Geraint Thomas: RideLondon will put me in gear for golden challenge of Rio

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Team GB and Tour de France cyclist Geraint Thomas hopes to harness the energy from London’s cycling festival crowd this weekend to propel him to glory at the Rio Olympics.

Thomas, a key part of the Team Sky squad that helped Chris Froome to claim his third Tour de France victory, will be taking part in the Prudential RideLondon race on Sunday.

The 30-year-old, who is flying to Brazil the next morning in a bid to win Olympic gold in the road race, said he “can’t wait” to be cheered on by the home crowd.

“I haven’t raced in the UK much at all in the last few years and so I can’t wait to get back and race on home roads. Also the home crowds are amazing, you just can’t beat it. I will definitely use some of that energy from the crowds on Sunday and take it with me to Rio when I board the plane the next day.”

Top draw: Geraint Thomas is looking forward to racing in front of the home crowd on Sunday
DIRK WAEM/AFP/Getty Images

He added: “I’m not based in the UK and Rio will never be like competing in the London Games so getting some of the energy and good feeling from the crowd on Sunday will be great.”

Thomas, who won gold in the team pursuit in Beijing and at the London Games, is competing in a road race at an Olympics for the first time. “I’m really looking forward to Rio,” he added. “The road race though is not as straightforward as the track.

"There are so many factors that can affect your race, like team tactics, weather and crashes. A lot can go wrong so you always need a bit of luck on your side. But we are going to do our best to bring a medal home.”

Thomas, who was born in Cardiff and is based in south-west France, continued: “There is a lot more expectation on the sport as it has grown so much in the past few years. But although the pressure is huge, it can never get any bigger than at the London Olympics. I will be treating it as just another race.”

Thomas will be joined by Froome and Sky team-mate Ian Stannard in the RideLondon 200km (124-mile) race from Horse Guards Road to Surrey and back on Sunday.

About 25,000 amateur cyclists will ride a similar 100-mile route earlier in the day, starting at the Olympic Park and going through central London before taking in the challenges of Surrey’s Leith Hill and Box Hill.

Team GB athletes pose in their Rio 2016 kit

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RideLondon is now in its fourth year and has become the richest one-day event in the world, with both the women’s and men’s professional races having £84,000 prize pots.

Olympic gold medal winner Dani King will be taking part in the women’s race tomorrow along with Dame Sarah Storey, the most decorated female Paralympian in history having won 22 Olympic medals, including 11 gold. The 38-year-old will be going for four more titles in Rio.

Motorists have been warned of road closures from 4am to 8pm, including 13 Thames bridges on Sunday. The mass participation FreeCycle event tomorrow will see eight miles of roads closed from 5am to about 6pm.

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