WOW! The final of the first stage of the Tour de France gave rise to a fratricidal duel in Bilbao
- Twins Adam and Simon Yates finished first and second in the inaugural Tour de France stage, raced around Bilbao on Saturday.
- The two British climbers, aged 30, trapped the competition 8 kilometres from the finish, before playing for the stage victory and the yellow jersey.
- By winning for the fourth time this season, Adam Yates returns to the yellow jersey, which he had already worn for four days in 2020.
We remember the brothers Andy and Fränk Schleck, together, on the podium of the Tour de France 2011. We will now remember the Yates twins, giving way to everyone in the final of the first stage of the 2023 edition. the family that held until the finish, Adam then ahead of Simon. Like in a dream.
The two brothers took advantage of a moment of hesitation, after climbing Pike hill, to extricate themselves from the group of favourites with just over 8 kilometres left to cover. Logically, the leader of the formation Jayco AlUla and the lieutenant of Tadej Pogacar collaborated, successfully, since they held the pack, led by the Jumbo-Visma team, at bay. It was only 400 meters from the line that the duo fell apart, when Simon found himself unable to keep up the pace, leaving Adam slipping away to victory, and the yellow jersey.
Competitors for three years
The two brothers have long raced under the same jersey, with the Australian team Jayco AlUla, which was called Orica GreenEDGE when they turned professional in 2014. “They could replace each other in the night, without us realizing it,” laughed Tom Dumoulin. They remained teammates until 2020 before Adam cut the cord by leaving for INEOS Grenadiers. “It’s very special to be able to share that with him,” smiled the winner this Saturday at the microphone of France TV.
“We saw each other this morning before the stage, he asked me what we were going to do but I couldn’t tell him, he explained. At first, I asked on the radio if it was my job to work, it’s still a competitor! Tadej told me to go, I started and it paid off. Simon was inevitably more mixed. “I’m really happy for him but at the same time, it’s disappointing for me. It was close, ”he slipped, alternating English and French – ten years ago, he wore the jersey of the Etupes club, located in the Doubs.
“There, I really feel like I deserve it”
Second in the Tour Down Under in January, and fourth in Paris-Nice in March, Simon had not run since his retirement from the first stage of the Tour de Romandie, due to gastric problems, at the end of April. He had already won two stages of the Tour, in 2019. Not Adam, who had revealed himself by finishing fourth overall and white jersey in 2016, before wearing yellow for four days in 2020.
“There, it’s different, I really feel like I deserve this jersey,” he explained, referring to the circumstances of his takeover in 2020. He then recovered the yellow by taking advantage of a penalty imposed on Julian Alaphilippe for out-of-area refuelling. Recruited by UAE to prevent Pogacar from finding himself as isolated as last year in the mountains, Adam confirmed all the good people thought of him when he saw him win the Tour de Romandie and finish second in the Dauphiné, behind Jonas Vingegaard.
Pogi made no mistake crossing the line with his arms raised as if he himself had won. “It’s a team victory, welcomed the Slovenian. All year round the guys work for me. There, Adam has an opportunity and seizes it, it’s a dream! “The new yellow jersey recalled that he was there” for Tadej “. But like his brother, he will be brought to play the leading roles. Be careful, one Yates can hide another.
