It’s going to be a fun time around the Yates family dinner table in Bury, England.
The pro cycling twins put together an almost identical finish in this year’s Tour de France. Adam will finish third on the general classification while Simon climbed into fourth on the final mountain stage.
The final standings were a total effort from both riders to move Simon from 5th up to 4th where he belongs — right beside his bro.
Adam had third place locked so the only question was could Simon leapfrog Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) on the category one Col du Platzerwasel. The Spaniard had a lead of 18 seconds and stage 20 promised six major climbs in just 133.5 kilometers. Plenty of gradients to put the hurt on and gain time.
Sadly for Rodriguez he and Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) were involved in a hard crash on the descent of the Balon d’Alsace. Both riders had blood streaming down from eye wounds and it’s a miracle they still have both eyeballs intact. They’d remount but not the best way to defend your GC position.
Nevertheless, the Yates brothers were taking no chances. As they rode together up the Platzerwasel, which sounds like German for drunk weasel, Simon started hammering at the front while his brother let a gap open behind. Then Adam drops the fading Rodriguez and rejoins his brother. That’s how you attack, family style.
At this point they proceed to close the gap on the yellow jersey of Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates) and Felix Gall (AG2R Citroën). The two climbed in a mirror image of each other, both their heads and bodies rocking in the same exact tempo. We bet their heart rates were within five beats of each other.
In the final sprint, they finished 4th and 5th but most importantly, Simon now had 34 seconds on Rodriguez. He’d jumped up one step to stand next to his brother.
Adam Yates was born 26 seconds before Simon back in 1992. In the 2023 Tour de France, Adam would finish 87 seconds ahead of Simon. That will be the bragging rights at the Yates family dinner table. Oh, and that two-up sprint on stage one where he beat Simon and took the first yellow jersey.
Leave A Comment