“Oh, that's not difficult at all,” Adam
joked in an
interview with Sporza. “Simon will have told you, but if it happens, we
always talk about it. We are and will remain close and we talk to each other
every day.”
The relationship between the Yates brothers has always been
defined by mutual respect, and competition too. But rarely have their
trajectories collided with so much on the line. For Simon, this Giro is a shot
at redemption, he famously led the 2018 edition with apparent ease before
cracking in the final week and watching Chris Froome ride away with the title.
Now, nearly seven years later, he’s once again in touching distance.
Adam, meanwhile, is one of Del Toro’s trusted road captains
at UAE. He’s working not just for a teammate, but a potential future leader of
the sport. The tension? It’s there, but with a grin.
“I’m happy he's doing very well. As a rival he's a pain in
the ass now, but it’s good for him and for me,” Adam said. “He looks good, but
maybe he's not as explosive as the two guys in front of him. But Simon is good
on the long climbs. Maybe this day suits him better.”
Stage 19, with its long climbs and testing gradients, may be
Simon Yates’ last real chance to close the gap. Adam knows it too. And while
they talk every day, there are no favours exchanged between brothers in a Grand
Tour battle.
“Do we talk on the rides? Always!” Adam laughed. “I always
ask him what his tactics are, but he never tells me.”
“No, it's not an exact science,” Adam continued. “We're
racing and he has to make up time. My job is to defend the jersey.”