Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) "got carried away" attacking on the finishing climb of Vuelta a España stage four near Granada, but doing so took precious time on his overall rivals early into the three-week race.
The Brit gained 27 seconds on race leader, Sky's Michal Kwiatkowski (Sky). He moved from ninth to third overall at 10 seconds from Kwiatkowski. Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) is second overall at seven seconds.
>>> Ben King takes breakaway victory on Vuelta a España stage four as Simon Yates goes on the attack
"It wasn't the plan, I got carried away but I felt good and I saw an opportunity there," Yates said.
"Lotto-Jumbo were running a good tempo through the town but seemed to fall apart or slow down a bit and I thought I would keep going and that was it really."
Benjamin King (Dimension Data) won from an escape. Behind, the overall favourites marked each other, including Kwiatkowski, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates).
Yates attacked with around three kilometres left in the 12.4-kilometre climb to Alfacar, north of Granada. Valverde tried to follow, but the 26-year-old was free.
Yates closed at 2-48 minutes from the winner and Kwiatkowski 3-15. Others including Richie Porte and Vincenzo Nibali, both suffering, lost time.
"I don't really know what I was doing. Maybe I was testing the guys and was thinking someone would come with me straight away but that was that," Yates said.
"I didn't mean to. I'm not trying to be cocky or anything, it was just one of those things and when I tried once, I got away.
"It looks like I have gained the time I lost in the other part of the race, in the prologue and the other day with the little kicker, so yeah, it was a good day."
It was a good move for Yates who led the Giro d'Italia for 13 days and won three mountain stages along they way in the pink jersey. He crumbled near the end of the race, stage 19, seeing Chris Froome (Sky) go on to win the race overall two days later.
Thank you for reading 10 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
-
-
Bikes of the Atlas Mountain Race 2023: from comfort gravellers to speed weapons, here’s what caught our eye
Covering 1,300km / 800mi of Morocco’s gravel roads and mountain passes, the Atlas Mountain Race demands a tech-heavy approach for its 3+ days of bikepacking racing
-
British champion Cameron Mason hoping for rain at Cyclo-cross World Championships
British national champion says patience will be the key in what’s expected to be a fast race in Hoogerheide, the Netherlands
-
BikeExchange safe from WorldTour relegation, no more 'scrapping over points to the death'
"The points system is clearly broken" says Matt White, team's head directeur sportif
-
Kristen Faulkner takes a stunning solo win at the Giro Donne
Van Vleuten loses time but easily maintains a commanding lead going into Sunday’s final stage
-
Fresh start for Dylan Groenewegen after comeback victory at Tour de France
Team BikeExchange-Jayco rider is at his first Tour de France since serving his nine-month suspension for causing crash
-
Kristen Faulkner cools down after making a splash at the Giro Donne
The American headed straight for the sea to after winning the stage and taking the Giro Donne overall lead
-
Simon Yates misses out on Tour de France selection
Team BikeExchange-Jayco opt for sprint focussed line-up focused on Dylan Groenewegen
-
Simon Yates abandons Giro d'Italia with ongoing knee issue
Team BikeExchange-Jayco rider won two stages, but missed out on GC challenge
-
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
-
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
