Tour de Yorkshire: Rising star Adam Yates feels at home across the Pennines on the roads of White Rose

FOR one of British cycling's fastest-rising road stars, the Tour de Yorkshire is close to being a home from home.
Adam YatesAdam Yates
Adam Yates

“My parents live in Bury, so this is almost like my local race,” said Adam Yates, the 23-year-old climber who was 50th in last year’s Tour de France.

“I am super-excited to be here.

“The route doesn’t suit me down to the ground, but there are some really tough stages in there and not just me but my whole team will try something.”

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Yates’s presence, along with his ORICA GreenEDGE team-mates is further indication of the Tour de Yorkshire’s growing status in the sport, in only its second season.

Sunday’s stage three is the one Yates is most looking forward to, a hilly 198 kilometres from Middlesbrough to Scarborough, including six categorised climbs.

“A couple of guys in UK domestic teams have messaged me saying it is really difficult,” revealed Yates.

“The more difficult the better, really. The harder it is and the more climbs there are, the better it is for me.”

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Last year’s inaugural edition of the race shocked some European riders, who regard England as being predominantly flat.

“I think it is similar to the races I have ridden in recently, the Ardennes classics,” observed Yates.

“You have short, steep climbs with no rest in between, no flat. It is tough, especially when the peleton is lined out. If you get caught at the back, it is day over.

“You have to be focused all day and be ready for anything.”

Stage two, from Otley to Doncaster, is likely to be decided by a bunch sprint, but Yates thinks there could be something for him in the opening leg on Friday, from Beverley to Settle.

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“All the stages are tricky or include a climb somewhere that could affect the race,” he predicted. “You have to be focused at all times.”

Yates’s Australian-based team did not ride in Yorkshire last year, but he is glad to be here and has only one regret.

He said: “I just wish they’d had a mountain top finish, then I could really put the hammer down.

“At the moment there’s no stage I could say is a target stage, this is one I could win. When it’s a flat finish it is always a gamble, but it will be interesting to see if the race extends.

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“It is three days now, but who knows in the future – maybe it could go to four days or five days.

“It is a great race. I watched it on TV last year and it (the size of the crowds) was the same as The Tour (de France), there were so many people out on the roads. It is great we (ORICA) are doing this race. We didn’t ride it last year, so I’m really pleased we’ve decided to come over and with it being pretty much my local race hopefully I will have some support on the roads.”

The chance to race in the north is something Yates appreciates. “You have the Tour of Britain and the Surrey Classic, but a lot of the time the racing in this country is in the south, so it’s nice to have something in the north.

“We have some really tough climbs and beautiful roads, so it is great.”

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We also have snow. Parts of the route were white over earlier in the week and the forecast for the weekend is not encouraging, Yates recalling: “I raced in snow last year in Tirreno-Adriatico and last Sunday in Liege-Bastogne-Liege, so I have got some experience now. It’s not just us, it is the same for everyone. You just have to wrap up and stay as warm as possible for as long as possible.”

ORICA regard Yorkshire as a key target in the early part of the season. Once the race has finished on Sunday, attention will turn to July’s showpiece, the Tour de France, which Yates is hoping to ride again after his debut last year.

Of the Yorkshire event, he said: “We have brought a dynamic squad. We are bringing Caleb Ewan and if it comes down to a huge bunch sprint, he is going to be one of the fastest guys, by far.

“We’ve also brought Matt Hayman, who won this year’s Paris-Roubaix, so we have got strength and experience.

“We are bringing a really strong team and, hopefully, we can do something like that. All the guys – not just in our team – like coming to places like Yorkshire and getting stuck in.”