"The legs are good and the team is good" - Adam Yates and Joao Almeida show strong form at Tour de Suisse ahead of Pogacar support role at Tour de France
Cycling
In the first mountain test of the 2024 Tour de Suisse, UAE Team Emirates came to the fore through Adam Yates and Joao Almeida. Although the stage win wasn't quite within reach, the duo now sit one and two in the general classification respectively.
"It was quite good. I just came from a camp you know, so I'm happy. Adam did a great job and we did really good teamwork as well," assesses Almeida with a smile in his post-stage interview with Cycling Pro Net, having crossed the line in 4th place behind Torstein Traeen who held on from the breakaway, Yates and Mattias Skjelmose. "It's a bit disappointing at the end, I couldn't get the sprint but I was a bit blocked there. He closed me a bit on the corner but it was just natural, it's okay."
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Whilst Almeida has moved up to second overall, his teammate Yates is now in the Maillot Jaune of overall race leader. "It would have been nice if there was nobody up the road but yeah, I think I showed I have good legs," Yates reflects in his own post-stage interview. "I wasn't too confident about the cobbled section, I get bounced around and it's not nice. But the legs are good and the team is good. So, a good day!"
The fact the two strongest riders at the 2024 Tour de Suisse after four stages are both set to be on domestique duty at the upcoming Tour de France, in service of UAE Team Emirates leader Tadej Pogacar, just shows the embarrassment of riches possessed by that team. As Pogacar looks to reclaim the Maillot Jaune at the Grand Tour after a pair of second places, the strength of the likes of Yates and Almeida could be key.
"Today we were actually meant to be more calm," Yates concludes. "But, I felt good and when you have good legs I think you need to take the opportunities because maybe tomorrow the legs won't be the same. So yeah, we had to try."
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