'It's an environment that helps you win, but I'm still the same guy': Scintillating early form not down to dramatic changes at Ineos Grenadiers, says Adam Yates
The Brit took his first victory for his new team, but says he's stuck to what he knows in order reach top form
What does Adam Yates attribute his impressive early season form to? New team, new ideas, in his supposed peak of his career at 28? The truth is none of that.
Instead, the winner of stage three of the Volta a Catalunya is still the same bike rider he always has been, and the fact that he's now racing in Ineos Grenadiers colours and not BikeExchange is irrelevant.
"I was looking pretty good last year too. Nothing's changed," he said at the top of Vallter 2000, the second time in two successive editions he was won at the small ski resort.
"I am just doing my thing and it doesn't really matter what team. It's a great environment and it's an environment that helps you win bike races but at the end of the day I am still the same guy and I want to keep the ball rolling."
It mirrors what he told Cycling Weekly at the start of the day when asked if life inside the British super-team is different on the inside from what it appears from the outside.
"It's just another team," he dead-panned. "Every team can be a little bit different, but in the end it's all the same - everyone's trying to win bike races.
"I'll keep working like I said and hopefully I can try and win a bike race.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"Everything's good. If you've got nothing to say, then it's usually really good and you're not complaining. I've got nothing to say. It's really good.
"Everything is really organised, I've fitted in well. I'm just trying to stay focused, keep working hard and it's working well on the bike so far so I'll keep doing that."
Neither he or his twin brother Simon can be relied on for headline quotes - they let their bikes do the talking.
And right now, his bike is screaming loudly: second at the UAE Tour, seventh in this race's time trial, and now a victory.
"I just like winning bike races. It's good fun," he chuckled. "I train hard and work hard and it's good when you win.
"At the beginning of the day we had options and we used them at the bottom. I felt the moment and I just went for it. It's a good job I did.
"It feels good [to get his first win for Ineos] I came close in UAE and I would have been in Paris-Nice but I messed my face up pretty bad so we decided to take a bit more of a rest, recover fully and come here with good ambitions.
"The condition and the form is still there, I hope I showed that. I am just really happy to win."
Leading the GC by 45 seconds from his team-mate Richie Porte, with Geraint Thomas fourth a further eight seconds back, Ineos are in pole position to win the Catalan race, if they can overcome stage four's shark-tooth profile.
"We all did a good TT so it's about playing the cards and being smart about what we do," he said.
"We go into tomorrow which is much harder than today. There's a couple of big climbs, not just one big one at the end.
"There are three big bergs tomorrow. It's pretty close to where I live so it's convenient and I managed to do the recon the other week so we'll see."
His victory in the Pyrenees puts him alongside Primož Roglič and Tadej Pogačar as the standout GC riders of the early season.
Yates, however, will not be taking aim at a Grand Tour until late summer's Vuelta a España, instead targeting a number of shorter races, with the next set to be the Tour of the Basque Country.
He revealed: "When the team was asking me what I wanted to do, I said I wanted to race a lot in the beginning. It's a lot of racing back-to-back-to-back and it's the kind of style that suits me.
"I did it before in 2019 and it went really well so I wanted to do the same thing and try get some wins.
"We have a lot of big riders and leaders in this team and it's not so easy to be number one, but so far so good."
Thank you for reading 20 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
A freelance sports journalist and podcaster, you'll mostly find Chris's byline attached to news scoops, profile interviews and feature writing across a variety of different publications. He has been writing regularly for Cycling Weekly since 2013.
Previously a ski, hiking and cycling guide in a number of places, but mostly in the Canadian Rockies and Spanish Pyrenees, he almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains.
He lives in Valencia, Spain.
-
'I'd love to be an F1 driver': Get to know GB track sprinter Emma Finucane
World sprint champion tells Cycling Weekly about her earliest Olympics memories, drinking coffee in Jakarta, and her passion for F1
By Tom Davidson Published
-
'I felt like I was the worst rider in the bunch' - Simon Carr dispels doubt with longest ever solo win at Tour of the Alps
Brit triumphs from lone 45km breakaway, after days of battling allergies
By Tom Davidson Published
-
'It was time to change': No regrets for Rod Ellingworth after leaving Ineos Grenadiers
New Tour of Britain race director says he is still on good terms with Dave Brailsford after resigning from team last year
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'I’m just here to enjoy it': Tom Pidcock on his surprise Paris-Roubaix appearance
British rider was a late addition to the Ineos Grenadiers team for the race across the pavé
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
The art of peaking with Geraint Thomas: 'It’s easy to take for granted that 9 times out of 10 I hit my goals'
The Welshman also calls for better governance in the sport to help it grow further
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers’ 500th victory was claimed by a woman; why do they still not have a team?
The British squad is one of the richest in cycling - but Ineos still won’t stump up for a women’s team
By Adam Becket Published
-
'This is so much more than a number': Six of the best Ineos Grenadiers wins as team claims 500th race victory
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot took the 500th team win at the weekend
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tom Pidcock 'wouldn’t be surprised' to see attacks before the Poggio at Milan-San Remo
British rider will lead the line for Ineos Grenadiers alongside Filippo Ganna
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers delighted with Egan Bernal’s late cameo on stage one of Paris-Nice
Colombian snapped up key bonus seconds in the general classification battle on run in to Les Mureaux
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
‘It doesn’t change anything’ - Tom Pidcock’s coach on Tadej Pogačar at Strade Bianche
Kurt Bogaerts says the pressure is off for Pidcock as he looks to defend the title he emphatically won last year
By Tom Thewlis Published