Adam Yates has won the first stage of the Tour de France. The British cyclist of UAE Team Emirates rode to the finish in Bilbao, Spain, together with his twin brother Simon Yates (Team Jayco AlUla), and sped away from him by four seconds in the last meters. Tadej Pogacar, the Slovenian leader of UAE, crossed the finish line twelve seconds behind in third, cheering for his winning teammate. Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, the leader of the Dutch team Jumbo-Visma, finished ninth in the same group.
The win means that Adam Yates, who is the second leader of UAE behind favorite Pogacar, can wear the leader’s yellow jersey on Sunday. His brother Simon follows in the standings – due to bonus seconds that make the differences in the top of a stage result somewhat greater – at eight seconds and Pogacar at eighteen seconds.
Last slope
For a long time, the favorites remained close together on Saturday. Towards the Côte de Vivero, the toughest climb of the day, Mikkel Bjerg (teammate of Pogacar and Adam Yates) set the pace at the head of the peloton. Closer to the top, the Jumbo-Visma riders took over that role for their leader, Vingegaard.
However, it was not until the last slope of the day, the Côte de Pike, before a decisive attack was placed. More than nine kilometers from the finish, on top of that col, the identical twin brothers Yates rode away. The thinned peloton, including Vingegaard and Pogacar, could no longer catch up with them.
The first stage also immediately made a striking victim. Movistar leader Enric Mas, who rode in the top 10 in 2020 and 2021, was unable to reach the finish; he crashed shortly before the end and had to give up injured.