Adam Yates

Adam Yates

Yates at the 2015 Tour of Alberta
Personal information
Full name	Adam Richard Yates
Nickname	The Shadow[1]
Born	(1992-08-07) 7 August 1992 (age 29)[2] Bury, England
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	58 kg (128 lb; 9 st 2 lb)
Team information
Current team	Ineos Grenadiers
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Climber
Amateur teams
2011–2012	UVCA Troyes
2013	CC Etupes
Professional teams
2014–2020	Orica–GreenEDGE[3][4]
2021–	Ineos Grenadiers
Major wins
Grand Tours Tour de France Young rider classification (2016) Stage races Volta a Catalunya (2021) UAE Tour (2020) Tour of Turkey (2014) One-day races and Classics Clásica de San Sebastián (2015) GP Industria & Artigianato (2014, 2017)

Adam Richard Yates (born 7 August 1992) is a British road and track racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Ineos Grenadiers.^[5] The twin brother of Simon Yates,^[6] Adam Yates placed fourth overall at the 2016 Tour de France and won the young rider classification, becoming the first British rider to win that classification, one year ahead of his twin brother Simon.

Early life and amateur career[]

Adam and Simon took up cycling after their father John was injured in a collision with a car while riding – during his recovery he took the twins to Manchester Velodrome to track sessions run by his cycling club, Bury Clarion, to keep in touch with the other members.^[7] Both brothers soon started riding on the road for Bury Clarion and on the track for Eastlands Velo. Whilst Simon was selected for the British Cycling Olympic Academy programme, Adam pursued his road racing career in France with financial help from the Dave Rayner Fund.^[8]

Yates finished second by just 55 seconds to Spanish rider Rubén Fernández in the general classification of the 2013 Tour de l'Avenir whilst representing the British national team.

Professional career[]

Orica–GreenEDGE/Mitchelton–Scott (2014–2020)[]

2014[]

Having spent a successful season with French amateur team CC Etupes, he joined the Australian UCI World Tour team Orica–GreenEDGE along with his brother in 2014.^[9] In his first professional race, the Tour de San Luis in Argentina, Yates finished eleventh overall and first in the young rider classification.^[10]

Yates at the 2014 Tour of Turkey, where he achieved his first professional victories

Yates' breakthrough results came at the Tour of Turkey in late April and early May 2014. He had been one of the team's protected riders for the general classification, along with his brother.^[11] On the third stage, he became the team's de facto team leader, after Simon crashed out of the race, resulting in a suspected broken clavicle.^[12] Yates was the only person to follow an attack by Rein Taaramäe on the final climb to Elmalı, and ultimately finished the stage in second place, six seconds down on Taaramäe after he had attacked again in the closing metres.^[13] After two stages that suited the sprinters, Yates achieved his first professional victory on the sixth stage, finishing at the House of the Virgin Mary in Selçuk. A reduced peloton had formed on the final climb from which Yates attacked with around a kilometre remaining. Yates held off the chasers – led home by Davide Formolo and Davide Rebellin, two seconds in arrears – and was able to take the leader's blue jersey from Taaramäe, who crossed the line seven seconds behind Yates.^[14][15] Yates held the race lead until its conclusion in Istanbul two days later; he extended his lead by a further four seconds on the final stage, as there was a split on the run-in, with only a 28-rider group being given the same time as stage winner, Mark Cavendish.^[16] He later described the victory – the first British overall win at the Tour – as "unexpected", having set out with the ambition of winning stages.^[17]

Yates next competed at the Tour of California. After being passed on the road by Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) on Stage 2, the 20-kilometre (12-mile) individual time trial around Folsom, he finished fourth on Stage 3, which finished on Mount Diablo, and fourth on Stage 6, which finished on Mountain High.^[18] Yates finished fifth overall in the general classification, 2 minutes and 14 seconds behind the winner, Wiggins. Yates' impressive^{[according to whom?]} form continued at the Critérium du Dauphiné, where he placed eighth on the first mountain top finish on Stage 2.^[19] He finished third on Stage 5 after launching a late attack with Wilco Kelderman (Belkin Pro Cycling), and again finished third on Stage 8, a mountain-top finish at Courchevel. Yates finished the UCI World Tour race sixth overall.^[20]

Orica–GreenEDGE decided not to select Yates for the Tour de France, and he instead was rested for a few weeks.^{[citation needed]} He returned to racing at the GP Industria & Artigianato in July, which he won to take his first one-day professional victory.^[21] Yates made the lead group at the Clásica de San Sebastián with Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team), Bauke Mollema (Belkin), Joaquim Rodríguez (Team Katusha) and Mikel Nieve (Team Sky), but crashed heavily on a descent with 3.5 kilometres (2.2 miles) remaining, missing out on the chance of his first World Tour victory.^[22] He made his Grand Tour debut at the 2014 Vuelta a España,^[23] which he managed to complete, finishing 82nd overall.^{[citation needed]}

2015[]

