GERAINT THOMAS has enjoyed adulation like never before in the months that have followed his unexpected Tour de France success this summer. There was a meeting with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in an underground car park after a Barcelona game. There was the day he got to go on the pitch at the Emirates, a thrill for any Arsenal fan. And then there was his homecoming reception in Cardiff, when thousands took to the streets of the Welsh capital to welcome him back.

“The amount of people that turned out for that was bonkers,” he recalls. “The support I’ve had at home and all around the UK has been amazing. That means a lot.

“You get pulled here, there and everywhere as the Tour de France winner, but I also wanted to take the time to spend some time with my family and my wife and really enjoy the moment. You never know what’s around the corner, especially with all the crashes and bad luck along the way. I wanted to really savour the occasion and make the most of it.”

Thomas is no stranger to success both on the road and on the track. The Team Sky rider has savoured double Olympic gold, at Beijing in 2008 and in London four years later, claimed three world championship wins, and, survived a late puncture to gather a Commonwealth gold following a dash around the soaking streets of Glasgow in 2014.

Nothing, though, has matched the acclaim that has come with winning cycling’s most illustrious prize, when Thomas emerged from his role as support rider to Chris Froome to strike out on his own and claim a maiden yellow jersey win. When you win the Tour De France, it seems everyone wants a piece of you.

“People have been ringing me all the time looking to get things signed or video messages and that’s fine, I don’t mind doing that at all,” adds the genial 32 year-old.

“Before it was maybe a max of one every couple of weeks and now it’s every day. So that’s the biggest change. But when you see how excited some kids get meeting you, or you hear stories from their parents about going on bike rides and their son or daughter pretending to be me – that’s pretty cool.”

Now, though, it is time to get back on the bike. Thomas will honour one final commitment this weekend but then will look to return to the familiar grind of training every day.

“I want to get back in to it as soon as possible as it feels like this off-season has gone on forever,” he adds. “I need that structure and routine and just riding my bike again. I want to feel tired from training not from a lack of sleep and lots of travelling around. I go to Shanghai this weekend and after that I want to knuckle down and crack on.”

His schedule for 2019 is still to be confirmed – he has a decision to make whether to ride the Giro D’Italia or not – but he can say for certain that his enthusiasm to compete in the Grand Tours hasn’t diminished after winning the main one.

How Team Sky handle having two lead riders capable of winning the major races remains to be seen but Thomas think it’s a nice problem for them to have.

“It’s still up in the air exactly what I’m going to do next year. I’ll decide in the next month or so. I feel that I’ve proved I can do it [win a Grand Tour] and saw it through to the end and I’m sure that will come into the team’s thinking. It’s a good dilemma for them to have.

“Anything can happen in cycling, with crashes and bad luck and the rest, so having two cards to play can only be a good thing. If we race as we did last year and are open and honest, and don’t race against each other, it will work out.”

In his new book about his Tour win, Thomas speaks warmly about Froome. It would be understandable if there were tensions between the pair as they vie for team supremacy but the Welshman doesn’t think that will be the case.

“I don’t think our relationship will change. Since the Tour we’ve socialised off the bike together and we still talk so I can’t see that changing any time soon. As long as we keep that open relationship going I think we’ll be fine.

“He massively wanted to win [in France] and equal the record number of wins. He’s a gentleman and I have a lot of respect to him for that.”

The change in the cycling calendar means there will only be three-and-a-half week between the end of the Giro d’Italia and the start of the Tour de France and Thomas admits it will be difficult to commit fully to both.

“I don’t think I would do both to try to win as I’d rather choose one and go all in for the win. There are a few options for us. There’s obviously unfinished business in Italy and I’d love to go back. But being the reigning champion of the Tour de France I feel I need to go back there feeling 100 percent. There’s less recovery time next year so that’s another thing to add to the mix.”

For now, though, he is still basking in having proven himself on the biggest stage after years of adversity. “It’s about persevering, keeping trying, working hard and putting yourself out there. And if you don’t get any bad luck, like this year, sometimes it works out. And it makes everything else you’ve been through worthwhile. It couldn’t really have gone any better.”

- The Tour According To G: My Journey to the Yellow Jersey, by Geraint Thomas, published by Quercus, £20