Video: Huge parade for Geraint Thomas in his native Cardiff

Geraint Thomas was worried few people would turn out for his homecoming parade but Cardiff was thronged yesterday.

 

Thousands of people have turned out in the centre of Cardiff to welcome home Geraint Thomas.

The Tour de France winner rolled up in his Team Sky yellow jersey race kit on his yellow Pinarello for a public reception in the centre of the city.

Thomas (31) was welcomed up on stage for an interview in which he said he was “blown away” by the turn out.

And Welsh bard Max Boyce read a poem (below) he has composed to mark the victory of Geraint Thomas in the Tour.

"Just to walk here now with this is, well; it’s bonkers isn’t? So thanks a lot for coming,” he said.

"I was a bit worried it might just be my wife and the dog. To ride down St Mary Street and see the crowd, and the passion; you just see it in people's eyes, you know, people I have never met.

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"You kind of expect it, or you hope your family are proud of you. But from random people it's mad."

"You dream of winning races and crossing the line with your arms in the air. But you never think about what happens after that.

“It's just bonkers. When it's all for just me - it's just hard to get your head around really."

 

 

 

 

Thomas also said he would be staying with Team Sky despite offers from other teams. His salary will be a reported £3.5 million.

“We are incredibly close and I am happy where I am. It’s all about working things through and at the moment it’s progressing well.

“In the very near future we will have it all done. I’m happy with the team and we are working very well together.

“I’ve grown up within the Sky system and I’ve known guys like Dave Brailsford since I was 17.

“Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am now. There are lots of very good teams out there. I wanted to hear what they had to say.

“And it was nice to have a lot of great offers, but hopefully things will be done in the next day or so.”

 

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The Boy Who Climbed a Mountain

By Max Boyce

There's a pillar box in Cardiff, where the mayor has arranged

To buy some tins of yellow paint, and have the colour changed

And down in Cardiff city hall, I've heard the council say

We'll change the name of the Severn Bridge, to the Geraint Thomas Way

Now Whitchurch High are justly proud, and they love to tell the tale

How he carved his name in the wood of a desk, like Warburton and Bale

And where his yellow jersey hangs, beside the wooden beams

This boy who climbed a mountain, and dared to chase his dreams

But there were some who doubted, 'he doesn't stand a chance'

There's never been a Welshman, who has won the Tour de France

But he's more than just a domestique, I've known it all along

The boy deserves a knighthood and his bike deserves a gong

Now the Grogg shop up in Ponty, are working night and day

But people are complaining, there's such a long delay

The kilns are full of Geraints, with a Welsh flag shouldered high

But people have to understand, his hair takes time to dry

So I'll buy a Grogg of Geraint, though I know they don't come cheap

And I'll sell my one of Elvis, and one of Lynn The Leap

'Coz when G rode through Paris, and he waved to all the crowd

He climbed more than a mountain, he made a nation proud

So I hope it's fine next Thursday, to welcome Geraint home

They say the Pope is coming, he's flying in from Rome

And Donald Trump is coming too, he said it should be fun

This guy deserves a medal, so I'll come on Air Force One

So I hope it's fine on Thursday, but I think it's still in doubt

So Derek has suggested, we keep our brollies out

So I'll stand outside the city hall, with its gilded marble dome

And sing like England soccer fans, that Geraint's coming home

 

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