Thomas revels in home Tour return
Welshman Geraint Thomas is relishing taking to the road for his second Tour de France on home soil in Yorkshire on Saturday.
Thomas' Tour career began in London in 2007 as the youngest participant in that year's race at the age of 21.
Seven years on, Thomas is a key lieutenant for Team Sky leader Chris Froome, the defending champion, in the 101st Tour which begins in Leeds.
"It's great for it to come back here," said Thomas, twice an Olympic gold medallist in the team pursuit.
"I rode in '07 when it was in London and that was incredible and cycling's only got bigger since.
"Really looking forward to it and the atmosphere's going to be unbelievable.
"It's great to show how far British cycling has come. You look back at the Athens Olympics (in 2004), it was nowhere anywhere near this.
"I was 18 then and never would've dreamt I'd be here starting my fifth Tour de France, second time in the UK, in a British team looking to win the Tour for a third successive year. And then the Olympics.
"It's kind of a dream. I don't think anyone would've predicted it and it's great for the sport. Hopefully it can continue to grow."
Thomas and Froome are two of four Britons in the 198-rider peloton, alongside Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) and Simon Yates (Orica-GreenEdge).
Sir Bradley Wiggins, the first British winner in 2012, was not selected by Team Sky, while David Millar, Alex Dowsett and Pete Kennaugh are other notable absentees from a British perspective.
"It is disappointing there's not more, but all I was worried about was myself," Thomas added.
"It would be great to have more British guys around, but I think it would be wrong if more guys were selected just because of their passport as well."