(Quebec) Adam and Simon Yates are placed at both ends of the row of onions for the now traditional photo of the headliners of the Grands Prix Cyclists, Wednesday afternoon, in Quebec.
Fortunately, for the past three years, the 31-year-old British twins have no longer raced for the same team, making them easier to identify, both on the road and with a polo shirt on their back.
In Bilbao on July 1, the Yates experienced something of a daydream when they ran away together at the end of the first stage of the Tour de France.
Adam won, although Simon is usually a better finisher.
“Normally yes, but it was at the end of a very difficult day, the first stage of the Tour de France, you are already in the thick of it,” recalled Simon, who has been playing for Australian team Jayco AlUla since the beginning of his career.
Simon took a while to realize what had just happened: “Even during the evening, you see the reaction in the media and everything surrounding this moment. It was really special. »
Thanks to his first stage victory at the Tour, Adam had the honor of wearing the yellow jersey for the second time in his career. The representative of the UAE Team Emirates, who approached the race as mountain lieutenant for Tadej Pogačar, suddenly found himself in the spotlight.
You should have seen him at the start of the fourth stage, in the shadow of the Dax arenas, trying to have a moment of intimacy with his wife Lisa as a swarm of supporters and followers surrounded them. Their dog Zoe, a smiling Samoyed, has become a social media star.
Adam smiled Wednesday when he saw this photo that appeared in La Presse that day, asking to have it sent to him.
“It seems like it’s been so long,” he first reacted. It’s not natural for me to find myself in this kind of situation. But leading the greatest cycling race in the world is a huge privilege and a huge honor. It doesn’t happen every day and we have to take advantage of it. »
The presence of Simon at his side obviously made the experience even more special. In a press briefing after the stage, he said he expected his twin to be “a pain in the ass” in the following days.
Asked about this, the principal concerned assured that everything had gone well on the road… “We are not really rivals, we get along very well, underlined Simon. We teased each other a bit, but it was nothing serious. »
Their parents followed them to Spain in a motorhome. “They are now retired and can enjoy life,” Adam said happily. Simon and I are their only two children. It doesn’t happen every day to see your two boys finish first and second in the first stage like that. It was fantastic. »
The Yates’ coup was not limited to the big start. Even though he constantly chaperone Pogačar until his fatal failure at the foot of the Col de la Loze, Adam managed to climb on the third step of the podium, a personal peak after his fourth place in 2016.
“Initially the strategy was to keep myself well positioned in the general classification, see how it would go and play with that a bit. At the end, the team supported me so that I could try for the podium. That was super nice of him. We had a good race. We didn’t win [Pogačar finished second], but we had two guys on the podium and two stage wins. »
Simon finished strong to move up to fourth place overall, surpassing his seventh place finish in 2017.
“It’s huge,” agreed the 2018 Vuelta and WorldTour points standings winner.
“It’s my best result at the Tour, I have to be happy with it. Beyond that, there is the performance, the numbers. Everyone talks about how performance has exploded. Under the circumstances, fourth was the best I could do. So I took a step. »
The twins, who are neighbors in Andorra, will have different roles for the Quebec and Montreal Grands Prix on Friday and Sunday.
Eleventh in the Maryland Classic last week, Simon will mainly focus on supporting his Australian leader Michael Matthews, crowned twice on the Grande Allée (2018 and 2019) and once on Mount Royal (2018).
“We arrive with a strong team,” said the man who is on his first visit since 2015. “We can be aggressive or we can be quite defensive and try to sprint [in Quebec]. It will also depend on what the other formations intend to do. »
Adam, a regular at the Canadian classics, will also count on a formidable squadron including two former winners in Montreal, Belgian Tim Wellens (2015) and Italian Diego Ulissi (2017). The Swiss Marc Hirschi, former world champion hopeful, also seems to have returned to his best level and the Polish Rafal Majka is an exceptional climber.
“Quebec doesn’t suit me as much as Montreal,” he said. It is decided more by a sprint of a reduced group. Montreal is a little harder. I feel good on the climb. I think I finished in the top 10 in both races last year [7th and 4th]. We wish for the same. »
Identical twin word.
