Latest news with #GeoffThomas
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Intrepid Geoff Thomas geared up for another crack at Tour de France route
When Geoff Thomas was forced to abandon his seventh attempt to complete Tour 21 at the age of 58 after an unforgiving day on the cobblestones, the former Crystal Palace captain thought his days in the saddle were over. 'My bike sort of disintegrated underneath me,' remembers Thomas. 'That's when the issues with my knees started so I'd not really been on the bike since then.' But, two years on and having celebrated his 60th birthday earlier this year, he will join the group of amateur riders in tackling the entire Tour de France route a week before the pros, a ride of nearly 3,500km to raise money for Cure Leukaemia. Advertisement Related: John Textor seeks sale of Crystal Palace stake in bid to avoid European ban 'Before Christmas, it seemed a long shot because after so many years of playing football, I've got grade four arthritis in both my knees,' Thomas says. 'They said I was probably not far away from needing to have knee replacements. But I didn't really want to do that.' That was when Mark Gillett stepped in. The Premier League's chief medical officer took part in Tour 21 in 2022 when Thomas had to give up because of the chronic pain he was in. Gillett recommended a hydrogel injection called Arthrosamid, which was first developed for treating horses and is now being used for those suffering with osteoarthritis in the knee. 'You put the injection into the joint, and over three to six months, it gets incorporated into the joint lining and forms a physical barrier,' he says. 'So it's like a gel barrier, so that, whereas in arthritis the natural lining of the joint gets eroded and you get really sensitive nerve endings and bone on bone, you get that barrier between the two, so you're not feeling so much pain.' Advertisement The results have been spectacular for Thomas, who jokes that 'it feels like polyfilla at times', adding: 'I could feel the knee not going through the same pain as it was when I was trying to get back on the bike. A couple of months later, I'm getting out there and doing 135-mile rides again. It's allowing me to have that dream of doing the Tour again.' Thomas, who won nine caps for England, knows all about overcoming the odds. He was given three months to live when he was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia in 2003, a year after retiring from playing. But, after receiving a stem cell transplant from his sister Kay and undergoing treatment from Prof Charlie Craddock, he entered remission in January 2005. The life-saving treatment motivated him to embark on his first Tour 21 a few months later to raise money for continuing research into the disease, with Thomas estimating that each edition has helped to raise more than £1m for Cure Leukaemia, which has also been adopted as the Tour de France's official charity partner. 'What the charity's done from when I was diagnosed in 2003 … the chances of any clinical trials going on in the world of blood cancer was minimal,' he says. 'It was Charlie who really had this vision of building an infrastructure that would accelerate trials through the system. That's up and running now and people are surviving in bigger numbers.' Advertisement Thomas interrupted his training to see Palace finally lift their first major trophy by beating Manchester City – the club he supported as a child – at Wembley in the FA Cup final. It was 35 years after he had led them to their first final, before Palace finished third in the old First Division the following season. They were denied a place in Europe as English clubs were being phased back into European competition after being banned in the mid-1980s, and Thomas is hoping that the lure of a Europa League campaign under Oliver Glasner can persuade some of their best players such as Marc Guéhi and Eberechi Eze to stay in south London. 'Hopefully times are changing and Palace will be able to build on their success,' he says. But it is the prospect of completing this year's gruelling route – which will feature five mountain finishes including the famous Hautacam, Ventoux and the Col de la Loze summits – that will occupy his mind over the next few weeks. Gillett has full confidence that Thomas can overcome his knee issues and make it to the finish line on the Champs Élysées in mid-July. 'I'm a very optimistic guy, that's part of my job,' he says. 'But probably two or three months ago, I was thinking, 'I'm not sure he can do this'. But he's got a really good chance. He's done incredibly well.' For Thomas, finally completing the Tour for a seventh time would be a fitting way to round off his cycling career. 'In some ways, I wish I had finished in 2021 because it was fantastic riding into Paris knowing that we had raised so much money. But I knew I had to do it again and now I want to finish on a high to help celebrate Cure Leukaemia and what they are going to be doing over the next five to 10 years.' • Support Geoff and the Tour 21 team in changing the future of treatment for blood cancer patients across the globe by donating to their Just Giving page.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Intrepid Geoff Thomas geared up for another crack at Tour de France route
