Simon Yates finished safely in Madrid today to claim his maiden Grand Tour at the Vuelta a España. After winning three stages and wearing the Maglia Rosa for 13 days at the Giro d’Italia, Yates once again won a stage and led the Spanish Grand Tour for ten days, but this time a more conservative strategy saw him take the jersey all the way to the final day in Madrid.

With the lessons of the Giro d’Italia fresh in the mind, Mitchelton-SCOTT set off from the Malaga in the south of Spain three weeks ago with a conservative strategy for its eight-rider team and Yates and the Australian team played their cards to perfection.

26 year-old Yates moved into the race lead on stage nine before relinquishing the jersey three days later to ease the pressure, and it was back on the Briton’s back with an impressive stage 14 victory. Holding it into the final weekend of racing, Yates defending in the only way he knows, attacking on the final two mountain stages to secure the victory.

The 2018 Vuelta a Espana marks the first ever Grand Tour victory for Mitchelton-SCOTT and an Australian-owned team. Formed in 2012 as GreenEDGE Cycling, the outfit conquered week-long races and four of cycling’s five Monuments before taking an ambitious general classification focus in recent years in pursuit of a Grand Tour victory.

In 2014, the team signed three young climbing potentials in Yates, twin Adam Yates and Colombian Esteban Chaves with the ambition of building from the ground up. After a second place at the Giro d’Italia, third at the Vuelta a Espana and fourth at the Tour de France in 2016, plus four other top-10 Grand Tour results since the project began, the 2018 Vuelta a Espana has provided the breakthrough with young talent promising more to come.

With some big races, including the World Championships, to come, 2018 has already been a significant breakthrough for Yates. The Briton won a stage at Paris-Nice and Volta Cyclista a Catalunya in preparation for the Giro d’Italia where he won three stages during a 13-day stint in the Maglia Rosa.

Returning to racing at the Tour of Poland ahead of the Vuelta a Espana, the 26-year-old again claimed a stage victory, riding himself into second overall to match his performance at Paris-Nice earlier in the season. His stage 14 win and overall victory gives Yates eight wins this year and a total of 23 days in a Grand Tour lead.

The jersey winners and the whole Mitchelton-SCOTT outfit toasted a successful Vuelta a Espana on approach to the finishing circuit in Madrid before the race in earnest began. Despite multiple attempts no one managed to get too much distance on the peloton, and an expected bunch sprint resulted with Elia Viviani (Quickstep Floors) the victor.

Simon Yates: “It feels great. Really unbelievable, I think it’s still sinking in. I have no words, it’s just really unbelievable. I like to race on my instinct and I hope that I continue to do so and achieve more big results like today at the Vuelta a Espana.”

“The day I won on stage 14 is probably my favourite moment from the race, getting your hands in the air, there’s no feeling like winning a bike race and that will hold a special place, but also the first stage in Andorra.

“That was the first day I laid everything on the line to try and win this race and I managed to get a bit of a gap and you start to believe that you may have it, so those two days really stand out for me.

“I came back from real heartbreak from the Giro d’Italia and I am still in shock that I’ve managed to pull it off and it will take a while for it to sink in just what we’ve accomplished. I get really nervous up on the stage, but it was a very special moment that I will cherish forever.”

La Vuelta – Stage 21 Results:
1. Elia Vivani (Quickstep Floors) 2:21:28
2. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) ST
3. Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) ST
8. Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-SCOTT) ST

La Vuelta – FINAL General Classification:
1. Simon Yates (Mitchelton-SCOTT) 82:05:58
2. Enric Mas (Quickstep Floors) +1:46
3. Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana Pro Team) +2:04

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here