Yates riding at the 2015 Tour de France

He was named in the start list for the 2015 Tour de France.^[24] He finished seventh on Stage 8, which finished on the Mûr-de-Bretagne,^[25] and seventh on the first mountain stage, Stage 10, which finished on the Col de la Pierre St Martin in the Pyrenees.^[26]

On 1 August 2015, Yates took his biggest victory to date by winning the Clásica de San Sebastián after attacking on the final climb as leader Greg Van Avermaet of BMC Racing Team was involved in a crash with a race motorcycle, and holding off the chasers on the descent into San Sebastián. In the confusion after Van Avermaet's crash Yates did not realise he had won, so did not initially celebrate when crossing the finishing line.^[27]

2016[]

Yates (centre) wearing the white jersey as young rider classification leader, at the 2016 Tour de France

Yates was selected to ride the Tour de France. On Stage 7, Yates broke clear of the leading group of GC contenders on the descent of the Col d'Aspin, but was involved in an accident when the inflatable Flamme rouge marking 1 kilometre (0.62 miles) remaining of the stage deflated as he rode underneath it. Yates suffered cuts to his chin requiring stitches, but after the stage results were revised to give him the 7 second advantage he had over the peloton with 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) to go, Yates rose to second overall and took the white jersey as leader of the Young rider classification from Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx–Quick-Step).^[28] On Stage 9, which was the first mountain top finish of the race at Andorre Arcalis, Yates finished tenth, leading home a select group of GC contenders including Chris Froome (Team Sky), Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team), Richie Porte (BMC Racing Team) and Dan Martin (Etixx–Quick-Step).^[29] This meant Yates sat second overall going into the first rest day, 16 seconds behind Froome, and led the young rider classification by 39 seconds. He was unofficially in the Maillot Jaune with a lead of eight seconds over Chris Froome following the initial results of the stage on Mont Ventoux. Froome, Porte and Bauke Mollema were involved in a crash with a motorcycle and eventually the race jury controversially decided to give all three riders the same time as Mollema, which kept Froome in the lead. Yates finished the Tour in 4th place 21 seconds behind Nairo Quintana's podium place. Nevertheless, Yates clinched the white jersey over 2 minutes ahead of Louis Meintjes (Lampre–Merida).^[30]

2017[]

Yates at the 2018 Tour de France

He was named in the start list for the Giro d'Italia, finishing 9th after being caught up in a crash in the early stages of the tour. He was narrowly edged out of the young rider classification victory by Bob Jungels, during a final stage time trial.^[31]

2018[]

Yates came second in the general classification at the Critérium du Dauphiné, having won stage 7.^[32] He was Mitchelton–Scott's leader at the Tour de France, but finished 29th in the general classification. He came second on stage 16, having crashed while in the lead on the final descent, and was passed by mountains jersey wearer Julian Alaphilippe.^[33]

2019-2020[]

Yates finished second in the general classification at the Volta a Catalunya,^[34] and won stage 3.^[35] Prior to this, Yates finished second overall at Tirreno–Adriatico, losing the race lead, by one second to Primož Roglič, in a final stage individual time trial.^[36] Yates was again the team leader for Mitchelton–Scott at the Tour de France, supported by his brother,^[37] but he repeated his 29th-place finish from the previous year.

During the COVID-19 shortened 2020 cycling season his most important result was at the Tour de France where he finished in 9th place overall. Following a penalty by Julian Alaphilippe early in the Tour Yates took over the yellow jersey as race leader. After being informed he was now the race leader he said, "Nobody wants to take the jersey like this. I was on the bus and we were about to leave for the hotel when I got the call... tomorrow I'll give it everything to defend the jersey..."^[38], which he then did for four stages.

Ineos Grenadiers[]

In August 2020, Yates signed a two-year contract with Ineos Grenadiers, from the 2021 season.^[39]

Early in the 2021 season he placed 2nd at the UAE Tour and then won the 2021 Volta a Catalunya. He did not ride in the Tour de France, but he did compete in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo where he earned a top 10 in the road race.

Major results[]

General classification results timeline[]

Grand Tour general classification results
Grand Tour	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Giro d'Italia	—	—	—	9	—	—	—	—
Tour de France	—	50	4	—	29	29	9	—
Vuelta a España	82	—	—	34	45	—	—	4
Major stage race general classification results
Race	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Paris–Nice	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Tirreno–Adriatico	—	9	19	DNF	5	2	—	—
Volta a Catalunya	23	—	—	4	DNF	2	NH	1
Tour of the Basque Country	76	DNF	32	—	—	5		4
Tour de Romandie	—	—	—	—	—	—		—
Critérium du Dauphiné	6	20	7	—	2	DNF	17	—
Tour de Suisse	—	—	—	—	—	—	NH	—

Classics results timeline[]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Adam Yates (cyclist).

• Adam Yates at ProCyclingStats
• Adam Yates at Cycling Archives
• Adam Yates at Team GB
• Adam Yates at the International Olympic Committee
• Adam Yates at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)