The Yates twins made headlines on an explosive first day of racing of the 2023 Tour de France after a thrilling duel, with Team Jayco AlUla leader Simon clinching second place to his twin brother in Bilbao.
Training and racing together for their whole lives, it was a spectacle to be remembered as the pair from Bury blew away their competition on the biggest stage, to go head-to-head for the stage win and the first yellow jersey of the Tour de France.
The twins attacked clear of a very select group of general classification favourites inside the final 10km and worked well together to extend their advantage out to almost 20 seconds, as the chase group stalled behind.
Fans watched on from around the world as the almost identical riders fought hard, riding one in front of the other in a synchronised position and riding style. The question was who could win? It was the first time that the pair had ever gone head-to-head whilst racing for different teams, a unique sight for all.
As the gradient increased towards the finish line, Simon continued to set the pace on the front, but when Adam came through inside the final 500 metres, Simon couldn’t respond as cramps began to set in on a hot and humid day in the Basque Country.
The Team Jayco AlUla rider claimed a memorable second place after the historic duel, showing his bittersweet feelings of elation for his twin brother and devastation to miss out on the stage win as he crossed the line. The team now quickly switch the focus to another very realistic chance of glory on tomorrow’s stage two.
Simon Yates (2nd):
“I have a fantastic relationship with my brother so I am really happy for him and I will stick it to him in the coming days.
Over the top of the final climb there was a bit of cat and mouse, Adam came back, he sort of rolled to the front and gave Pogacar the nod as if to say ‘can I go? What’s the situation?’ So he’s gone and I’ve gone across to him and that’s all she wrote really.
At first when he [Adam] saw it was me coming across he was put in a difficult situation maybe. He asked on the radio straight away ‘what can I do? Can I roll through?’ And at first he wasn’t pulling, but I kind of knew that anyway, I knew it was going to be tricky but at the same time I had to take an opportunity.
Normally in a finish like that I wouldn’t beat Pogacar or Vingegaard or these guys in a real fast sprint, so to get away with Adam, I thought maybe there is a chance. It was pretty close, but I had some cramps in the final, it’s a really humid day, so unfortunately he got the better of me, but I’m sure there’s more chances coming up.”
2023 Tour de France Stage 1 – Results:
1. Adam Yates 4:22:49
2. Simon Yates (Team Jayco AlUla) +0:04
3. Tadej Pogacar +0:12
2023 Tour de France GC – Results:
1. Adam Yates 4:22:39
2. Simon Yates (Team Jayco AlUla) +0:08
3. Tadej Pogacar +0:18
Photo: Sprint Cycling
