Ineos Grenadiers' podium finish was different: a year ago, Richard Karapas' third-place finish at the Tour de France was a failure, as the Ecuadorian's performance was the only high note in a cacophonous pack of teams with the biggest budgets in cycling It was spoken of as if it were a failure.

Twelve months later, the mood music surrounding Geraint Thomas' podium finish, following the unassailable duo of Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogachar, is rather harmonious.

With Eoghan Bernal, the only Ineos rider who could realistically be paired with Vingegaard and Pogachar in this Tour, out injured, pre-race expectations were arguably even lower. Tom Pidcock's victory in the Alpe d'Huez provided an optimistic outlook for the future.

At the beginning of the season, Thomas was behind Daniel Martinez and Adam Yates, but he moved up the rankings after winning the Tour de Suisse in June; the 36-year-old rode consistently throughout the three weeks of the Tour, finishing just eight minutes out of the yellow jersey in Vingegaard for the final Entering the weekend, manager Rod Ellingworth suggested that his athletic performance here was better than what led him to Paris in yellow in 2018.

"I think the team performance this year has been very good, and it's great to see what Gelant is doing," Ellingworth told Cycling News. 'He's got all three podium positions now. It's not necessarily the same as when he won, he's actually getting better."

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Four years ago, Thomas spent 10 days in yellow and won back-to-back stages at La Rosière and Alpe d'Huez. Four years later, the land has changed completely. Ineos is no longer the reference point for the entire peloton, and the race is no longer controlled as it was in 2018.

For the past three weeks, Vingegaard and Pogacar have routinely traveled to places their rivals could not reach, but Thomas limited the damage better than anyone, even when forced to chase lonely in the mountains.

"When he won in 2018, it was a very well-organized race for Gelant," Ellingworth said. 'But since then he has improved in every aspect, and Gelant's performance here was near perfect. He gives his all every day, start to finish. He's not getting carried away. He is realistic. He knows what he can do and sits perfectly in his position. [He] is not one of those GC riders who has an accident or bad luck and drops out. He's proven that he's the third best here. You have to take it and learn from it."

While Martinez disappeared from the GC contenders early on, Yates was in contention for the podium for a long time before suffering a physical illness in the Pyrenees and will start Saturday's time trial in 10th place overall. He will start Saturday's time trial in 10th place overall. After Yates' success in the mid-week race to Peyragude, Thomas emphasized that his teammate's contract expires at the end of the season. Yates has been discussed as a possible return to his brother Simon's Bike Exchange Jaquillo.

Ellingworth said of Yates' contract situation, "I think things will unfold after the Tour. I think things will unfold after the Tour," Ellingworth said of Yates's contract situation. He's very focused, very detail-oriented, a real professional athlete.

Yneos is, in Ellingworth's words, "deliberately moving forward" from his days of running tempo at the front of the peloton, but it is clear that the rest of the peloton is also passing them. Jumbo Bisma and UAE Team Emirates, even though they were drained by injuries and illnesses, provided conditions for the rest of the players with notable facilities.

"I think the players elevated their play, just as they did when we were leading," Ellingworth said of their impressive collective play.

"In terms of percentages, there's not that big of a difference between them. You can tell by the way they played. I don't think Benoots or Van Hoydonks have been spectacular here, but they are very committed and they play with intent every day."

Ineos, of course, hopes that Bernal's eventual return to the lineup will put him back on equal footing with Vingegaard and Pogacar for years to come; Bernal's rehabilitation from a life-threatening crash in January is progressing faster than expected, but a recent trip to Andorra for Despite encouraging news from training camp, his return to competition has yet to be determined.

"There is no set date yet. He has to undergo some more medical tests and I'm not going to do anything stupid here," Ellingworth said. 'There's a return to racing, but there's also a return to performance. And I think we have to look at both of those when we calculate when he will be back." [But] he is on fire. When I met him he was very upbeat and very excited about going to Andorra. There are still challenges, but he knows that, and I can't think of anyone better qualified than him to tackle those challenges. Hopefully we will see him before the end of the year.

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