WE GO AGAIN
KEVIN McCALLUM: Gee whizzer comes of age as he pulls on yellow jersey
At a party at the end of the 2007 Tour de France, Geraint Thomas sat down, his eyes hollow, his body spent. He had finished his first Tour in 140th place out of the 141 riders. He was just 21. And he was stuffed. He was part of that famous Barloworld team that made history. A South African-sponsored team led by Robbie Hunter while registered in Britain, and based and run by an Italian in Italy, South Africans regarded them as their own. Hunter was the only South African in the team that year. Well, save for Gary Blem, the mechanic. Blem is now with Team Sky, the British outfit for whom Thomas won the 11th stage of the Tour on Wednesday, and then pulled on the coveted yellow jersey. The year 2007 was a glorious time for South African cycling. As the race flew into Montpellier, Hunter took a flier and held off time-trial beast Fabian Cancellara to become the first African to win a stage in the Tour de France.Hunter always believed it could happen. He was involved in just about every k...
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