'We're not here to make excuses, Yates couldn't follow', says Mitchelton-Scott director
Simon Yates' Giro hopes took a big blow on stage 13, although his team say it isn't lost yet


Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) just "couldn't follow" his 2019 Giro d'Italia rivals on the first summit finish at Lago Serrù. He lost 2-03 minutes, but the team is not trying to make excuses.
After finishing stage 13 above 2,200 meters, the race still has eight stages to cover. Yates slipped behind early, moving to 5-49 minutes behind top favourite Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma).
>>> Five talking points from stage 13 of the Giro d’Italia 2019
"It's not lost yet, but it's not ideal," sports director Matt White said.
"He was really struggling in the last kilometres to the line. It's not the situation that we planned on being in, but it is what it is, so we will change our tactics accordingly. We are not here to make excuses.
"[Yates] couldn't follow those guys in the last couple kilometres."
The sun shined on the stage, but the mood was not good in the Mitchelton-Scott camp. The 26-year-old Briton would not speak immediately after the stage about the day. He cleaned off and then rode to anti-doping, where he sat as workers tore down the stage furnishings.
"He really suffered the last couple of kilometres, it went from very good to struggling in a very short period time," explained White.
"I was speaking to him with 20km to go, and he said he was fine, and things turned upside down on us very quickly."
Yates, who also suffered in the time trial on Sunday, drifted behind with 14km to climb in the 20km ascent. He never returned, and slid behind pink jersey Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates), who had been dropped earlier.
It was a surprise given Yates raced so well in 2018, winning three stages and leading for 13 days and winning the Vuelta a España overall.
"I will talk to him once we get back to the hotel," added White. "It sure went from being very good to not so good in a very short period of time."
Yates also lost around three minutes on the time trial to San Marino.
"I am not sure if it's the same problem as the TT, two very different efforts — 11C, 25 minutes in rain, today high altitude — we'll discuss it tonight," White said.
"We'll talk to the guys tonight and go from there. We have a strong team here, but our leaders have struggled a bit up to now, but it's a long race to go. There are always surprises in the Giro."
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.
-
-
Men on motorbikes 'leered at me' and 'tried to knock me off my bike': Attacks leave female cyclist close to quitting
Jen George went on to win the National Circuit Championships, riding on “anger, frustration and raw emotion”
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Fake Strava segments reveal location of secret Israeli military intelligence bases
Israeli disinformation watchdog identifies fake user uploading bogus segments to spy on personnel in top-secret installations
By Simon Smythe • Published
-
Simon Yates abandons Giro d'Italia with ongoing knee issue
Team BikeExchange-Jayco rider won two stages, but missed out on GC challenge
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Simon Yates wins stage 14 of the Giro d'Italia with late attack
The British rider picked up his second stage win of this year's race
By Pete Trifunovic • Published
-
Simon Yates to target stage wins after ending general classification challenge at Giro d'Italia
Team BikeExchange-Jayco rider to hunt stage wins in final two weeks
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Injury and heat see Simon Yates drop out of Giro d'Italia contention
Yates says he'll assess his injury after Monday's rest day
By Richard Windsor • Published
-
'I just tried to go as fast as possible' — Simon Yates on his Giro d'Italia time trial win
Team BikeExchange-Jayco rider beat Mathieu van der Poel by three seconds
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Simon Yates refuses to comment on being among Giro d'Italia favourites: 'I’ll let you guys make that decision'
Yates also refused to enter into any chat about being tipped as the bookies' second favourite to win the race
By Ryan Dabbs • Published
-
Simon Yates aims for podium at Giro d'Italia
Team BikeExchange-Jayco build team around Briton as he chases top-three again
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Kaden Groves sprints to victory on stage two of Volta a Catalunya as crosswinds and crashes impact race
BikeExchange-Jayco win second stage in a row but Simon Yates loses time after crash
By Adam Becket • Published