Simon Yates vows to put on a show in Herald Sun Tour

Simon Yates has vowed to put on “a bit of a show” in the Victorian Alps as he sets his sights on the Jayco Herald Sun Tour.

Simon Yates is looking forward to stretching his legs in the Victorian Alps

Simon Yates has vowed to put on “a bit of a show” in the Victorian Alps as the British star sets his sights on the Jayco Herald Sun Tour.

Yates is the main attraction at the 67th edition of Australia’s oldest stage race and Mitchelton-Scott’s Grand Tour winner is ready to play showman.

His stage will be a course that includes Falls Creek and Mount Buller for the first time in Herald Sun Tour history in a gruelling prospect for the peloton.

“I’m really looking forward to it because all the climbs so far have been really short,” Yates said.

“The Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race was a two-minute climb and then the longest climb I’ve done racing-wise was Willunga Hill (at Tour Down Under) and we went up there in six minutes. So I’m looking forward to stretching the legs.”

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Yates’s version of “stretching the legs” is enough to break the legs of many, with the 2018 Vuelta a Espana champion the clear favourite on his first trip Down Under since 2014. His main competition on the slog up Falls Creek and Mount Buller is expected to come from Team Sunweb trio Michael Storer, Jai Hindley and Rob Power and EF Education First’s Lachlan Morton.

“I’ll do the best I can and yeah, I know the area well enough,” Yates said of the state’s northeast.

“I did a training camp there when I joined the team in 2014 and we stayed in Bright for a couple of nights.

“So I’ve done a bit, but it’s obviously been a while since then.”

HERALD SUN