UAE Team Emirates hit the main goal of the kick-off of the 2023 Tour de France, winning Stage 1 (Bilbao-Bilbao , 182 km) and obtaining the first yellow jersey with Adam Yates, sweetening the deal with the third place by Tadej Pogačar, who paid a visit to the podium for receiving the white jersey.
Yates obtained his first stage victory in the Grande Boucle by preceding his twin Simon (Jayco Alula) on the final hill to the arrival, after that the duo had gone clear from a selected group of top riders at 9 km to go, on the downhill from the Cote de Pike.
Previously, UAE Team Emirates had worked hard in order to set a high pace in the peloton, especially with Mikkel Bjerg, Felix Grossschartner and Yates.
Tadej Pogačar was at the front of the race following main rival Jonas Vingegaard: the two main contenders had also led for some hundreds meters the stage together with the French rider Victor Lafay (Cofidis) on the hill of the Cote de Pike.
Yates’ victory is the 40th seasonal one for UAE Team Emirates, 22nd in the career for the British rider, who spent 4 days in the yellow jersey already in 2020 edition.
Adam Yates:“Honestly, I don’t even know what to say. I’m just super happy. It’s always a big honor and a privilege to win a stage at the Tour de France. We set up the climb for Tadej [Pogacar], and then he attacked… but they looked at each other in the descent, and I came back. Then I attacked from behind and my brother came across to me, so we could work together. At first, I didn’t know if I should work with him, so I asked on the radio… and they told me to go.
“I knew Simon was doing well. We speak every day, as we are very close. To share this experience with him is very nice. He did most of the work at the front, and I could even skip some turns. I wish he had taken it a bit easier, though, as he almost dropped me in one moment!
“I had the Yellow Jersey once, in 2020, and back then it was a special moment. But as of now I just want to keep my feet on the ground. Tadej is the boss. He has proven to be the best in the world. Over the next three weeks, he will show it again. I’m not the leader of the team, but rather a support rider for Tadej. From here on, it’s all for Tadej… and I’m sure we are going to do a good job at taking the race on and gaining as much time as possible with him.”
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.”
Stage 1 Brief Results:
- Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) @ 4h 22′ 49′, B: 10″
- Simon Yates (Team Jayco AlUla) at 4″, B: 6″
- Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) at 12″, B: 4″
- Thibaut Pinot (Groupama FDJ) s.t
- Michael Woods (Israel – Premier Tech) s.t
General Classification After Stage 1:
- Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) 4h22’39”
- Simon Yates (Jayco Alula) +8”
- Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) +18”
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