Adam Yates to the 2018 Tour de France, Simon and Chaves do Giro and Vuelta
Dec 15 2017 08:24 pm CET
Photo of the Orica-SCOTT jersey by Orica-SCOTT
Orica-Scott has announced that Adam Yates will return to the 2018 Tour de France while his brother Simon will share leadership with Esteban Chaves in the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España.
The team, which will be known as Michelton-Scott from 2018, has announced the plans for the three grand tours. Adam Yates, who finished fourth in the 2016 Tour de France and took the white jersey, will be accompanying Caleb Ewan in his debut at the French race.
"We’ve made it no secret that the next progression for us is to win a Grand Tour, while at the same time challenge our riders," said sports director Matt White. "With this in mind we have some exciting goals to chase across the board in all three Grand Tours and that means stage wins and general classification targets."
"It feels good to be going back to the Tour de France and I am very excited about the challenges it will bring," commented Adam. "The Tour will always be a special race for me having watched it growing up through to getting the opportunity to race it for the first time in 2015."
Chaves will try to repeat a season like 2016 in which he finished second in the Giro, third in the Vuelta and took the victory at Il Lombardia. "The Giro d’Italia really suits Esteban’s characteristics in general," explained White. "He loves the long climbs and because he grew up at high altitude, the higher the road goes the more comfortable he becomes. Next year's edition also doesn't have as many time trial kilometres as past years and this is also beneficial for Esteban's ambitions in May."
"I love racing in Italy. Italy gave me the hardest moments in my career but also the most beautiful ones, so I am happy to go back to Italy to race," commented the Colombian. "There are just 44 kilometres of time trialling and this was one of the reasons for the team’s choice and my choice to do the Giro d’Italia."
Simon Yates will make his debut in the Giro d'Italia after having finished in the top 10 of the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. "To keep progressing as a rider I think you need to challenge yourself in different ways, and riding the Giro instead of the Tour de France is one of these ways," affirmed the Briton. "It will be an extremely difficult race and I look forward to the new challenge."
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