Cycling fans have turned out in force in Powys this afternoon to watch Geraint Thomas take a lap of honour in Wales during the OVO Energy Tour of Britain.
Thomas, accompanied by his Sky teammate and fellow Tour de France champion Chris Froome, has been cheered all through the opening stage by excited onlookers, many of them waving the Welsh flag.
The crowds were particularly big at the sprint point in Llandovery in Camarthenshire and the King of the Mountains point at the summit above Defynnog in the Brecon Beacons in Powys.
The riders then dropped down to Libanus on the A470 before riding through Brecon where the crowds were particularly big around Llanfaes Bridge and in Market Street.
At that point a breakaway of about six cyclists held a one-and-a-half minute lead from the peloton, mainly being led by Thomas’s Sky team.
The breakaway was eventually reeled in and Thomas made a brave bid on the final hill 8km from the finish for a solo victory. However, he was tracked by Bob Jungels and Julian Alaphilippe and his attack amounted to nothing. The Quick Step Floors pair were then caught by two other riders and the group of four, and then Jungels on his own, looked like they might escape the clutches of the peloton. It was not to be and Germany's Andre Greipel, riding for Lotto Soudal, grabbed the stage victory in a final frantic sprint for the line in Newport city centre.After the race Thomas, who finished safely in the peloton, was "humbled" to see the National Velodrome in Newport renamed the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales in a short ceremony attended by dignitaries and VIPs.Thomas, who continues in the race in Monday's stage in the south west of England, said: "I can remember when the velodrome was opened in 2004. If you'd told me then that I would go on to win the Tour de France and the velodrome would be renamed the Geraint Thomas Velodrome - well, I would have laughed to be honest!"