When Geoff Thomas was forced to abandon his seventh attempt to complete Tour 21 at the age of 58 after an unforgiving day on the cobblestones, the former Crystal Palace captain thought his days in the saddle were over. 'My bike sort of disintegrated underneath me,' remembers Thomas. 'That's when the issues with my knees started so I'd not really been on the bike since then.' But, two years on and having celebrated his 60th birthday earlier this year, he will join the group of amateur riders in tackling the entire Tour de France route a week before the pros, a ride of nearly 3,500km to raise money for Cure Leukaemia. 'Before Christmas, it seemed a long shot because after so many years of playing football, I've got grade four arthritis in both my knees,' Thomas says. 'They said I was probably not far away from needing to have knee replacements. But I didn't really want to do that.' That was when Mark Gillett stepped in. The Premier League's chief medical officer took part in Tour 21 in 2022 when Thomas had to give up because of the chronic pain he was in. Gillett recommended a hydrogel injection called Arthrosamid, which was first developed for treating horses and is now being used for those suffering with osteoarthritis in the knee. 'You put the injection into the joint, and over three to six months, it gets incorporated into the joint lining and forms a physical barrier,' he says. 'So it's like a gel barrier, so that, whereas in arthritis the natural lining of the joint gets eroded and you get really sensitive nerve endings and bone on bone, you get that barrier between the two, so you're not feeling so much pain.' The results have been spectacular for Thomas, who jokes that 'it feels like polyfilla at times', adding: 'I could feel the knee not going through the same pain as it was when I was trying to get back on the bike. A couple of months later, I'm getting out there and doing 135-mile rides again. It's allowing me to have that dream of doing the Tour again.' Thomas, who won nine caps for England, knows all about overcoming the odds. He was given three months to live when he was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia in 2003, a year after retiring from playing. But, after receiving a stem cell transplant from his sister Kay and undergoing treatment from Prof Charlie Craddock, he entered remission in January 2005. The life-saving treatment motivated him to embark on his first Tour 21 a few months later to raise money for continuing research into the disease, with Thomas estimating that each edition has helped to raise more than £1m for Cure Leukaemia, which has also been adopted as the Tour de France's official charity partner. 'What the charity's done from when I was diagnosed in 2003 … the chances of any clinical trials going on in the world of blood cancer was minimal,' he says. 'It was Charlie who really had this vision of building an infrastructure that would accelerate trials through the system. That's up and running now and people are surviving in bigger numbers.' Thomas interrupted his training to see Palace finally lift their first major trophy by beating Manchester City – the club he supported as a child – at Wembley in the FA Cup final. It was 35 years after he had led them to their first final, before Palace finished third in the old First Division the following season. They were denied a place in Europe as English clubs were being phased back into European competition after being banned in the mid-1980s, and Thomas is hoping that the lure of a Europa League campaign under Oliver Glasner can persuade some of their best players such as Marc Guéhi and Eberechi Eze to stay in south London. 'Hopefully times are changing and Palace will be able to build on their success,' he says. But it is the prospect of completing this year's gruelling route – which will feature five mountain finishes including the famous Hautacam, Ventoux and the Col de la Loze summits – that will occupy his mind over the next few weeks. Gillett has full confidence that Thomas can overcome his knee issues and make it to the finish line on the Champs Élysées in mid-July. 'I'm a very optimistic guy, that's part of my job,' he says. 'But probably two or three months ago, I was thinking, 'I'm not sure he can do this'. But he's got a really good chance. He's done incredibly well.' For Thomas, finally completing the Tour for a seventh time would be a fitting way to round off his cycling career. 'In some ways, I wish I had finished in 2021 because it was fantastic riding into Paris knowing that we had raised so much money. But I knew I had to do it again and now I want to finish on a high to help celebrate Cure Leukaemia and what they are going to be doing over the next five to 10 years.' Support Geoff and the Tour 21 team in changing the future of treatment for blood cancer patients across the globe by donating to their Just Giving page.
