They have cleared a yellow jersey-sized space on the wall at Geraint Thomas’s old school – right next to Gareth Bale’s framed Real Madrid shirt and the rugby jersey worn by Lions captain Sam Warburton.

Teachers and pupils hope it won’t stay empty for long.

Nothing underlines the incredible roll of sporting honour at Whitchurch High School in Cardiff, more than those three trophies.

Thomas, who won cycling’s Tour de France in Paris on Sunday afternoon, was a schoolmate of both football superstar Bale and Warburton, the Grand Slam-winning Wales rugby captain who retired a fortnight ago.

Former deputy head Steve Williams taught sport to all three boys and remembers young Geraint – who now lives the millionaire’s lifestyle in glitzy Monte Carlo – as a “bright kid, with a very dry sense of humour.”

The trio all honed their amazing world class talent on the sports fields of the suburban state school at the same time.

Thomas, 32, was two school years above Bale and Warburton and the walls near the headmaster’s office are already filled with photos of the famous Welsh threesome through the years.

It’s a triple claim to the production of world class sporting stardom that maybe no other school in the world can match.

Steve says: “There’s no secret. We don’t have something special in the water!

“But the school provides a tremendous sporting environment. We back up talented children as best we can.

“We have had lots of sporting excellence over the years, but to have three like Sam, Gareth and Geraint is just incredible. What can you say, other than, wow!”

Young Geraint – already a two-time Olympic champion in track cycling – was a keen 10-year-old swimmer at the Maindy Leisure Centre, near his home in the Birchgrove area of the city.

One day after his swim, he looked over the wall and into the velodrome track next door and decided it looked more fun, and more daring, than breast-stroking up and down the pool.

Geraint joined Maindy Flyers cycling club and head coach Alan Davis says: “Geraint was such a natural talent.

“I remember we would go away to race and he would rarely get beaten. When he did, his attitude was always about what he could do next time to make sure it didn’t happen again. He never threw his toys out of the pram.

“His parents, Howell and Hilary, were a great support and he got all A’s and A*’s at GCSE and ABB at A Level. The Bs were only because he was doing so much cycling by that point.

 

“He got the results when we were away and he said to me ‘It’s OK, I’m going to be a cyclist anyway’. That made me laugh, but if it wasn’t for Maindy Flyers, Geraint wouldn’t be a cyclist today.”

Together, Whitchchurch High School and Maindy Flyers nurtured a champion.

Steve adds: “We always supported him. It was a little more difficult to do that with a cyclist than a rugby player or footballer, but we were led by his dad who was very encouraging.

“At first, just like Gareth and Sam did, Geraint took part in everything.

“He played on the wing for the rugby team in years 7, 8 and 9 but then had to retire from rugby as his cycling took over.

“But I can still see him now running down the home straight to win the school 1500 metres in a record time.

“Like Bale and Warburton, he was an all-rounder and his abilities on other sports contributed to his success as a cyclist, I’m sure.

“He was never one to opt out of anything, but cycling began to take over at about the age of 14.

“He was a gentleman, a tremendous boy. We don’t see a lot of him nowadays, obviously, he’s overseas so much. But I still see a good deal of his father.”

Whitchurch’s Wall of Fame doesn’t end with Thomas, Bale and Warburton, either. Elliot Kear, a rugby league international with Wales, was at the school at the same time and six of the Wales Commonwealth Games team this year were former pupils.

They’re all there, on the wall, with dozens of others. But every picture is the same size.

Super-rich Bale and Thomas, who can expect his earnings to now move into the £3m-a-year bracket, may have the most money.  But they don’t get more frame space than anyone else.

So who’s next on the school’s register of their rich and famous?

Steve adds: “There are a few very promising young sports people coming through now, but you can never tell how far they will go. I’ve predicted big things for some in the past but it’s sometimes never quite happened.

“It’s very hard to know what that vital ingredient really is, that takes someone up to the very top level, the stratosphere.

“The more important thing is those three are all good guys, tremendous role models in their three sports, and people who the school are hugely proud of.

“Like Sam and Gareth, the first thing people say about Geraint is, ‘what a good guy.’”

Like the rest of the staff, Steve was glued to his TV set this afternoon to watch Geraint wheel his way to glory down the Champs-Elysees.

Now, he hopes the first Welshman – and only third Brit after Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome – to win the Tour De France, will help fill that white-washed wall space.

“Fingers crossed, we would love it if he had a spare yellow jersey.

“He can bring it back himself, or we can go to him and fetch it.

“If need be, then I’m very happy to go to Monte Carlo!”