Geraint Thomas hopeful of Tour de France appearance after withdrawing from Tour de Suisse

Geraint Thomas is still hopeful of defending his Tour de France title after a crash on Tuesday forced him to withdraw from the Tour de Suisse.

The 33-year-old fell towards the end of stage four of the race, receiving roadside treatment.

It came just days after his team-mate Chris Froome fractured multiple bones in a high-speed collision with a wall, ruling him out of action for a reported six months.

But Thomas, who became the first ever Welsh winner of the Tour in 2018, is still eyeing up his place on the start line next month.

Thomas wrote on Twitter: "Thanks for all your messages!! Gutted to leave @tds but luckily I'm all ok.

"I hit my head and needed stitches above my eye, so the doctors stopped me getting back on my bike. It just means I'll need some big training rides next week now."

Thomas avoided significant injury after passing a concussion test, leaving him free to push for July’s landmark cycling race.

He is set to lead Team Ineos after team-mate Froome fractured multiple bones while crashing at around 35mph.

Froome fractured his elbow, right femur and ribs - as well as a broken hip - in the accident.

He required six-hour long surgery to aid recovery but the four-time Tour winner saw the funny side as he tweeted a gif hinting at his comeback.

Posting from his account (@chrisfroome), he wrote: “Looking at my post op scans like...” alongside a well-known clip from movie Terminator.

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