Daily Mirror
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Crystal Palace hero went from beating leukaemia to riding Tour de France route
WALLY MEETS: Geoff Thomas captained Crystal Palace in the 1990 FA Cup final and is now undertaking epic charity bike rides - with the football legend giving his thoughts on Saturday's Wembley match Geoff Thomas is back on the bike, preparing to climb Tour de France monster peak Mount Ventoux as Crystal Palace face their Everest at Wembley. Some 20 years after he went into remission, after being diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia and warned he may have only three months to live, Thomas is counting his blessings - and hoping Palace make history. Back in July 2003 – the month when Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea and David Beckham left Manchester United – the outlook was bleak for the first Palace captain to lead the Eagles into the FA Cup final. Revolutionary stem cell treatment, recommended by his consultant Dr Charlie Craddock, saved his life. When he dodged the Grim Reaper's scythe, Thomas resolved to raise funds for Cure Leukaemia by undertaking epic charity bike rides to help other blood cancer patients. Now, at 60, he is gearing up for his seventh assault on the Tour route, all 2,062 miles of it in 21 stages, a week before the professional peloton thanks to cutting-edge hydrogel Arthrosamid lubricating his battle-scarred knees. And he will be at Wembley hoping to see Palace land their first major trophy against the team he supported as a boy. 'I'm a Manchester lad and I was brought up as a City fan,' said Thomas, warming down after a training ride-out on the bike. 'We weren't even allowed to look at the red side of Manchester, it was out of bounds! 'But now I'm rooting for Crystal Palace. I'm as desperate as any fan for Palace to enjoy something special and unprecedented in their history - lifting the FA Cup. 'The Cup final is a magical occasion, something you're blessed to be a part of, and as a player you have a chance to write your name in Wembley history. It's a very different stadium now to the one where we played the 1990 final. "The long walk up the tunnel with your studs going clack-clack-clack on the concrete floor, the same walk as England's 1966 World Cup team, is something that never leaves you. Now you walk out on to the pitch by the halfway line and after a dozen steps it's over. Don't get me wrong, it's still a magnificent stadium, but it feels very continental. 'But I would love it if Palace could go one step further than us in 1990. We were minutes away from glory, and I was beginning to dream of how I was going to lift the Cup, until Mark Hughes broke our hearts near the end of extra time. 'Although it went to a replay, we still climbed the 39 steps to the Royal Box after the first game to shake hands with the dignitaries, and when I turned towards the Palace fans I lifted the imaginary trophy in case I didn't get the chance to lift the real thing. 'Some people play the air guitar when they sing along to a favourite song - I lifted the air FA Cup. But it was a special moment in my life. A few years earlier I had been an apprentice electrician, getting up at five in the morning to wire plugs and change sockets. 'Nobody gave us a chance in our semi-final against Liverpool 36 years ago because they had annihilated us 9-0 in the League at Anfield, and most people will make City the favourites this time. Kevin de Bruyne is a special player, one of the best we've ever seen, but Palace can do some damage of their own with this squad. Ebs (Eberechi Eze) is such a class player, JP (Jean-Philippe Mateta) has been in fantastic form, and Ismaila Sarr has really come to the fore this year. And Adam Wharton in midfield is a cut above. He looks like he's been playing the game for years.' Thomas was a portrait of calmness as he followed manager Steve Coppell into the Wembley cauldron in 1990, souvenir pennant in folded in one hand and spinning a ball on his finger like a Harlem Globetrotter with the other. Coppell had referred Ian Wright to a faith healer, to try and accelerate his express recovery from a broken leg, and the livewire striker was fit enough to make the bench. 'They were chucking everything at Wrighty to try and get him fit,' said Thomas. 'When he came on with about 20 minutes to go, he was like a coiled spring. And when he put us 3-2 up, I really thought it was going to be our moment.' In the replay, a dour match settled by Lee Martin's winner for United, Palace wore banana-and-charcoal stripes - a one-off kit designed by Thomas as a throwback to his junior days. 'Steve was a bit superstitious about certain kits,' he revealed. 'We had lost heavily, somewhere like Everton, in our designated away strip - we didn't wear it again. 'It was our turn to wear away colours in the replay and it was my idea to come up with the 'bumble bee' look. Steve asked me what I thought we should do and I just chucked that idea out there, not thinking anything would come of it, but when we turned up at Wembley on the Thursday night the bumble bees were waiting for us.' After the Cup final, all roads lead to Paris for Thomas and his Tour21 crew. Like previous instalments of the ride, they are hoping to raise £1 million for blood cancer research charities. He had to abandon his mini-peloton in 2022 when the cobbled sections in northern France rattled his knees like cocktail shaker, but the hydrogel treatment has given him a fighting chance of avoiding the excruciating bone-on-bone trauma. If you've ever driven up Ventoux, the 'Beast of Provence', let alone cycled it, you'll know it's a steeper task than Oliver Glasner 's Eagles face against City. Come on, you Arthrosamid.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘If it had been a film, we'd have won': former Palace finalists share Cup memories
