the rest of your life mate coffee or beer

Beer beer no but coffee coffee lot why you few beer pick up make two no I good coffee actually cuz some you know you got Vodka Jin wine we champagne there’s a lot of other kind of boozy options in there whereas but coffee you need a

Coffee in the morning to get you go it’s not I mean tea it’s I mean tea grape it’s not an alternative is it it’s a different it’s a different thing yeah Barry island or the French Riviera H same thing is it like I don’t yeah like

French Riviera great is it like Sony 300 odd days a year beautiful like can’t fault it Barry Island like you go there for the day with Max and his cousins and that get on the two-piece slot machines playing all the arcade game ice cream down the beach like even if it’s

Overcast and bit blowy great can’t beat it different Joy yeah I do like these sorts of questions but I like the thought you give them as well you’re not just bat and back and just one you’re actually thinking about I do like that frazzles or Pringles that’s not written down Pringles what

Flavor maybe the green ones the sour cream sour cream and chli yeah although I do like salt no salt vinegar salt vinegar that’s the blue one yeah what’s what’s the red one the red the red is is also good dip Putman dips to suck paprika is the least with the orange one

I don’t ever buy that I’ll come up in in a rash if paprika Pringles yeah try that out yeah so maybe I mean maybe after the canus give give him a wel let me know what about dorit no you I want you to eat them flipping that’s nice next two years

Of your life as a professional cyclist going to be with the S of this team yeah you’ve committed the rest of your career to it how’s that how are you feeling now now looking ahead and are you excited maybe doing some new things or yeah I’ve

Um I’ve mixed the program up a bit the last sort of couple years really and that definitely keeps things fresh it keeps you motivated and yeah because you do the same thing it gets a bit stale so I’m just super excited for the the next two years really I don’t really know

Exactly where it’s going to go like 2025 I think maybe Classics um just because I love those races that’s my first sort of Love insight them really cuz they’re the races I was sort of doing as a junior like back in 2003 yeah I’d love to do

Them again the tour is obviously the tour finishes in nce next year which is huge you know because we just around the corner started Monaco and then just want to be competitive just want to be in the front racing hards like if it’s not for myself like for one of the the young

Lads in the team we’ve got so many young guys now um bags of potential so to sort of help them in the start of their careers also quite um motivational really be quite fulfilling to help them perform and then you know it is weird thinking that I’m going to stop though

And this whole world’s just going to carry on the team will carry on it will you’ll be my father-in-law want to told me right put your hands in a bucket of water take your hand out that’s how quickly it just moves on you know it’s quite harsh isn’t it well there there

There is a finite point to everything L isn’t it it does it does come to an end do you know have you got any idea about what you might want to do beyond that okay let’s look Beyond You’ be 39 yeah you won’t even be a vet you can do some

Racing my mate told me that yeah do a couple of Club tens um yeah but yeah I don’t know if I do stop I’m pretty sure I will but yeah like after that who knows I’m looking forward to doing something different but definitely want to stay in the sport yeah like guess

It’s what I know what I love but saying that everything you’ve learned being a Pro bike rider from you know her whole team stuff to the commitment stuff to plan into you know dealing with pressure and all that I think you can also use that in so many other walks alive so it

Would be nice to try and sort of use that in other areas but the main thing will definitely still be cycling and I’d love to still be a part of the team I don’t know in what way or anything but yeah maybe keep the podcasts going yeah

Maybe drop in for a little bit of media but um comary how to get in in the booth commentry is hard mate Le and Luke tried doing it once like on our podcast we got podcasts did the just in the description below we’ve got a link to it yeah

Available on all good ear podcast platforms All pod shops but yeah it was the end of the stage of the tour because obviously me and Luke didn’t ride this year and um we jumped on and it was like 5K to go and then we’re like oh should

We just like commentate on this as if it’s live well it was live but when you listen to so who was lead who was co- commentator did you just like just jump in yeah neither of us took the lead and like that hardly either of us could co-

Commentate it was so hard cuz I was like who is is that and then Luke would tell oh yeah so and so and then but then you know they’re 300 meters down the road by then and something else was happened so yeah yeah again like I said before you

Got a lot more respect for commentators after trying to do it yourself I think that’s one thing that we always spoke about that in the team is getting The Young Riders like in a race car for the day like not necessarily be a DS but see

What the DS does see like the mechanics and I think you just to have a different perspective when you you you see it firstand oh totally when you jump into a a team car as a rider for the first time or what you know a lower level like

Manage the team and you’re like wow this is completely different just how crazy and chaotic it is and everything going on you just they just have not they don’t have respect for the staff but I think you just you realize how much they actually do do and things it’s like when

You watch snooker as well you they make it look easy obviously cuz they’re just bangging them in for more then you go on a full size snooker team and you can’t even pot a r it’s like aot football pitch is it they’re absolutely massive yeah earlier on I was chatting to a AJ

August who’s um obviously just turned 18 and I asked him um who he’d most like to room with and he said you just and and it’s such a it’s such a lovely lab he said because I’ve learned so much and having that sort of role in

The how that feel I mean CU as a young lad you know he was 10 when you you know 11 12 when you winning the tour to France mate now you’re together to my ARCA before he was born 2004 I started yeah he born in

2005 so it it is weird when you hear that because I kind of think like I don’t know what they’d learn it’s not like I’d sit there and like right tonight we’re going to learn about it’s not that it’s just learning by osmosis isn’t it just that you’re just watching

You you know like seeing the way you conduct yourself with the media seeing seeing what you like at the dinner table just out on the bike and you just learn without even really having to say something but you’ve got that you got a presence look at you know look at what

You’ve achieved and for a youngster that’s massively inspirational but you’re such a Down to Earth chat it’s kind of quite humbling though to hear that isn’t it I mean but how cool is it as well a lad that’s young enough to be your your son is is joining the team

With that all those like two decades in between you yet you’re doing the same job yeah yeah yeah no it is cool it is cool and seeing all these guys comeing through like I said earlier you know bags of potential it’s good to just lead the way without even speaking or I’m not

A massive sort of like talker and shouter and stuff it’s just like get on with it and then if you want to so yeah take anything from just leave by example mate exactly yeah good stuff mate all the best um until the vets TS in a

Couple years time might meet on the grid yeah see you there see you There w