Adam Yates produced his first win of the season with a decisive attack on stage 4 of O Gran Camiño, taking over the race lead for UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
The British rider made his move with 3.8 kilometres left on the final climb to Alto de Cabeza de Meda and quickly pulled clear. By the finish, he was 46 seconds ahead of Jørgen Nordhagen of Visma-Lease a Bike, with Alessandro Pinarello of NSN Cycling Team third at 1 minute, 4 seconds.
It was a strong ride from Yates on a climb that averaged 9.4 per cent over 5.1km. He began the day fourth overall, but timed his effort well as the general classification fight came to a head.
Before Yates went clear, his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Kevin Vermaerke had attacked first. The American bridged across to two riders ahead on the lower slopes, which gave the team an option before the favourites began to mark each other more closely.
When Yates attacked, nobody could follow. He gradually added to his lead on the steepest section and was alone well before the summit. By the closing metres, the stage win was no longer in doubt.
The result also moved him into the yellow jersey with one stage remaining. He now leads Nordhagen by 34 seconds, while Pinarello is 54 seconds behind in third. Vermaerke sits 10th overall at 3:10.
“It was a super nice day,” Yates said. “Actually it was a hard day with a lot of climbing and technical roads. The guys did an amazing job and I managed to finish it off at the end.”
“The climb at the end was super steep, and when it is this steep you don’t really feel the wind, so it was also quite hot. We went full gas from the bottom. It was a hard climb, a hard effort, and thankfully I was able to finish off the job.”
Yates said there had been expectation on him to deliver on the decisive stage, and that he was pleased to show his form.
“I showed today I was in good shape,” he said. “There was a lot of pressure, not from the team but from a lot of guys, that expected me to perform today. So it was quite tricky to finish it off.”
“I am not comfortable in the race lead but I have been training super hard and super well. I knew the shape was there. I just needed to put everything together and finish off the job.”
Yates now has one day left to defend his advantage and turn a strong stage win into overall victory.
Stage 4 result
- Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – 3:37:18
- Jørgen Nordhagen (Visma-Lease a Bike) +46s
- Alessandro Pinarello (NSN Cycling Team) +1:04
General classification after stage 4
- Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – 11:01:54
- Jørgen Nordhagen (Visma-Lease a Bike) +34s
- Alessandro Pinarello (NSN Cycling Team) +54s
- Kevin Vermaerke (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +3:10
