• ‘It’s insane - I’ve certainly got the taste for it,’ says Welshman • Next month’s Vuelta a España likely to be a step too far

Geraint Thomas says his first Tour de France victory has given him a “taste” for more grand tour successes, although he appears unlikely to tackle the Vuelta a España despite being pencilled in for next month’s race.

The 32-year-old could barely contain his excitement after crossing the line, draping the Welsh flag around his shoulders on the podium and calling it the best day of his life after his marriage to his wife Sara.

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“I got into cycling because of this race,” said Thomas, who won the race by 1min 51sec from the Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin. “I remember running home from school to be a part of it, and now I am here stood in the yellow jersey. It’s insane. I’ve certainly got the taste for it. I’m floating around on cloud nine. Maybe when I am 70 sat in a pub telling some 18-year-old what I used to be, maybe then it will sink in. For now its a whirlwind, the stuff of dreams.”

Thomas joins Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome on the roll call of British winners of theTour. However, the chances of him immediately tackling the Vuelta when it begins in Malaga on 25 August appear slim – with the Team Sky principal, David Brailsford, suggesting his newest grand tour winner will enjoy a much needed break.

“For ‘G’ this is going to need a little while to sink in,” Brailsford said. “At his age, with the magnitude of the result, he has to take some time to absorb it. But he and Chris Froome are still hungry. Chris still wants to win. Geraint still wants to win. And we have young guys coming through too.”

Thomas, who claimed that he intended to party for at least a fortnight to celebrate his victory, said he could not believe the hundreds of positive messages he had received from fellow cyclists and on social media.

Play Video 0:31 Geraint Thomas: Tour de France support has outshone negativity – video

“I stayed off Twitter for most of the Tour but I went in on Saturday night and it was insane to see the responses from back home,” he said. “The amount of well wishes and compliments from fellow riders and fellow sportsmen and rugby players I’ve always looked up to. And suddenly they’re messaging me saying how happy and proud they are.

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“I believed I could beat anyone over a week but I had never done it over three. Winning the first stage was a real boost but it’s insane how everything just clicked on the Tour. This is the highlight of my life, other than getting married. It would be nice to win more grand tours but, if I do nothing now for the rest of my career, I can be happy.”

Thomas also paid tribute to Froome, who he said had not only helped him win the race but had shown mental fortitude by surviving abuse from French fans for most of the race. “It’s unfortunate but it’s a part of it,” Thomas said. “I took a lot of inspiration from Froomey and the way he deals with it all. Fair play, he’s one of the strongest guys I know, mentally.”

For his part Froome, who has won this race four times, said he was happy to pass on the baton. “I genuinely am happy for G,” he said. “I am so proud of him, having been teammates and friends for 10 years. And for the team it is the sixth Tour de France in seven years. It is massive for us.”

However, Froome also looks certain to miss the Vuelta. “I think I deserve a little bit of rest,” he said. “I have done four grand tours in a row and my wife Michelle and I are expecting a baby any day now, so it will be good to go home.”

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Thomas is expected to sign a new three-year-contract with Team Sky later this year but refused to be drawn on his future after the race. “I haven’t thought about that. I guess I’ll have to in the next couple of weeks but at the moment I just want to enjoy this.”After confirming he had never had any TUEs or used asthma drugs during his career, Thomas was asked whether he rode on just bread and water. “Well no, actually: a lot of rice, beans and rice too,” he said, smiling, before adding. “The bad thing about TUEs at the moment is that if you’ve had a TUE, that’s seen as a negative thing – but it’s not. It’s the same with asthma.”