Adam Yates is putting on a brave face after his bad crash on stage 1 of the Volta a Catalunya, with the Briton hoping he can fight back and go on the attack during the two remaining major mountain stages.
Yates is currently lying 82nd overall after crashing at high speed late on Monday’s opening stage. He suffered abrasions across his body and lost over ten minutes to the other GC contenders, but then finished an encouraging fifth place at Vallter summit finish on Tuesday.
Speaking to Cyclingpro.net and other reporters at Wednesday morning’s stage 3 start, Yates pointed out that he still has two UAE teammates well-placed overall, with Joao Almeida currently running fifth and Marc Soler in tenth.
He did not rule out his own chances either for the two big mountain stages which remain, pointing out that “as I’m off GC, maybe if I attack they won’t chase me.”
Yates' relationship with the Volta a Catalunya has been a wildly uneven one, with Monday’s setback and Tuesday’s more encouraging result at Vallter just the latest episodes.
In 2018, Yates crashed out with a broken pelvis on a stage that was supposed to finish at Vallter but which was reduced in length due to bad weather in the Pyrenees. Yates subsequently won on the same climb of Vallter twice, in 2019 and again in 2021 when he won the Volta a Catalunya outright.
The UAE Team Emirates rider has endured a rollercoaster season start to 2023. He lost all hope of GC success in the UAE Tour when he was distanced in the echelons on stage 1. Yet his fortune improved considerably by the end of the race with a victory on Jebel Hafeet summit finish lifting him back up to third place overall.
“For my whole career, I feel like I’ve had a lot of bad luck, so we’ll keep plugging away and hopefully one day I’ll get some good luck,” Yates said.
“Obviously I’m off GC, but we still have Joao and Marc up there on the classification.”
Wednesday's 180 kilometre stage to La Molina, one of the Volta’s most frequently visited summit finishes and a notoriously tricky climb to handle with multiple changes of gradient and even a lengthy spell of downhill half way up, could offer Yates a chance to bounce back.
As the Briton pointed out, the stage finale is not difficult but with two first category climbs, the Col de la Cruet [km 93] and La Molina itself [km 180.5], sandwiching an 18.7 kilometre Hors Categorie ascent of Col de la Creuta [km 146], the day boded well for some attacking action.
“Today’s a really tough day, we all know this last climb, La Molina, is not hard. But in general the whole day is hard, we’ll see how the guys are and take it from there. If I feel good, and the opportunity’s there, for I’ll try and take it.”
