Adam and Simon Yates' mother said it was always a dream to have a one-two at any race, let alone the Tour de France, so ended up delighted on Saturday evening.
Suzy Yates told Cycling Weekly on Sunday afternoon that her heart was going at a million miles an hour as the twins approached the line in Bilbao on stage one. Adam, who rides for UAE Team Emirates, won the stage and took the yellow jersey, while Simon, of Jayco-AlUla, had to settle for second.
“We were watching the Tour as normal, watched it go past as usual, and we were on our way to the next place,” Suzy said. “We were going to stop, when all of a sudden Adam's partner called and said 'Adam and Simon are away, they've got a gap'. I put the phone down, tried to get it on the TV, I had to get it on the phone, and I was just screaming 'oh my god, oh my god’
“My heart was going at a million miles an hour, and we were still driving on the motorway, so we had nowhere to stop.
“We managed to see them cross the line. I didn't care who won, I just wanted one of them to win. It was my dream to have a one-two, and for this in the Tour is a dream,” she added. “I just wanted them to stay away.”
Both Suzy and her husband, John, joked that the two brothers would have exchanged a fair bit of banter after Adam pipped Simon to the stage win and maillot jaune.
“There would have been a lot of banter afterwards... I'll have you next time, that kind of thing,” she said. “They're so, so close. Even if they don't speak to us for days on end, they're on the phone to each other.”
Mrs Yates explained that no matter what race the twins are competing in, they always get her joint support.
“It's always been a bit surreal,” she said. “It's always hard when they're in a race together, to know who to support. They both get my equal shouting and screaming at the TV, and it's just fabulous.
“I've waited a long time for this. I always tell them it would be really nice to have a one-two. I send them good wishes every morning. Happy days.”
Coming into the Tour, Adam Yates was named as co-leader of UAE Team Emirates with Tadej Pogačar. While Adam has played this down, the team has continued to insist he is a contender for the overall. He is in the yellow jersey, to be fair.
Pogačar suffered a wrist injury at Liège–Bastogne–Liège leading to doubts on how ready he would be fitness wise when the Tour arrived. The two-time winner looked strong on both of the opening stages and despite currently leading the race, Suzy told Cycling Weekly that Adam’s focus would be solely on supporting his teammate once the mountains arrive in the coming days.
“Tadej is his first port of call, so who knows how it will go,” Mrs Yates explained. “He's very strong, he's very tactical, I think he's a bit under the radar. Who knows, why not. I'd love him to keep it a few more days, but who knows.”
