Tour de France 2020 – Adam Yates’ tactics questioned after losing three-way battle on Stage 2

ByEurosport

Updated 30/08/2020 at 21:27 GMT

Adam Yates took third on Stage 2 at the Tour de France – but should he have ridden differently?

Sprint / Arrival / Julian Alaphilippe of France and Team Deceuninck - Quick-Step / Celebration / Marc Hirschi of Switzerland and Team Sunweb / Adam Yates of The United Kingdom and Team Mitchelton - Scott / during the 107th Tour de France 2020, Stage 2 a 1

Image credit: Getty Images

Eurosport expert Brian Smith questioned Adam Yates’ tactics in the finale of Stage 2 at the Tour de France.

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Yates (Mitchelton–Scott) finished third after breaking clear with eventual winner Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck–Quick-Step) and Marc Hirschi (Team Sunweb) on the final climb.

But Yates conceded in his post-race interview that he was “never going to win a sprint”, prompting Smith to ponder on The Breakaway why he had committed so gamely to the break.

Yates: ‘I was never going to win that sprint’

Yates and Alaphilippe shared the lion’s share of the workload to keep the peloton away, with Swiss youngster Hirschi occasionally ducking out of his efforts on the front.

“Sometimes you’ve got to be prepared to lose everything to win,” said Smith.

“He never chanced it and decided, ‘I’m going to sit in. Alaphilippe, this is your stage. If you want to win it, you go and win it. I’m not riding with you.’

“Hirschi was trying to dodge a little bit but Adam never dodged a turn. I always think: ‘How am I going to win? How’s that rider going to win?’ And he never chanced anything.

“He knew he was going to be beaten [in a sprint] so why not just sit on and try something? He didn’t and he just missed out.”

One theory, briefly floated by presenter Dan Lloyd, is that Yates is saving himself for a GC push – although the Brit insisted in the build-up to the Tour that he was prioritising stage wins.

Meanwhile, Alaphilippe moved into the yellow jersey and dedicated his victory to his late father. He held the leader’s jersey for two weeks in the 2019 Tour.