“I’m getting older and it’s getting harder but I still have something to give" - Adam Yates ageing like a fine wine as he enters contract year at UAE

Entering his 12th season at World Tour level in 2025, Adam Yates is as good as he ever has been aged 32. Having long been known as a talented climber, since moving to UAE Team Emirates in 2023, Yates has become one of the most important riders in Tadej Pogacar's support train.

“People tell me that my hair’s going grey,” Yates laughs to Rouleur, making light of his age. After all, 32 is by no means over the hill for a rider, but when it comes to competing against the likes of Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel, Yates' extra years don't make things any easier.  “I’m getting older and it’s getting harder and harder to be at this level, but I still feel young, still feel like I have something to give, so every year I work on things that can help me to win."

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With age comes experience though, and by now, Yates is pretty certain he knows how to get the best results out of his body. “I know my body, how it works, when I’m tired, and it’s just tweaking little things here and there," the British talent explains. "On the bike I feel good, motivated, training is going well, and I don’t feel like I’m slowing down.”

After two years as the key man for Tadej Pogacar at the Tour de France, Yates heads to the Giro in 2025, aiming for Grand Tour success of his own. “I’ve been at a high level the last two years and I said to Joxean Matxin (UAE’s sports manager ed.), that I don’t know how long I can keep going at this level, so it’d be good to go back, try one more time and see what I can do,” Yates explains. “We [Matxin and Yates] both had the same idea. They want me to go to the Tour and help Tadej win the Tour, but I think I’ve reached another level, not just in performance but also in consistency. And when you have this kind of level, it’s quite logical that you target big races and try to win them.”

Off the back of another positive season in 2024, Yates enters his contract year with UAE Team Emirates in 2025, and the Brit is looking to move elsewhere. “It was a good season. Six wins, my best ever. I started the season strong in February and still managed to win in August at the Vuelta. It’s not easy to peak all year, and after the crash, it took me a long time to really come back to a high level, but I managed it,” he concludes. “Logically I would stay. It depends on what they want – if they still want me or not.”

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