Tour de France: Brit Adam Yates may hold yellow jersey for a week

Britain’s Adam Yates could keep hold of the Tour de France lead for another week, the route designer and race director said.

Adam Yates may keep the yellow jersey thanks to prudent tactics in the peloton. Picture: Getty Images

Britain’s Adam Yates could keep hold of the Tour de France lead for another week, the route designer and race director said after the summit finisto the sixth stage h in the magnificent Cevennes National Park.

Former rider Thierry Gouvenou explained that the peculiarity of this year’s race and a difficult course were resulting in prudent tactics.

“It’s a very special year and the riders are unsure of exactly where they are physically so that would explain perhaps why today there was no attack, for example,” Gouvenou said of Stage six was won by outsider Alexey Lutsenko.

“It’s more about the circumstance with COVID than it is about the design of the course, which left room for plenty of aggressive riding,” he insisted.

“For the riders its about managing effort,” he said. “Although not much happened on a stage like today with a summit finish, if there had been a huge time difference you’d say the Tour was finished. here at least the Tour isn’t finished.”

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Gouvenou said the two weekend stages in the Pyrenees could also be cagey and play into Yates’s hands.

“In the Pyrenees there are two downhill finishes. We’ll see what comes of that, but I believe the peloton will take that with a certain caution.

“(If Yates) can get past the Pyrenees he can hold it until at least Puy Marie”, Stage 13 on September 11.

“But to sum it up, it's a peculiar year because of the big break, but above all its also a very difficult Tour where the riders are going into the unknown,” he concluded.

Yates, a 28-year-old Briton, also said he might hold on for a few days too.

“Tomorrow should be easy,” said Yates when asked about stage seven, a flat run where he will likely keep the lead.

“I came here to win stages, so once we get to the high mountains I’ll try, maybe in the Pyrenees,” he said.

Yates took second place on the first stage in rain-lashed Nice. With riders falling frequently he chased after eventual winner Julian Alaphilippe and ended the day four seconds off the yellow jersey.

But on Wednesday, Alaphilippe was penalised for a technical error taking on water in the final 20km and being hit with a 20 second time penalty.

When that decision was made, Yates was still in the shower, but hotfooted it back to the podium to pick up a prize he will be hoping he can hold on to.

AFP