Tour de France 2018: Geraint Thomas promises victory will ‘stand test of time’ should he clinch yellow jersey in Paris

Thomas finished second on stage 19 in Laruns to extend his overall lead to more than two minutes from Tom Dumoulin

Geraint Thomas promised any doubters that his victory will “stand the test of time” should he clinch his maiden yellow jersey in Paris on Sunday after another impressive ride in the Pyrénées.

Thomas finished second on stage 19 in Laruns to extend his overall lead to more than two minutes from Tom Dumoulin, and the 32-year-old just needs to avoid disaster in Saturday’s time trial to win the first grand tour of his career.

“It was squeaky bum time, as they say in the UK, but all I had to do was to follow Tom,” said Thomas. “The gap should be enough but we’ll see. I just have to think of it like any other race and not think of the endgame.”

After the stage he was asked what message he had for Team Sky’s doubters in the wake of several scandals, none of which brought charges of doping but which stirred suspicion around a team which arrived in cycling in 2010 with a strong anti-doping mantra.

“I don’t know – what can you say. I do it the right way. The team does it the right way. We train super hard. There is nothing I can do to prove it but it will stand the test of time.

“The team here is super strong. We have myself, Froomey, Egan Bernal, the brightest talent in a long time. Luke Rowe, who is super strong in the classics. The team is just phenomenally strong. It is not just having good legs but good heads. There is nothing more to say. I work super hard and I’ve had some bad luck, but it’s nice to know that it is paying off.”

Despite his strong position, Thomas refused to get carried away or look beyond Saturday’s 31km time trial, from Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle to Espelette.

“Nothing’s ever guaranteed in this sport, especially with me. It’s a good lead. It’s certainly better than being two minutes behind. [The time trial] is a tough course, but hopefully I ride it well. At least I don’t have to ride it under pressure.

“I lose 40 seconds last year to Dumoulin in the time trial and that was after a big crash so it should be enough, but we’ll see.”

Primoz Roglic celebrates victory on stage 19 (EPA)

Lotto NL-Jumbo’s Primoz Roglic escaped on the final descent to win the stage by 19 seconds, which propelled him above Chris Froome into third overall.

At the finish Dumoulin accused Roglic of motor-pacing – benefitting from the tail of a motorbike – but the Slovenian shrugged off the accusation.

Asked if he did benefit from the bike, Roglic said: “I don’t think so. I think it’s hard to comment. Everyone had the same opportunity to get on the front. I was not really on the motor. I didn’t notice anything unusual, and I don’t think I got an advantage off it.

“I saw that I got a gap so I pushed really hard. I heard that it was 10 seconds with 5k to go, so I try to give it all to the end and it was worth it.”