Geoff Thomas Foundation

STAGE SEVENTEEN

PAU TO CASTELSARRASIN, 188.5 km

WITH Geoff still sidelined due to a chest infection, he hands over today's
diary duties to rider and cancer survivor STEVE TIMMINS

I became involved with Cyclists Fighting Cancer, Mike's charity, a couple of
years ago when I saw an ad in "Cycling Weekly" and that's how I met Griz, Bully
and, later, Dave. That led to my connection with Geoff and the Tour.

Griz rang me up one day and asked if I would be interested in doing the Tour
and I said I would, bearing in mind it was starting in London. I assumed he was
talking about one or two stages but then he explained he was talking about the
whole thing!

I must admit I was smitten with the idea from that moment on. It's something
I obviously never thought I would get the chance to do - the real chance of a
lifetime. I'm a big cycling fan and I've always watched the Tour on TV,
marvelled at the incredible feats of endurance the riders have shown and I saw
this as a chance to see if I was up to it.

As I have got to know Geoff, and had the chance to talk to him about his
Foundation, I have also become to really appreciate what he is trying to do.
Geoff's ideas about helping find answers to leukaemia sound like common sense
and I'm pleased to be able to help him in any way I can.

Like a lot of other lads, of course, it has been all the more meaningful for
me because I thought at one stage I might not be here at all, let alone well
enough to ride a bike.

I was diagnosed with bowl cancer in 2001 and, although it initially seemed
that they had caught it in time, after I had an operation I was told I only had
a 50-50 chance of making a complete recovery. Over the next five years, until I
got the all-clear, every single day was a bonus to me so doing something like
this is amazing.

My wife Joanne, and our daughters Jessica and Lydia have been incredibly
supportive ever since I said I wanted to do this. In fact, it was me who had the
doubts and wondered whether I would be physically able to complete the Tour but
Joanne really pushed me to do it. The girls came to the Tour presentation on the
Friday before it started, when we were introduced to the crowd, and I think that
brought home to them what it is all about.

I must admit though, that after the last few days in the mountains, I found
today a bit boring! There wasn't anything too memorable in the way of scenery
and that is the thing I have been taking great interest in out here. I've been
fascinated looking at the buildings around France - they have some incredible
churches, in particular - and in the mountains the rivers and scenery was a nice
distraction.

I loved the mountains and I have ridden them over here in France a couple of
times before. The highlight for me was probably climbing the Galibier when I
really let myself go because I owed the mountain one from last year when I had a
bad experience riding up it.

Similarly, I owed one to the Aubisque. Two years ago I rode the Etape - the
amateur ride that takes place over a Tour stage a week before the Tour - and
that went over the Aubisque and the Marie Blanque, which we also rode over
yesterday. I missed the gold medal standard by three minutes and, actually, I
lost about that time when my pump fell off my bike on the Marie Blanque and I
had to walk back down the mountain to collect it! I felt I got my own back a
little bit on the Aubisque this year.

The whole Tour has been a fantastic experience although it has been a lot
more intense than I expected. I thought there would be more time for relaxation
at nights but after riding all day, travelling to hotels and eating, the
magazines I brought to read have gone untouched in my bag.

I didn't expect so many late finishes either although, when you consider how
far we're riding each day, I suppose some of that is not a great surprise. But
the funny thing is, the longer the Tour has gone on, the distances don't seem to
effect me. You get up in the morning, look at the route, see it's 120 miles with
three or four climbs on it and you just get on with it.

In fact the major problem I have had has been a knee injury which came on on
stage two and which has been with me ever since. I don't think I would ever have
quit this Tour but I must admit that when Bully was struggling and forced to
pull out in the Alps, the thought did cross my mind.

The knee was hurting me today and prevented me from doing as much work on the
front as I would have liked but the thing is we have a great team here. People
are from different backgrounds and have different personalities but everyone
supports each other and the spirit and help from the support crew has been
brilliant. That's how I got through today.

Even though we had left the mountains behind, there were still five cat four
climbs on the route and we rode well as a team to make really good time into
Castelsarrasin. Big Griz, who suffered so much in the Pyrenees, made a great
recovery and was strong right until the end. We had been quite apprehensive
looking at the profile this morning but we soon knocked off the 115 miles and
finished at a reasonable hour.