<
        >

          Froome and Bale lead social reaction to Geraint Thomas' Tour de France win

          Geraint Thomas (left) and Chris Froome (right) celebrate making the Tour de France podium in Paris Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
          • ESPN
          Jul 30, 2018, 10:30 AM

          Geraint Thomas won his maiden Tour de France title on Sunday.

          The Team Sky rider beat off competition from Chris Froome and Dutchman Tom Dumoulin to take the famous yellow jersey at a packed Champs Elysees.

          And Thomas was quick to praise team-mate Froome for his selflessness over the past few weeks.

          "It's incredible," he said. "Just to be sat here with this jersey is just insane.

          "A big thanks as well to Froomey as well because he committed to me and was really happy to see me do so well. We're good friends and I really appreciate having probably the best stage rider ever riding for me.

          "It's so surreal. It'll take a while to sink in, I think."

          Given the pair's close relationship, it was no surprise, then, that Froome was one of the first to take to Twitter to congratulate the Welshman on his triumph.

          Fellow sporting stars Gareth Bale and Sam Warburton went to the same Cardiff school as Thomas, and they too sent congratulatory messages on social media.

          A number of high-profile cyclists past and present also posted to celebrate the 32-year-old's win.

          While the likes of UK Prime Minister Theresa May, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Premier League club Arsenal, who Thomas supports, were among the other big names to express their goodwill.