Geraint Thomas is three minutes ahead of his rivals for third place after stage 18 of the Tour de France, but has not yet begun calculating the prize money.

Thomas was asked if he was sure of a podium spot, to which he replied: "I'm not going to tempt fate."

He sees Friday's scorching 188.3 km of stage 19 in southwestern France as a mild concern for his seemingly secured podium spot.

"There is still tomorrow and there are crosswinds blowing all day. This race is not a straightforward one," he said.

Thomas finished fourth in Thursday's stage to Otakam, pulling away from the top 10 overall. However, he fell behind Jonas Vingegaard, and Toma finished fourth, nearly three minutes behind him. Thomas was fourth behind the yellow jersey, rival Tadej Pogachar, and the incomparably strong Wout van Aert.

Vingegaard was unwavering in a Tour de France that looks set to break the average speed record set in 2003.

Thomas credited the record pace partly to the wind conditions, but also to the style of racing.

"To be fair, there was a lot of tailwind. There aren't many days when there isn't a headwind, but yes, that's just the way we race."

"There were two group sprints, two. It's crazy. And that was in Denmark, not in France."

The Hautacam stage was a breakaway, with Vingegaard over a minute ahead of Pogachar. This result came as no surprise to Thomas, as he was the only one to finish ahead of Pogachar.

"I said this morning, when they asked me who was going to win [the Tour], I said Vingegaard," Thomas said after the stage finish.

"He was really strong. He ran a great race. He responded to everything. So I want to pay tribute to him."

Thomas said after the stage finish.

Thomas struggled to keep up with the Tour leader's pace, but rode in control to secure a spot on the podium.

"Today was a series of highs and lows. When I started I felt okay. I decided to run at my own pace."

"I wanted to keep up with them up to the steep part of Hautacam.

"I struggled there and had a little bad patch. I got a flat tire. ...... All I had to do was keep up with Dani.

Following Pogachar's attack on Spandale Pass, Thomas attacked on the second last climb. He gained a small gap on Pogachar and Vingegaard, but was soon hit back, and at the summit Tomas was 30 seconds behind.

"I kept my pace," Thomas said of his attack.

"People were beating me about when I was going to attack.