Tour of Britain, Stage 4
Stage 4, West Midlands
Friday, September 1 | www.tourofbritain.com
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INTERVIEWS
Geraint Thomas on stage 4
"I was pretty determined to get in that move. I was gutted after stage 3 so it worked out alright in the end. Coming into the finish, I was going with the odd move and then when Bernard (Paul Manning) went with Willems, I looked at the others but nothing really happened so I went myself and Cav went with me. I just gave it everything to give one of us the chance to win and if we had got across, Cav would have had the best chance."
"Unfortunately we were just off the back of them at the final roundabout and one guy went right and Cav didn't quite get on it. I'm a bit disappointed because from a group of eight, I should have been with those two but I had been with two or three before and couldn't go with everything. It made up for the previous day just to get stuck into a bit of racing."
"Talking about the pace of the break when the bunch was lined out in single file behind chasing them, he said "the pace was pretty smooth and if anything it was probably easier than being back in the bunch."
Roger Hammond:
Talking about stage 3 when he made the break of the day, he said "that was a bad day. I felt bad and if anything, I was just in the right place being an old seasoned pro. I made the move but had a really bad stomach and although that didn't affect me too much, it made me feel really weak. In the end I started to pay for the efforts I had made earlier (when the bunch split) but I should have been able to race for 180k."
"I knew from the start of the stage I was in trouble so it was a matter of hoping I would come around because on the first two days I felt rough at the start and did come round. When you get towards the end of a stage and are feeling worse, then I knew it wasn't good. So I just needed to eat and survive as long as possible."
Talking about the level at which these GB boys, his teammates, are racing at in this Tour "they are at a proper level of racing. This is a race that would be easy to sit in and do nothing but when you look at what we have done, two in the front group on the hilliest stage, Geraint in front on stage 4, and a stage win (Roger himself). These boys are at a stage where they are disappointed they don't win which shows how they feel they are competitive in the race. I personally feel Geraint was able to win the stage (stage 4) and it's a bit unfortunate that he didn't. There are a few more factors in why he didn?t than just being the strongest guy on the day."
On the subject of the roundabout which the winner Willems took a shortcut on, I asked would there be some confusion in him not knowing which route to take? "No, there is no confusion. He deliberately saw it as a way of gaining those few seconds but then again, is there a rule against it. There should have been steps made to make it impossible for him to go the wrong way round the roundabout."
Paul Manning
3rd on stage 4, the Landbouwkredit rider did a 'ride' on his home stage and was disappointed in the manner he was beaten by the rider who he broke away from in the closing stages of the race, 4 kilometres from home. "The more I think about it, the more disappointed I am. You can't blame the riders because you take whatever opportunity is there but if you look at the route book, it shows the correct way, and you try to do the right thing."
"I don't feel it is right to put an appeal in because two riders went that way because its up to the organisation to sort these things out. It wasn't a fair result for anyone as I wasn't able to contest the sprint for the win or at worse, possibly second. So to end up third, its more the circumstances rather than the result."
Before the start, he said he would try to do something and he kept his word in a big way. "The sun was shining and that always helps me and gives me a bit of extra motivation. We had lost 20 minutes the previous day and knew we wouldn't be marked and equally I knew if you're not in those first wave of attacks, you're going to miss out. I made an effort to be there and was happy to be there and enjoyed riding the race on my local roads and getting a bit of support. I saw my mum at Lichfield shouting my name and I couldn't believe it."
Talking about the final run in, he had this to say "the attacks were going on in the run in and to get away for the finale was great. Johan Van Summeren started it and went on the A34 with quite a big attack and Willems was in virtually every move that went and was clearly up for it. That came back and there were a few digs and people started rolling through again, and then a split of four of us went and then the other four slowly dragged it back. I think as soon as they got on the back with 4k to go, I went again and I could hear him behind me saying go, go, go. There was obviously a hesitation behind and got a gap. We were both working and although I didn't feel great when I attacked, I knew if it was a bunch sprint, I would have been nowhere."
"It was worth me trying and I got stuck in and we got away, and that was it because it was quite a fast run in for the last three or four km. I didn't see a kilo flag and that gets you down for the finish and my mind was more on the sprint than trying to find a short way round the roundabout."
Talking about his time at Landbouwkredit, he explained "this is my only result for them as I have had a difficult year with them on the road. The team gave me the quality racing I needed for the Commonwealth Games where I got two gold medals which I couldn't be happier with. That was all on the back of the training with GB and also the additional racing I did for Landbouwkredit. I wasn't so successful at the Worlds but still put in some great performances. Then I got back on the road and unfortunately I had a problem with my knee when the workload increased a bit and that broke up my season big style. It was just a matter of getting over the operation for future years and to try and get fit for events like this and those coming in the winter and hopefully I can stay fit and healthy. The team has been really good this year and now Ed (Clancy) has come along , and racing with Steve (Cummings) through the year has been good."
