‘It's good to be back’ – Adam Yates rebounds from illness to set Tadej Pogačar up on Tour de France stage 19

Adam Yates made a Lazarus-like recovery to get into a breakaway on stage 19 of the Tour de France, and launch Tadej Pogačar to victory on Alpe d'Huez.

At the end of stage 18, it seemed very much as though Yates’ entire race was done. Clearly unwell, UAE Emirates-XRG’s British rider had survived the stage but he looked, frankly, awful.

Less than 24 hours later, at the end of a brutal 127km mountain stage, he popped up to play a stage-changing lead-out role for Pogačar, who became only the second rider ever to win on Alpe d’Huez in the yellow jersey, and he set a new record on the climb while he was at it.

Clearly exhausted, but looking like a different man compared to the way he presented the previous day in Orcières-Merlette, Yates even managed a brief laugh when asked immediately after the finish if he felt reborn.

"Reborn is a strong word," he said. "I'm still suffering a lot. It's quite obvious we have had some illness in the team, and the last few days have been really difficult. Even just to finish the stage has been really hard. We knew we would get through it, but it takes time."

From the bottom of the infamous hors catégorie climb, making its first appearance at the Tour since 2022, the UAE Emirates-XRG team knew Pogačar had several minutes to make up on the leaders, and that success would depend on who they had in the break.

Despite the fact that he was still feeling the effects of his illness, Yates stood up, although he admits there was some serendipity in how things panned out.

“I didn't mean to be in the break actually, I was up near the front marking some moves, and suddenly there was a space,” he admitted to reporters. “Yeah, it was good - I got a bit of a head-start on the climb, and then the guys came from behind and you know what happened.

“I would have liked [the pull for Pogačar] to have been a little bit longer, but like I say, I've been struggling for the last few days with illness, and just to be back in this kind of shape, and to be back at the pointy end of a race is nice.

“When you're sick the only thing you pray for is health, I read the other day, and that's true. It's good to be back, and hopefully I'll be even better tomorrow.”

One thing is clear, regardless of whether there has been sickness in the squad, a mere malady isn't likely to stop Pogačar's relentless pursuit of his fifth Tour de France title.