Adam Yates confirms himself brilliant in the sixth fraction of the Tour of Switzerland 2024. The climber of UAE Team Emirates he was overtaken on Blatten’s finish only by his teammate Joao Almeida who at the end separated him by 4″ after catching him following the first acceleration of the Briton, who started three kilometers from the finish line. Behind the race leader, who still gains time on all the other opponents, they complete a discovery Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl – Trek) and the constant Egan Bernal (Ineos – Grenadiers). Despite only 42 kilometers of today’s stage, shortened due to the impracticability of the original route and which could have left room for some attackers, the result at the finish line was very similar to that of the past few days with the pair of riders from the Emirati team who showed off a clear superiority.
With only two stages to go, therefore, the discussion for victory now seems to be an internal struggle within the team led by Mauro Gianetti, and the only 27″ that separate the first and second classified suggest that tomorrow, in the tough stage in Villars-sur -Ollon, we will see the fireworks, before the showdown in the final time trial, which probably already seems like a challenge between the two companions.
“The plan since this morning was to go all out with the team – comments the winner of two stages to our microphones after the finish line – Today, like yesterday, Joao was really strong. As far as I’m concerned, maybe I attacked too early, but I felt good, then Joao reached me at the end and pulled me away but I’m happy because it was another great performance from the team and we hope to repeat it tomorrow too.”
A now clear superiority, but which is not entirely a surprise for the class of 1992: “We knew from the start of the Tour of Switzerland that we were both in shape and we proved it. We have shown in recent days that we are fine and that we can both fight for victory. It’s nice for the team to be in this position and we hope to be able to do it again tomorrow.”
A day that could therefore bring new satisfaction: “Tomorrow should be another tough stage, I consider it the queen stage. We start uphill and then there are only ups and downs, no valleys. Yesterday we managed to regroup in the valley, tomorrow it will be more complicated to do so, but I still hope that we can demonstrate our strength and celebrate again”
Despite not yet having the results at hand at the time of the interview, and therefore not yet knowing the gaps, the Briton has quite clear ideas about possible rivals: “I think Skjelmose is the most dangerous, I saw him well today. Furthermore, it will still be cold and it is clear that he likes these conditions. We will also have to pay attention to Ineos Grenadiers who could try to do the full climb again, we’ll see.”
Finally, a comment on the shortened stage, which for Yates was a successful experiment: “It’s nice to see different things every now and then in stage races. We don’t always have to run 200 kilometres, I understand that this is the case for the classics, but in stage races it’s an experiment that could be repeated. I didn’t mind.”