Geoff Thomas (Crystal Palace captain, 1990) Palace 3-3 Manchester United (aet); replay: Palace 0-1 United Being captain of that side was a special time. We had been thrashed 9-0 by Liverpool earlier in the season so after getting past them in the semi-final when Alan Pardew scored the winner at Villa Park, it felt like we had nothing to fear. Advertisement You get to this stage of the season and a lot of teams will be tapering off because they don't have much to play for. What Steve [Coppell, the manager] and Alan [Smith, the assistant] did straight after the semi-final was really kick on – it was like a pre-season again. We'd play a game on the Saturday and have Sunday off and then straight into a long run on the Monday. We were really confident in our physical side of the game. As soon as we came off the pitch after winning the semi-final, we found out what the FA Cup final is all about. Eric Hall became our agent and had us doing all sorts of things. Some of the guys were on Blue Peter but I missed that because I was at the pre-Cup final dinner with the Duke of Edinburgh and the United captain, Bryan Robson. Please don't ask me about our appearance on Sky to sing our version of Glad All Over – I remember John Salako and Gary O'Reilly giving it some! It was quite embarrassing having to sing in front of a live TV audience … Looking back at the final, the frustrating thing is that we were seven minutes away from lifting the Cup after Ian Wright scored in extra time. If it had been a film, we would have won the game and it would have been one of the greatest achievements in sport. We'd been beaten 9-0 by the team that we had then beaten in the semi-final … That's the sad thing – history is made by certain moments and Mark Hughes came up with that moment. Bryan Robson says we kicked them off the park in the replay but I remember them being just as physical. I think it was Brian McClair who brought me down in the box and the referee gave a free-kick but you could see the divot inside the area. I'll never forget that. Advertisement I'm from Manchester and was brought up as a Blue; every time we played against City it was a bit special. All my family would be in the Kippax at the old Maine Road and I used to love playing against them. But as a footballer Crystal Palace are my club. Ever since I joined in 1987 right up to today I feel a part of it. The support of the club when I was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2003 is something I'll never forget. I can see the same enjoyment among the players today that we had under Steve all those years ago. We loved going out there and beating bigger teams. Unfortunately Crystal Palace weren't a big enough club to keep players like Ian Wright and Mark Bright and our team was disbanded. But hopefully times are changing and Palace will be able to build on their progress under Oliver Glasner. I hope it's third time lucky for them on Saturday. Like us in 1990 they've got nothing to fear. City have got quality but so have Palace. I just hope that it's a day that history is made. Alan Smith (assistant manager, 1990) When I arrived in 1984, Palace had nothing. Steve Coppell has to take a lot of credit for everything that team achieved. Steve was a bit of a fitness fanatic so we spent a lot of time working on that. There's a place called Farleigh Downs, which was the hill we used to run up, and the lads had to get up it eight times. It was some run. But because they were so willing to do anything that Steve told them they did it. He had that much respect among the players. Advertisement We also must have been one of the first to do any sort of video analysis. We had this guy called Vince Craven who came in who used to be at Wimbledon and helped them win the 1988 FA Cup final against Liverpool. He was way ahead of his time. Vince would break up the clips with bits of comedy, otherwise the players would start losing interest. He was a natural and it really helped with our attacking set plays. Eric Hall sorted everything out for the players like the suits and a deal with Ray-Ban sunglasses. The sad thing about that was that it pissed with rain about an hour before kick-off so they couldn't wear them. Eric still managed to find 20 umbrellas from somewhere though! United were under a lot of pressure because Alex Ferguson knew he had to win that game – if he hadn't then who knows what might have happened? To have beaten Liverpool in the semis and scored four goals without Ian Wright, who had been out with a broken leg, was some achievement. But he was our talisman: we won some games