Geraint Thomas crashes in uphill sprint at Tour de Romandie

Geraint Thomas crashed dramatically in the finale of stage four at the Tour de Romandie in an uphill sprint.

Israel Start up Nation's Michael Woods powered away from the Welshman to take the victory with Ag2r’s Ben O’Connor coming in second before Thomas eventually crossed the line in third.

Woods had gone into the final 50 meters of the Thyon summit finish with Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) but just as the Welshman was making what looked to be the winning move, his hand appeared to slip from the brake hood and he ended up crashing to the ground. 

Replay of Geraint Thomas crashing inside final 50 meters while sprinting for the stage win at Romandie pic.twitter.com/HMqqY7a3WC

— Neal Rogers (@nealrogers) May 1, 2021

Speaking at the end of the race, Thomas, 34,  said: “I had no feeling in my hands and I tried to change gear but instead I just lost the bars. 

“It’s so frustrating because even if I had just stayed in that gear and come second … but to deck it there, I feel like a whopper. I’m fine, it’s just frustration after such a hard day to lose it like that at the end."

He added: "I just want to get into a hot shower now. I just need to have a shower and settle down and not be so emotional and then think about tomorrow."

The result sees Woods move into the yellow jersey with Thomas now second overall, 11-seconds back, with just a 16km time trial remaining on Sunday.

The Welshman had been bidding for a first stage victory since winning on Alpe d'Huez at the 2018 Tour de France.

Viewers were quick to take to social media to make light of the ever so slightly crash prone Thomas, with some being more generous than others...

I've got a 10-year-old laptop that crashes less than Geraint Thomas.

— Edward Pickering (@EdwardPickering) May 1, 2021

"It was five hours racing in the pissing rain and cold. But I had great legs, jumped across to Woods no problem in the last few km, and knew I'd get him in the sprint."
"And then what happened?"

— Michael Hutchinson (@Doctor_Hutch) May 1, 2021