Thursday 30 June 2016 18:27, UK
Geraint Thomas has shelved hopes of challenging for a place in the top 10 at the Tour de France after being “a bit too keen” in his build-up to the race.
The Team Sky rider intended to start the Tour with the dual goal of finishing as high up the general classification as possible while also supporting team-mate Chris Froome's bid for overall victory.
Thomas looked to be on track when winning the Volta ao Algarve and Paris-Nice in the spring - beating Alberto Contador both times - but his form badly deserted him at June's Tour de Suisse, when he could only finish 12min 31sec down in 17th place.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Saturday's opening stage in Normandy, the 30-year-old Welshman said: "Suisse didn't really go to plan. It certainly wasn't where I hoped to be. That was a big disappointment.
"I had a good camp in Tenerife and was a bit keen maybe and trained hard. I pushed the diet as well and it's just one of those things.
"This is the first year I've concentrated on stage races and the start went really well. I think I was just a bit too keen.
"In the last two weeks, I've got my head around being here for Froome. If anything else happens, that's great, but I'm not really thinking about personal ambitions."
Despite his struggles, Thomas is confident he can be as valuable to Froome as he was in last year's Tour, when he performed brilliantly for his team leader and finished 15th overall.
Thomas added: "This is all about doing my job for Froome. Hopefully, when we start climbing I feel good. I've done everything possible since then [the Tour de Suisse] to freshen up and fuel up. I'll be good when it matters."
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