Adam Yates dropped his twin brother Simon Yates en route to victory in the first stage of the Tour de France on Saturday, while Ontarian Michael Woods stood out with a fifth place.
The Yates brothers escaped about seven kilometers from the finish, and Adam had the last laugh at the finish line. He thus donned the yellow jersey of leader of this race which will last three weeks and which started in the Basque Country, in the north of Spain.
The favorites to win the Grande Boucle, Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, finished among the front runners.
Adam and Simon Yates are on different teams, but that didn’t stop them from discussing their breakaway before launching it.
“We worked together,” admitted Adam Yates. I chat with him every day; we are close. It was a great experience with him. I am speechless, very happy. »
Adam Yates has never won a Grand Tour, but he also donned the yellow jersey during the Tour de France in 2020. Simon Yates won the Tour of Spain in 2018.
Pogacar, double Tour de France champion and teammate of Adam Yates at UAE Team Emirates, climbed on the third step of the podium. The Slovenian led a chasing group that included Vingegaard, the event’s reigning champion who plays for Jumbo-Visma.
Woods of Team Israel-Premier Tech was 12 seconds behind Adam Yates. His teammates, Quebecers Hugo Houle and Guillaume Boivin, finished 90 respectivelye and 111e.
Two of the Tour de France headliners — Enric Mas and Richard Carapaz — crashed with just over 20km to go and required treatment. Carapaz was able to restart despite a left leg injury, while Mas was forced to retire with a shoulder problem.
The first fall of the Grande Boucle occurred after about 100 km, when Torstein Traaen visited the pavement.
Tour de France champion Egan Bernal is back on the Grande Boucle for the first time after nearly losing his life following a horrific crash in training last year in Colombia. He finished 23ewithin the main platoon.
Sprint specialist Mark Cavendish, who needs just one more stage victory to break the record (34), finished at the back of the pack. Cavendish is competing in his last career Tour de France.
On Sunday, the runners will cover more than 200 km between Vitoria-Gasteiz and San Sebastian, in Spain. They will then travel to France on Monday, having started in the Spanish town of Amorebieta-Echano.
The 110e edition of the Tour de France has only one individual time trial, and four stages will culminate in mountainous terrain. It will total a record of 30 category passes, spread over 3405 km, and will include eight stages spread over five different massifs.
This year, participants who test positive for COVID-19 will not be automatically excluded from the race.