Adam Yates, riding for Tadej Pogacar’s UAE Emirates team, took the first yellow jersey of the 2023 Tour de France after an extraordinary breakaway with his twin brother, Simon, on the hilly 182km circuit based on Bilbao in northern Spain.
Chased by a select group of favourites on the descent of the final climb, the Côte de Pike, Adam Yates was joined by his brother, leader of the Jayco AlUla team, on the approach to the finish, but climbed clear.
“My brother came across with me and we went together,” he said. “At first I didn’t know if I should work with him, but I asked on the [team] radio and they said ‘Go for it.’”
The identical twins entered the final kilometre of the stage with a few seconds advantage on a group that included the defending champion, Jonas Vingegaard, of the Jumbo-Visma team, and Pogacar, winner of the 2020 and 2021 Tours.
Although the twins worked well together to distance their rivals, any sibling sentimentality was forgotten in the final 300 metres. “I’m ecstatic for him, but I also wanted to win,” Simon said. “I’ll try to get the better of him in the coming days. I have a fantastic relationship with my brother, so I’m really happy for him.”
“We are really close and to share this experience with Simon is really nice,” Adam said. “He almost dropped me at one moment, but I’m just super-happy. It’s an honour and a privilege to have yellow. But we’re here for Tadej, the boss. He’s the best in the world.”
The early break of five riders, Valentin Ferron, of TotalEnergies, Jonas Gregaard, riding for Uno-X, Pascal Eenkhoorn of Lotto Dstny, Simon Guglielmi of Arkéa Samsic and Lilian Calmejane, racing for Intermarché Circus-Wanty, was kept within touching distance by the peloton, until the speed ramped up in the final 50km and they were reeled in.
The sting in the tail came on the final climbs. On the first of them, the second category Côte de Vivero, 30km from Bilbao, many riders, including Mark Cavendish and his fellow sprinters, were definitively left behind.
But a high-speed crash on the 60kmh descent towards the final difficulty, the Côte de Pike, left pre‑race podium contenders Enric Mas, of Movistar, and the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz, riding for EF Education EasyPost, wincing in pain.
Carapaz, winner of the 2019 Giro d’Italia, battled to the finish with bloodied knees and pain etched into his expression, but Mas, who injured his back, became the first rider to abandon the race. Carapaz is being treated by medical staff before a decision is made about his continued participation.
The intensity of the finale at least revealed the truth of Pogacar’s fitness, two months after he suffered a broken wrist. The Slovenian, who had said he had restricted mobility and was less than fully fit, sparred with Vingegaard on the key climbs and then won the group sprint in Bilbao.
To most onlookers, Pogacar seemed in flying form and his jubilant mood at the finish will be buoyed further by the knowledge that Yates may now remain in the race lead for some days to come.
The Tour’s first stage, particularly one as demanding as this, is always a barometer of form and while Yates, Pogacar and Vingegaard appeared to be on point, others seemed less assured.
Ineos Grenadiers had only one rider, Spain’s Carlos Rodríguez, in the front group, while Tom Pidcock and the 2019 Tour winner, Egan Bernal, finished further adrift, 33 seconds behind Yates.
But it was a good day for the resurgent French rider Thibaut Pinot, who, while partnering his younger Groupama-FDJ teammate David Gaudu, looks to be back to his best in what is set to be his final Tour.
Cavendish, like most of the sprinters, came in over 20 minutes after the Yates twins, but his focus will already be turning to the first likely sprint finish to stage three in Bayonne.
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Huge and enthusiastic crowds greeted the Tour as the convoy rolled through the Basque Country, before looping back to the finish in Bilbao. But the party atmosphere of the Grand Départ has been overshadowed by the civil unrest in France, with the Tour arriving in France on Monday.
The race organiser, ASO, has confirmed it is in constant contact with the French government, and ready to adapt the course should the situation worsen. “Of course we are concerned,” said Pinot’s sports director Philippe Mauduit, when asked about the possibility of the Tour being disrupted when it arrives in France.
“It is down to the organiser and the French government. We will just have to follow what they ask us to do.”
