"Not many people have done that" - Brother Adam praises Simon Yates' triumph at Giro d'Italia despite UAE defeat

If anyone had mixed feelings at the end of the Giro d'Italia it was most definitely Adam Yates. Whilst he managed to see his twin brother Simon win the Giro d'Italia - the race of his dreams - it ultimately meant that Adam and UAE Team Emirates - XRG's work throughout the three weeks did not pay off, and the team lost the pink jersey in the final competitive stage.

"In the end, we did a good race, and I think we can be proud of how we rode. Isaac [Del Toro] is still young, he's 21. I even forget sometimes how young he is," Yates shared with Cyclingnews. "I think he's got a big future ahead of him and for sure many chances like this to come." Yates, not having shown his best legs this season, will most likely take up a more supporting role in the team, specially now with a new leader emerging.

But in Rome, the Briton managed to celebrate and get some pictures with his brother who in all pink. "I'm super happy for him. All those years ago, when he lost the jersey in the last couple of stages, I think it's been in his memory for a long time now. He's tried many times and come up short, but he finally managed to pull it off, so chapeau."

Back in 2018 the two managed to celebrate the Vuelta a España victory as teammates, this time around the dynamic was very different. Interestingly, both are set to ride the Tour de France in support of the two main favourites for the overall win: Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard.

But in terms of palmarès, it is safe to say now Simon is ahead. "To be fair, he's won a lot of races in his career already. It's not easy. He's won a Vuelta, he's won all these races, I don't know how many Giro stages he's got already".

"He's not a bad bike rider;" the 32-year old joked. "Two Grand Tours... not many people have done that, I guess. I need to find one first of all, never mind catching up".