Adam Yates, known for his direct approach, shared insights a month after assisting Tadej Pogačar in winning the Tour de France. He expressed optimism about his own chances in the Vuelta a España. “There’s less pressure here in the Vuelta because we don’t know our level,” Yates told Cyclingnews before the start in Lisbon, where he’ll co-lead UAE Team Emirates with João Almeida. “We haven’t had time for a training camp, and in training, we can have good numbers, but racing is different.”
Yates pointed out the short gap between the Tour and Vuelta this year. “There’s not even four weeks between the two races this time. Those who didn’t do the Tour and trained specifically for the Vuelta might have an edge. It’s going to be tricky.” Saturday’s time trial and the stage 4 summit finish will be crucial in determining the race dynamics.
After the Tour, Yates had a brief holiday before training in Andorra. “My house isn’t at altitude, but the roads and training were good, even if it was warmer than I’d have liked. We’ll see how it turns out.”
The Vuelta’s first week is relatively easy compared to the Tour, potentially allowing Yates to regain form without facing many challenges. However, he noted, “The main issue in this part could be the heat. It’s boiling hot even now,” he commented when speaking to Cyclingnews on Friday, with temperatures in the mid-to-high 30s Celsius in Lisbon. “We’ll take it day by day and try not to make mistakes.”
Yates’ best Vuelta result was fourth place in 2021, and he has done the Tour-Vuelta double before, in 2018. “That was when Simon [Yates’ brother and then teammate at GreenEdge] won the Vuelta, so it was different. I was helping him in a few stages in Andorra.”
This year, Yates and Almeida have their own general classification (GC) chances. “We worked well together in the Tour de Suisse and did good work in the Tour too,” Yates said during a press conference on Friday. “We have different climbing styles but complement each other. I like to attack early, while João paces himself and pushes at the end. We don’t have a specific target; we just want to do our best.”
Almeida added, “If we have a small problem about who’s going to win, it’s not a problem at all. We’ll focus on other contenders.” Both recognised that their key rival would be three-time winner Primož Roglič, despite his claims of lingering injuries from the Tour de France. “He always says he’s at 80% and then outperforms everyone,” Yates said. Almeida agreed, “He often says he’s not good, and then he wins.”
Almeida is particularly motivated, given that the Vuelta starts in his home country. “The support is amazing already, and the next few days will be crazy. I’m super grateful. We haven’t had the best preparation, but I’m in good shape, and our team is strong. We’ll control what we can and push as hard as we can.”
A victory for either Yates or Almeida would mark UAE Team Emirates’ third Grand Tour win in a single season, following Visma’s 2023 achievement. “It would be a nice goal. It’s easy on paper but not in real life. Maybe it’d be easier if Tadej was here,” Yates joked. “We’re under a bit of pressure, but we’ll do our best and aim for the top step in Madrid.”
Main photo credit: Getty
