Simon Yates expecting hard GC battle with "the usual suspects"

Having won the Vuelta a Espana and showed tremendous form during this year, Simon Yates comes understandibly as one of the big names when it comes to the overall classification of the race, as he carries the responsibilities for Team BikeExchange - Jayco.

When asked about who Yates is eyeing to battle him in the GC, he answered: “The usual suspects. A lot of the guys are coming out of the Giro. I’ve not really been paying attention to the other races that I’ve been doing there in Spain a few weeks ago. We will see. I really don’t know". Yates is no stranger to the competition he'll face, however the main questions should be about his own form and consistency, which many times fail in crucial moments.

“Once we get to Spain, it’s a typical Vuelta. It’s hard every day, and there’s always something that you need to be aware of and switched on for. There’s never any time to rest in the Vuelta. I like that style of racing and getting stuck-in," ," the 2018 winner said. “The Vuelta isn’t like other grand tours when you’re pedaling around doing nothing all day. It’s hard to stay focused mentally. At the Vuelta, you really race every day, and I really enjoy that. That brings out aggressive racing as well. That’s La Vuelta for you.”

Yates was won on several occasions this year, most noticeably the queen stage of Paris-Nice, but also two wins at the Giro d'Italia where he directly beat his competition in a time-trial and the explosive stage into Torino. He did not finish the race however, abandoning with an injury in the final week. “I had to have a long time off with the injury, nearly a full month off the bike. I would have not been in any state to do a good Tour de France, so it was soon a discussion to see how well I could build back up for the Vuelta.”

Here he will find a suiting route. But as in every Grand Tour, it will have a dangerous start. “I just want to get through this first part safely, without any crashes, and after that I hope I can show myself as best as possible," Yates worried. "A lot of it comes down to luck, and I will keep plugging away, and helpfully this will be a good race".

“I’ve won this race before, and I don’t see why there’s any reason not to think I cannot do it again. Of course, it’s never easy, so we’ll have to see how it goes," he added. The team will have it's focus divided between him and sprinter Kaden Groves, and without much of a mountain contingent, Lucas Hamilton is set to be Yates closes and only real support in the mountains.

As most other GC riders, Yates was asked about Remco Evenepoel - who he directly faced at Clasica San Sebastian. “You look at his demonstration at San Sebastián it would be silly to discount him. Of course he is still very young. I think everyone is still saying, ‘three weeks, three weeks,’ but at some point in the future he will be one of these grand tour riders over three weeks.

"This year might not be the year, at some point it’s coming. So we’ll see if it’s this year or not," he concluded.