Geraint Thomas fresh off a bruising Stage 16 to Mont
Ventoux, spoke to Luke Rowe on their Watts Occurring podcast to dissect the
day’s drama, action, and confusion. Between chaotic racing, awkward crashes,
questionable team tactics, and an incredible atmosphere roadside, the two former
INEOS Grenadiers teammates had plenty to unpack after the stage.

One of the first things they discussed? A crash during the
neutral zone that had Thomas both laughing and cringing. “Doesn’t see the guy
in front of him, bam,” Thomas said, recalling a teammate’s moment of
distraction. “I felt genuinely sad for him. It’s so embarrassing… his pride and
ego definitely weren’t fine.”

The stage had been a full-gas affair from the gun. Thomas,
not in the break, spent most of the day trying to stay out of trouble while
watching his teammates scramble to make moves stick. “It was just a chaotic day
as always,” Thomas said. “The first hour was over 50k an hour, and we were just
trying to go in the break.” At one point, he saw a move starting to form and
radioed to check if any Ineos riders were in. Silence. “Connor comes on the
radio—‘No, we’ve got no one there.’ So I was like, bollocks… might as well
chase.”

Thomas ended up pulling to close the gap with help from Decathlon
before hoping that either Thymen Arensman or Carlos Rodríguez could take it
from there. “Carlos probably had the legs to go, but didn’t. Thymen jumped
across, but it just wasn’t his day really.”

Rowe, who was part of the commentary team on TNT yesterday,
was in the studio for Stage 16. “It was just a mad day, mate. That break looked
like it was going to go and then everything kicked off again. The story of the
race, expect the unexpected.”

That unpredictability extended to the green jersey battle
too. Lidl-Trek’s lack of focus on the intermediate sprint caught Rowe’s
attention. “Today for them was all about getting maximum points. 112k into the
race was their finish line. They should’ve ridden flat out once that break
established. They’ve got a real shot at green, and you can’t waste those.”

As for how the breakaway fight played out, Thomas admitted
he had “absolutely no idea what actually happened in front.” Rowe filled him
in: Enric Mas went early, with Thymen Arensman and Julian Alaphilippe trying to
chase. Then Ilan Van Wilder surged back with 1km to go and took the win. “Ben
Healy looked the strongest but got rolled at the end. Doesn’t matter how strong
you look—it’s where you cross the line.”

Both agreed Van Wilder deserved the win and Continental
Tires’ Chapeau of the day. But they also gave credit to Visma for a
well-drilled ride with Jonas Vingegaard attacking relentlessly. “They did what
they could,” Thomas said. “It’s pan-flat then finish up a mountain—how many
tactics can you really use?”

They also reflected on the atmosphere on Mont Ventoux. “It
was pretty much lined from bottom to top,” Thomas said. “Ten miles of people,
deep crowds the whole way. A few times we had to go single file behind the moto
just to get through.”

Their thoughts turned toward the final five days and the
next sprint stage. “I still got money on Poggy to win in Paris,” Thomas
quipped. “Not literally, that’s against the rules. But I’d bet on him if I
could.”

Rowe leaned toward Arnaud De Lie or Jonathan Milan for the
sprint win but admitted Tim Merlier was hard to bet against. “Every time he’s
there, he wins.”

The podcast wrapped with a nod to Thomas’ last Tour and his
leadership behind the scenes. “You weren’t the loudest on the bus,” Rowe said,
“but when you spoke, the room went quiet.”