when we shouldn't have done when he would pull a goal out of the blue like Eberechi Eze does now. In the final, Steve could have put him on earlier and kept on saying: 'Shall we, shall we?' When he came on he was like a coiled spring, a bundle of combustion that burst on to the pitch. In many ways by scoring two goals it was his Cup final. Of course, it wasn't to be because Hughes equalised and they won the replay. But his performance made other clubs interested in him. We finished third the next season before Ian left to join Arsenal. We didn't get into Europe and I think that hit Steve hard. He had done so much work since joining the club in 1984 and by that time we were finding it much more difficult to hold on to our players. Some of them thought: 'What more can we do at Palace?' Advertisement I'll be sitting next to Steve at Wembley on Saturday and Palace have a genuine chance. You can't help but think this is the third time they've been there and they are coming into form at the right time again … Pape Souaré (Palace defender, 2016) Palace 1-2 Manchester United We were like a proper family in the dressing room. You felt everyone in the community wanted Palace to go to the top level. I remember being so excited when we reached the final by beating Watford in the semi-finals – we had special suits made for the day and it was very exciting. Everyone remembers Alan Pardew's dance when Jason Puncheon scored after coming off the bench. It came from a corner – we had worked on that move in training and he said before: 'That's how we're going to score.' The manager was always telling us about the goal he scored in the semi-final against Liverpool in 1990 so it was his way of celebrating. It showed how close we all were to him. Advertisement Alan was always around the players making jokes and he gave us a lot of confidence. When you went on the pitch you wanted to do everything for him. He would often ask after my family and check how I was settling in. And he helped me with my English – the reason I speak it now is partly because of him. I thought we were going to do it when Punch scored. But it's football; sometimes you just have to accept it. We were so close and hopefully now they will finally win it against City. That would make me very happy. A few months after the final, I was in a car crash that forced me to miss almost two years of football. I was very lucky to get back on my feet and playing games again. I'm still in touch with the chairman [Steve Parish] and he gives me some advice. I'm really close to people who are still there and I feel like the support of the fans helped me to get back from injury much quicker. I really appreciate that. I was the first player from Senegal to play for Palace and that makes me proud. When I go back home you see a lot of Palace shirts everywhere.
BBC News
08-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Ex-Wolves player Geoff Thomas prepares for seventh Tour De France
Ex-Wolves and England footballer Geoff Thomas is riding in his seventh Tour De France this summer to raise money towards clinical leukaemia retired player and former leukaemia sufferer will be part of a team to cycle the full 2,200-mile (3,540km) route across 21 days in June and challenge aims to raise £1m for Cure Leukaemia, with Thomas describing it as the "most gruelling" of his said: "I first did it in 2005, when I was six months in remission - if I could do it then, what's stopping me now?" Thomas, who lives in Worcestershire, received nine caps for the national team, but was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in 2003, a year after he subsequently raised millions of pounds for charity, became a patron of Cure Leukaemia and launched his own charity, The Geoff Thomas said if he could reach the finishing line in Paris in July, setting off a week before the pro riders, it would "eclipse anything" he had ever done on a football pitch. "I don't really think you can do enough training - it's about getting as many miles in your legs as possible, without fatiguing yourself," he said. "I'm just aiming to do the first day, knowing that you've got over 100 miles to do - you've got to survive that, and then take each day as it comes."He described reaching Paris on previous tours as "one of the most enjoyable experiences you can have". "It eclipses anything I ever did on a football pitch, and I was lucky enough to be involved in some great games - it's just a magical time." Thomas announced his decision to take part in the event at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, where he met current leukaemia patient Adam Claxton, 42, from Worcester. Mr Claxton said his own diagnosis the previous year had been "a complete shock"."I'm a football fan, and I remember Geoff as a player - his career was terrific, he had a great run on the pitch and to meet him off the pitch is an honour," he said. "What he's doing is inspirational." Dr Salim Shafeek, a consultant haematologist who previously treated Thomas at Worcestershire Royal, said he was "a real ambassador for people with leukaemia"."It's unbelievable what he's been doing for clinical research over the last 20 years," he added. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
