tour reporter
Adam Yates wins the duel against his brother Simon on the first stage of the Tour de France and slips into the yellow jersey. His captain Tadej Pogacar gives him free rein in Bilbao.
Adam Yates had just passed Tadej Pogacar. But was that really a nod? The Brit preferred to be on the safe side and radioed to make sure that it was okay to drive towards the finish line with his twin brother Simon. “Tadej is the boss,” said Adam Yates later – he was already wearing the first yellow jersey in the 2023 Tour de France: “He’s the best driver in the world and I’m sure he’ll show that in the next few weeks.”
Pogacar wins four seconds
The distribution of roles remains clear with the UAE Emirates team. But no one seriously doubted that. Yates is said to help Pogacar to their third tour win. The fact that he was now able to win the first stage in Bilbao with Pogacar’s blessing because he was able to outperform his brother in the last kilometer was somehow also a triumph for the Slovenian. Not only because of the four bonus seconds that he secured as third on the stage.
All of this was celebrated on the UAE team bus with loud Italian expletives. Because the four seconds give Pogacar a first small advantage in the expected duel with Jonas Vingegaard. There should no longer be any doubts about the form of the Slovenian, who was impaired in his tour preparation due to a fracture of the navicular bone in his left hand. Nevertheless, Vingegaard took the outcome of the race calmly. “Yes, he probably gained four seconds, but the Tour will not be decided in four seconds,” said the Dane, unimpressed.
Adam Yates in the role of noble helper
There are always several levels on which the tour moves. There is the battle for the day’s victory on the one hand and the battle for overall victory on the other. In Bilbao, these two levels intertwined in a very special way.
Adam Yates joined Pogacar’s squad ahead of the season. He should support the 2020 and 2021 tour winner, especially in the mountains, so that he doesn’t get into a situation like last year when Vingegaard snatched his yellow jersey from him on the Col du Granon because his team Jumbo-Visma knocked him out early had driven his helpers isolated and tired.
And already on the difficult first stage around Bilbao with more than 3,200 meters in altitude and the very steep two-kilometer Côte de Pike nine kilometers before the finish, Yates showed how valuable he is for Pogacar. The Brit had significantly reduced the field around the two top favorites by speeding up the pike.
Simon Yates works while Adam clears things up
Pogacar and Vingegaard suddenly found themselves alone in the mountains classification – only with the Frenchman Victor Lafay in tow. But because Vingegaard, unlike his rival, apparently had little desire to get involved in a one-on-one duel so early, some drivers – including the Yates brothers – were able to catch up again, which Adam Yates in turn used to go straight back out to the front.
“When I went to see him, it was a difficult situation for him,” his brother Simon later said. And while Adam, who was five minutes older, asked on the radio how he should behave, Simon worked in the wind to extend the lead over his pursuers. That took strength, which he lacked in the end. “I had cramps in the final,” Simon later reported: “And unfortunately he outsmarted me.”
Simon and Adam Yates don’t usually talk about each other when it comes to cycling. They don’t want to judge the other person’s performance publicly. The twins have a close relationship, have lived and trained together in Andorra for a long time, even if they were on different teams. But this time they almost couldn’t avoid it. “It must be ecstatic for him to win here,” said the beaten twin, and of course he was right. “I’m speechless,” Adam said.
Pogacar feels reminded of 2020
All the more it bubbled out of Tadej Pogacar after the stage. The Slovenian explained that he was very satisfied with the start. “I’m more excited about Adam’s win than if I’d won it myself,” Pogacar claimed. They will now be sure to check whether his team-mate can keep his yellow for the time being or whether he prefers to give the jersey back, which also means that he is responsible for the race.
In any case, Pogacar felt reminded of 2020 in Bilbao. At that time, the Norwegian Alexander Kristoff had won the first stage in Nice for the UAE team and slipped on the Maillot Jaune. In the end, Pogacar’s first tour win. “The machine,” said the Slovenian, “has started.”