Geraint Thomas may still be pinching himself after winning the 2018 Tour de France, but it's a reminder of how far he's come since he started racing at the Maendy Flyers Cycling Club in Cardiff, Wales, at age 10 It only reminds him of how far he's come.

Appearing on Superbike racer Eugene Laverty's PrePro Podcast (opens in new tab) last week, Thomas reflected on his childhood racing, competing in track races for British Cycling, winning two Olympic gold medals in Team Pursuit He recalled competing on the track with British Cycling, winning two Olympic gold medals in Team Pursuit and three world championships in Team Pursuit, and his first professional contract on the road with the Barlow World Team before moving to Team Sky (now Team Ineos), where he won Paris-Nice, the Criterium du Dauphiné, and the Tour.

Thomas, 33, who started his career on the track and then switched to the road, says it is becoming increasingly difficult to be as versatile as he was when he started his professional career.

"In the beginning, I wanted to do everything, but I couldn't. I couldn't go out and win an Olympic gold medal in track one week and then go out and compete in the classics and the Tour the next. You can't win an Olympic gold medal on the track one week and then go to the classics or the Tour the next. Even a one-day race is a world apart from a stage race.

"But the speed of your legs on the track, the way you handle your bike, the way you ride in a group (because the track is so crowded), the ability to read the race ....... But when you're winning, both are great," Thomas laughed. Thomas laughed. 'The road has always been my dream, to compete in the Tour and run the biggest classics.'

Before turning pro with Barloworld in 2007, Thomas recalled that the year before he had raced as a stager with the Spanish team Saunier Duval.

"I ended up only running one race with them, and I was a little overweight, so that race didn't go well. I think it was the day after the Clasica San Sebastián, and I got kicked in a big way and didn't finish," he explained. "The coach at the time must have thought, 'He's no good, he's not going anywhere,'" he explained.

However, in his first year at Barloworld the following season, Thomas was selected for the tour that opened in London that year. 15]

"And every day I would walk by Saunier Duval's car and wave to them as if to say, 'I'm still here.' I was."

"I was a very good friend.

It was also at Barloworld that he met Chris Froome, who joined for the 2008 season.

"I remember the first time I met him: we walked into his room and he was wearing a pair of sarongs. It was a Kenyan skirt, basically a kilt, and he wasn't wearing anything underneath. ......

"I had heard about him as an amateur when he was on the UCI World Cycling Center team, and I knew he was a phenomenal athlete.

However, compared to the skills Thomas honed on the track, Froome's bike handling was apparently a bit lacking.

"I wouldn't say that in the early days he was crashing a lot, but he was riding behind me thinking, 'anything can happen at any time.' But I knew right away that he was going to be a good rider."

Thomas then supported Froome on each of his four Tour victories in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017, and in 2018 it was Thomas' turn to stand on the top step of the Paris podium.

"During the race, at that moment, I just thought everything was great," Thomas said of his feelings before what was ultimately the biggest victory of his career. Crashes and bad luck are things you can't control, so you just think about what you need to do for the day, that's all."

"It's boring to say so, but it's quite difficult. Once I got into the Pyrenees, with about four days to go, I started thinking, 'Oh no, I could win the Tour here. But I shouldn't think about that. Worry about the next climb, eat a rice cake every 20 minutes, refuel, and drink .......

"That's when I was crying on the international broadcast. It was embarrassing, but that's when I realized for the first time that I had won a bike race and completed a cycling competition," he laughed.

Thomas recently became a father for the first time when his wife Sarah gave birth to their son Max in early October.

"He turned five weeks old yesterday," the proud Welshman told the PrePro Podcast. 'His last race was the World Championships in Harrogate, Yorkshire. My last race was the World Championships in Harrogate, Yorkshire. I couldn't complain."

Famously, Thomas celebrated his 2018 Tour win through the winter, then sat back to regain his fitness, finishing second in this year's race behind Ineos teammate Egan Bernal. This offseason, however, was quite different.

"It's a little different than rolling into Cardiff at 3 in the morning to change a diaper," he laughed. 'It's nice, but it's a lot of work. Now that I'm back in training, it's all about balancing that with training.

Thomas said, "I won't be racing until February, so if I give it my all now, I can save time for when the season starts and I'm away for four months."

It was a big life change, but at the same time, as host Laverty suggested, Thomas has not committed himself to cycling superstardom and will not be doing so any time soon.

"It's totally different when you get on the bike," Thomas agreed. 'But I have more willpower and focus.' [I'm not racing, and I don't have to be aggressive.

"At the end of the day, this is just a sport. 'Just because you can ride a bike faster doesn't mean you can walk down the street or that you're better than the next guy. I know some people think that when you win a big race you become a diva and want to have this and that, but you don't have to."