Thomas confident after stretching his legs in punishing stage finish

CHAMPAGNEY: Geraint Thomas is clearly ready to defend his Tour de France   title, judging by his blistering performance in the first mountain top finish of this year’s race.

In Thursday’s 160.5km sixth stage from Mulhouse to the summit of La Planche des  Belles Filles, which included about 4000m of climbing, Thomas (Team Ineos) gained valuable confidence after crashing out of the recent Tour de Suisse, his last race before this 106th Tour.

Grunt: Geraint Thomas powers away from leader Julian Alaphilippe in the stage six finale.Credit: AP

On a seven kilometre finishing climb that hit a 24 per cent gradient in the last 100m, Thomas looked in total control while others struggled to the top, their faces etched in pain.

"I knew I was going well, but having not raced since the Tour de Suisse you don't know how  good you are compared to everyone else,” Thomas said.

“I know I had some decent legs but this is confirmation today that they are pretty good.”

Asked if the day had erased any self-doubt, Thomas said: "Not really for me, but maybe for everyone else who was questioning me. I stay away from all that now and stay in my own little bubble, talk to my wife about the dog and the house in Cardiff or whatever, and leave all the talk to everyone else.

"It's still early days. I knew it wouldn't be a decisive day, but the first little test to see how everyone would go."

But as strong as the Welshman was  in finishing fourth  one minute and 44 seconds  behind  stage winner Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-Merida), the heartbeat of this Tour  so far has been the French, particularly Julian Alaphilippe and  Thibaut Pinot, who have given the  country hope of some long-awaited salvation in "their" race.

A bit dusty: Giulio Ciccone, right, and Dylan Teuns ride a grave section during stage six.Credit: AP

Not since Bernard Hinault in 1985 has a Frenchman has won the Tour.  And it had been five years since a Frenchman had worn the  yellow jersey until Monday, when  Alaphilippe won stage three with a solo attack in the rolling champagne vineyards outside of Epernay.

Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) lost the lead on the brutally steep finish in the Vosges on Thursday by a meagre six seconds to Italian race debutant Giulio Ciccone (Trek Segafredo). But his daring, guile and humility while racing in cycling’s most prestigious garment has won over France.

After helping his Italian teammate and sprinter Elia Viviani to win Tuesday’s fourth stage to Nancy  by leading him out near the finish, he attacked  the group of overall contenders near the finish on Thursday just as the hill turned into a veritable  wall.

Alaphilippe may have surrendered the yellow jersey to Ciccone, who placed second behind the  Belgian  Teuns, but by placing sixth and three seconds behind Thomas, who powered by him near  the finish, Alaphilippe lost no admirers.

Alaphilippe is not likely to win the Tour. His efforts so far will surely take a toll on him. Or will  they? Alaphilippe is something of an unknown quantity.

Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), who was third overall in 2014, has also reignited local hopes of an overall victory after his  fifth place on Thursday at the same time as Alaphilippe.

Rupert Guinness' Stage 8 preview

Le Tour 2019 Stage eight Macon-St Étienne, 200.0km

  The Massif Central is always an enormous test, and this year it is no different. “We went looking for every imaginable hill we could find between Mâcon and Saint Étienne,’’ Tour technical director Thierry Gouvenou admitted. The route suggests they did well. It includes seven categorised climbs, some at 6 to 7km in length, but others at 2 to 3km long and at an average of 10 per cent gradient. After Friday’s sprinters’ stage, this stage is ripe for a hijack by any overall contender willing to dare. If not, it should still make for a thrilling race for a stage win.

smh.com.au/sport for all the latest news.

However, after two stages in the Vosges and with six of 21 stages down, Thomas was best placed  among the major overall contenders.

Heading into Friday’s 230km seventh stage from Belfort to Chalon-sur-Saone,  Thomas was fifth overall at 49 seconds to Ciccione.

It is still early days in the Tour. After its passage through the Massif Central, there are still the  Pyrenees and the Alps to come. But Thomas delivered the strongest of messages on Thursday.

He answered the question of who will be the  Team Ineos  leader after classy Colombian Egan Bernal  was considered an option going into the Tour off the back of his recent Tour de Suisse victory.

Bernal is still well placed should Thomas falter. He finished 12th on Thursday at 1:53s and at the same time as Landa, Danish hope Jacob Fuglsang (Astana) and Australian Richie Porte (Trek Segafredo), who is looking strong thus far and more relaxed than he has been for several years.

But for now,  Thomas is clearly his British team’s first choice leader, and deservedly so.

Thomas also reminded everyone that he is the rider to beat in this most mountainous of Tours.

As the dust settled on last stretch of La Planche des Belles Filles, which included a short gravel section, Thomas had four seconds on Bernal, who was sixth overall at 53s, while Pinot was seventh at 58s. But behind them a little more than a minute covered all his main rivals with the  exception of  Frenchman Romain Bardet (Ag2r-La Mondiale), who was distanced and in 26th at 3:3s overall.