page_title: Geraint Thomas
section_title: 2007: Tour de France debut
hierarchical_section_title: Geraint Thomas / Professional career / 2007: Tour de France debut
caption_attribution_description: Geraint Thomas at the Tour de France 2007 first stage on July the 8th. Shot from the central reservation of A229.
context_page_description: Geraint Howell Thomas, OBE is a British professional racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Team Ineos, Wales and Great Britain, competing on both track and road. Like older compatriot and teammate on both track and road, Bradley Wiggins, he is one of the few riders in the modern era to achieve significant elite success as both a track and road rider, with notable victories in the velodrome, in one-day racing and in stage racing.
  On the track, he has won three World Championships, and two Olympic gold medals, while on the road he won the 2018 Tour de France.
  Thomas's early successes were in track cycling, in which he was a specialist in the team pursuit. He won three World Championships and was Olympic gold medallist twice, in 2008 and 2012. Thomas had an early win on the road at the 2004 Paris–Roubaix Juniors and later had a senior victory at the 2010 British National Road Race Championships.
context_section_description: Thomas made his Tour de France debut at the 2007 race as the youngest rider in the race as Barloworld picked up one of the three wildcard spots allocated for the race. He became the first Welsh rider to compete in the race since Colin Lewis in 1967. Thomas received great support from Welsh fans at the opening of the race, with several following the entire race. He completed his first Tour de France, finishing 140th of 141 finishers.
  He was nominated for the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year award in 2007. The winners were announced on 2 December, and Thomas came third in the public vote.
caption: Thomas during the first stage of the 2007 Tour de France
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