Simon Yates's youth and potential can push him beyond Froome and Thomas | William Fotheringham
17 September 2018 08:56
The Vuelta champion is the youngest recent grand tour winner and can benefit from his team’s new focus on the disciplineSeven years ago, when Simon Yates took his first stage win at the Tour de l’Avenir, Great Britain had yet to win one of cycling’s major tours, although Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome were about to come agonisingly close at the Vuelta a España. Eight grand tour wins later, out of a possible 18, with four different riders, British domination of this side of cycling now seems a given, in the same way that Quickstep Floors are expected to rule the roost in one-day Classics.In winning the Vuelta by 1min 46sec from the surprise runner-up Enric Mas, Yates has finally confirmed the potential he showed back in 2011. It was a timely leap, as the next generation is waiting in the wings: the American Sepp Kuss, so strong in the first two weeks of his first grand tour, Spain’s Mas, the Colombians Miguel Ángel López and Egan Bernal. Related: Simon Yates’s Vuelta a España win offers glimpse of world without Sky | William Fotheringham Related: Simon Yates's Vuelta victory crowns a stunning year for British cycling Born 7 August 1992 in Bury, Greater Manchester. Continue readingread full article
