Simon Yates to kick off season at Ruta del Sol

18 February 2019 01:54
Mitchelton-Scott's Simon Yates will begin his season at the 2019 Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista del Sol – also known simply as the Ruta del Sol – on Wednesday, and will be joined by his brother Adam, Esteban Chaves and Jack Haig at the mountainous five-day Spanish stage race. While Adam Yates started his season in early February at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, where he took victory on the race's 'queen stage', Simon – winner of the 2018 Vuelta a España – will begin his build-up for May's Giro d'Italia at the Ruta del Sol, which his Mitchelton-Scott team have never participated at before. Simon Yates' last completed race was that overall Vuelta victory in Madrid last September, as he didn't finish at either the Worlds road race or the Giro dell'Emilia, which was his last race in early October.ADVERTISEMENT It's for that reason that Simon says he'll play a support role to Adam and their teammate Jack Haig, with the Australian having also ridden a good Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana to finish seventh overall. Esteban Chaves, meanwhile, used the same race to return to racing for the first time since last May's Giro, having been struck down with mononucleosis in the meantime. "I'm looking forward to starting racing again," said Simon Yates on his team's website. "It's a new race for me, so I'm looking forward to that, and I know some of the roads quite well around Granada, so that also helps. But really I'm just ready to start racing again. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com.read full article

Source: Cycling News