Two of cycling’s most exciting young climbers, British twins Adam and Simon Yates, will continue their journey with Mitchelton-SCOTT for the next two seasons, despite significant interest from other outfits.
Having joined the Australian outfit at the beginning of their professional careers in 2014, the new agreement continues the original ambitions set by the three parties – to develop into Grand Tour contenders.
Since arriving with the team both riders have finished in the top ten and have won the best young rider jersey at the Tour de France. A podium is the very realistic next step.
This year alone the pair have taken seven UCI WorldTour victories, three of which Simon claimed whilst wearing the Giro d’Italia’s Maglia Rosa for 13 days.
At just 25-years-old and already four and a half years with the team, head sport director Matt White said the partnership had and would continue to be an exciting and successful one.
“The decision was made with our owner Gerry Ryan back in 2013 that we wanted to evolve into a team that could ride for general classification,” White said. “We then went about identifying young talent we believed in and developed them within our unique culture.”
“It’s ongoing process, but we have certainly come a long way in a very short amount of time. In just ten Grand Tour attempts, we have already achieved two podiums and seven top-ten results.
“We are proud of what we have achieved so far and we have an unwavering belief in these two young men. With their returned faith, we know even bigger things are on the horizon.
“Along with Esteban Chaves, we have three of the most promising talents of this generation. That is a very exciting prospect for the team moving forward.”
In May this year, Simon and Mitchelton-SCOTT’s performance in the opening fortnight of racing at the Giro d’Italia was unlike anything of recent times. Their aggressive approach saw the Briton claim three of the team’s five stage victories in the Maglia Rosa.
That performance, along with second overall and stage wins at Paris-Nice and Tour of Romandie in the past two years has caught the eyes of many.
“I’m really pleased to stay with Mitchelton-SCOTT for other two seasons,” Simon Yates said. “As I have said all along, this was never a decision about money, this is about winning bike races.”
“This team has believed in us from the beginning and given us opportunities to ride as leaders in key races from a young age.”
“We’ve had clear ambitions together from the beginning and we have achieved a lot, but we are all hungry for more. I believe more than ever we can podium or win a Grand Tour.”
Fourth at the Tour de France in 2016, Adam Yates has delivered multiple stage wins and top-5 overall performances at Volta a la Comunitat Valencia, Tirreno-Adriatico, Tour of California and runner-up at the recent Criterium du Dauphine already in 2018.
Whilst suffering from a mistake in hydration at this year’s Tour de France, the Briton has quickly switched focus to stage wins before fighting for general classification again in 2019.
“It’s the best option, not just for me but for Simon,” Adam said. “We’ve been with the team from the beginning, we’ve had great success and the team has supported us every step of the way so there’s no reason to change and we are both really happy to stay.”
“We’ve already achieved some great results, we’ve both won the white jersey at the Tour and won a lot of races along the way. The team is still focussed on riding for the GC and we will continue to do that.
“Hopefully we can take the Grand Tour victory that the team want, and that we want. We just have to keep working and it’s going to happen.”
Adam Yates:
Age: 25
From: Bury, United Kingdom
Turned Professional: 2014
Key results:
- 1st Criterium du Dauphine – Stage 7
- 1st Tirreno-Adriatico – Stage 5
- 1st 2016 Tour de France – Best Young Rider
- 1st 2015 Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian
- 1st 2014 Tour of Turkey – General Classification
- 1st 2014 GP Industria and Artigianato
- 2nd 2018 Criterium du Dauphine – General Classification
- 4th 2016 Tour de France – General Classification
- 4th 2018 Tour of California – General Classification
Simon Yates:
Age: 25
From: Bury, United Kingdom
Turned Professional: 2014
Key results:
- 13 days in the Maglia Rosa Giro – 2018 Giro d’Italia
- 1st 2018 Giro d’Italia – Stage 9
- 1st 2018 Giro d’Italia – Stage 11
- 1st 2018 Giro d’Italia – Stage 15
- 1st 2018 Volta Ciclista a Catalunya – Stage 7
- 1st 2018 Paris-Nice – Stage 7
- 1st 2017 Tour de France – Best Young Rider
- 1st 2017 Tour de Romandie – Stage 4
- 1st 2017 Paris-Nice – Stage 6
- 2nd 2018 Paris-Nice – General Classification
- 2nd 2017 Tour de Romandie – General Classification
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