Tour de France: Froome support 'phenomenal' for Thomas as title nears

Paris, July 27: Geraint Thomas is sitting pretty at the top of the Tour de France's general classification standings and relishing the prospect of using Chris Froome to his advantage.

Team Sky team-mate Froome had been Thomas' nearest challenger until he faded on Wednesday (July 25), and the defending champion later promised to "look after" the race leader amid pressure from Tom Dumoulin.

Both Sky riders came through stage 18 unscathed on Thursday (July 26), Thomas' lead staying intact, but a tougher test lies in wait in the final mountainous stage up next.

However, while he hopes his colleague will be able to contend himself, Thomas knows Froome's help from third place could be vital.

"Hopefully we won't have to use Froomey and we will have strength in numbers and he'll be able to follow as well," he said after Thursday's stage.

"But having Froomey at my disposal is phenomenal.

"It'll be a big test. It's one for the team to control for most of the day. The last climb will mostly be down to the legs. It'll be good to just keep doing what we've been doing."

📊 Classifications after Stage 18 📊
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Following an uneventful day in the general classification battle, Thomas expects more drama on Friday.

"I think we are expecting the worst and hoping for the best," he added. "We are expecting a lot of attacks from the guys - especially on the [Col du] Tourmalet and certainly on the last climb.

"It's the last mountain stage and guys are going to try to take as many opportunities as they can. But in the back of their minds, they are still going to have the TT [Saturday's time trial].

"They can do a big move and then still lose a chunk of time in the TT.

"We've been riding well in the race so far, so let's hope we can keep it together again [on Friday]."