This time Thomas teases Roglic: "Told him he should focus on the Tour"

In the queen stage, Thomas lost three seconds to his rival Roglic in the final hundred meters. Roglic, along with Joao Almeida, has been trying to play mind games on Thomas in recent weeks. The second and third-place riders in the standings told the pink jersey that they were not feeling well, had trouble sleeping, and even had COVID-19 (Roglic).

Thomas found all of this rather amusing and, for example, on Thursday, unlike UAE domestique Davide Formolo, he didn't fall for Roglic's trick of riding at the back. After the queen stage, it was important for the Welshman to now get into Roglic's head. "I told him that he should focus on the Tour and that it would be a shame to waste all his bullets in May," he said with a big smile.

When during the press conference, a journalist confronted him with the fact that the two of them know each other well in Monaco, and that their children even play together, an even bigger smile appeared on Thomas' face. "Of course, we're always friendly to each other, but during the race, everyone does their own thing. That's what's so beautiful about the sport, but after the race, we can grab a beer together and reminisce about the battle."

On Friday, Thomas witnessed tremendous support from his teammates Ben Swift, Salvatore Puccio, Laurens De Plus and Thymen Arensman, which made him proud. "What they have done is incredible. After the misfortunes we've had, with Tao Geoghegan Hart and Pavel Sivakov's crashes and Filippo Ganna's illness, they are performing superbly. De Plus is solid again after a few years, and it's great to see. Everyone can see that Thymen has a fantastic future ahead of him."

On the Monte Lussari, Thomas hopes to repay his teammates. "The time trial is something unique, I've never done it before. You have to go fast on the flat, but you can't go too deep because you'll pay for it on that climb. It's a time trial that suits me and Joao, but Primoz will also do well."

"It's a mental battle, this time trialing business," says Thomas. "I do receive the time splits, so that might be a slight advantage. But I'm not thinking about that right now - I'm thinking about that crazy 15 percent climb. It will be entertaining to watch, but next year I'd rather go to the beach," he laughs heartily.