"When he said I could go, I went for it" - Adam Yates thrives at Romandie as Juan Ayuso cracked

Juan Ayuso started the day in the lead of the Tour de Romandie and Adam Yates ended in the yellow jersey. UAE Team Emirates have played their cards perfectly in the race, and the Briton jumped into the race lead this afternoon after he proved himself the strongest up Thyon 2000.

“We said from the start that we wanted to help Ayuso as best we could to keep the jersey as long as possible. He has been doing well the last few days, after he was seriously injured. We did everything we could to help him, but he said it himself: he still needs to get in shape. When he said I could go, I went for it. I tried it and went full through to the line. I am very happy."

In the final ascent Ayuso initially looked in control, but as Team DSM pushed the pace it became apparent that the Spaniard didn't have the legs on the day. In such a brutal climb a recovery seemed impossible, both Yates and Rafal Majka stayed in the front group as Ayuso had already hinted that his form wasn't the best. Yates looked in control as he responded to the attacks of Romain Bardet, and with just over four kilometers to go he himself made a move, dropping the rest of the competition.

He was chased by Thibaut Pinot late on, but kept a high pace all the way into the line and took his second win of the season. “We are riding very strong as a team this week. One more day to go, hopefully we can keep the jersey," he continues. "I had some bad luck in the last few races. In the Vuelta a Catalunya I had a bad crash, so after that I took some rest and prepared myself again. Now we are here.”

The final stage of the race is mostly flat and unless something weird happens Yates shouldn't be put on the back foot. He heads into the last day of racing with 19 seconds of lead of Matteo Jorgenson and 27 over Damiano Caruso who should complete the podium.

On his teammate Ayuso, Yates had nothing but completements. “He will definitely win big races. With five or six kilometers to go he said to me: 'Adam, you can try to go for the win.' From then on I did my best to win," he concluded.