Geraint Thomas has admitted the yellow jersey is in his grasp after a thrilling final stage in the Pyrenees – and insisted that if he wins his first Tour de France it will have been done the right way.

Geraint Thomas climbs final mountain and closes on Tour de France glory Read more

When asked what he would say to a cynical public who had been fooled by dopers and cyclists using TUEs to gain an advantage too many times in the sport’s past, the Welshman promised he could be trusted. “I do it the right way and the team does it the right way,” he said. “We train super hard. There is nothing I can do to prove it but it will stand the test of time.”

Thomas, who extended his lead over the Dutchman Tom Dumoulin by 2min 5sec by finishing second behind Primoz Roglic in the 200.5km stage from Lourdes to Laruns, said the biggest factor in his success had been the strength of Team Sky’s squad.

“The team here is phenomenally strong,” he said. “We have myself, Froomey, Egan Bernal – the brightest talent in a long time – and Luke Rowe, who is super strong in the classics. 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 the work is paying off.”

Thomas also said he was is now confident of doing well in Saturday’s 31km time trial after what he called “ticking off a big day”.

“Obviously it comes down to the time trial but I can take confidence from how I am riding,” he said. “Being two minutes ahead is certainly better than being two minutes behind. It should be enough but we will see.”

Saturday’s time trial route is just 31km. Saturday’s time trial route is just 31km.

However Thomas admitted he was tired after such a draining stage. “It’s good to get through that day,” he added. “We knew we could come under a lot of pressure but the boys were really good. I was able to respond to the attacks and the descent was fast. I never thought I was going to get dropped but it was hard for sure. I had to make Dumoulin do everything. It’s the first time I have seen him get a bit tired.”

• This article was amended on 28 July 2018 because an earlier version misspelled Egan Bernal as Egan Barnel.

