Adam Yates, the more Stakhanovistic brother, is awarded the centennial edition of the Volta

The British controlled the last stage without problems, won by the Belgian Gendt and in which Valverde fought unsuccessfully for the podium

Dave Brailsford, the guardian of the Ineos, bet on the more Stakhanovistic twin, the one who treasured the most margin of progression, the one who always ran in the shadow of his talented brother Simon. The British manager chose for this season Adam Yates (28 years old) to strengthen his powerful group from the base, above he had plenty of figures with laurels in the big rounds: Bernal, Carapaz, Thomas, Tao Geoghegan… With Adam I was guaranteed dedication, sacrifice and hunger for triumphs.

The British coach can discuss many things, but not that he has a good eye (and check book) to sign. His engagement with Adam Yates makes him right again. This Sunday the centennial edition of the Return to Catalonia, his first major general victory in a stage round (last year the UAE Tour was scored, abruptly closed by the pandemic). After prevailing in the stage of Vallter 2000, he carried the leader’s jersey with solidity, always covered by an ambitious squad, with Door and Thomas competing for the places of honor, second and third, respectively.

The British runner’s pulse did not tremble at the closing of the round, with the six ascents to Montjuic Castle. The Ineos left the initiative to the adventurers. Thomas de Gendt and Matej Mohoric they fled and fought from afar. In the absence of 25 kilometers he had an advantage of five minutes with the peloton and 30 seconds with a small group where he was Luis Len Snchez, Bouwman and Marc Soler. The escapees endured the harassment and the Belgian veteran (34 years old) was the most astute: he let his partner wear himself out, kept his strength and in a change of pace with 5 kilometers to go, he took Mohoric off the hook. He took the stage victory, the fifth in the Volta. New display of tactical intelligence and courage from the best stage hunter, the one who always runs more comfortable in solitude.

The highlight of the day was behind, with the contest for the podium of Alejandro Valverde, which started with only 14 seconds behind Thomas and four more than Porte. The grandfather of the platoon, tried, with the help of Enric Mas, break the control of the Ineos with accelerations in the ups and downs of the castle. I tried without success.

The Spaniard sought to claim his claim in one of his fetish events (he triumphed three times: 2009, 2017, 2018), but he could not stop his unproductive streak: since the 2019 Vuelta he has not won a stage again. Nor did I find satisfactory sensations Chris Froome, who has not won since the 2018 Giro d’Italia. Now, the Briton observes from the rear positions of the peloton the rise of his compatriot Adam Yates, the less brilliant brother who has adorned a palmars in which there are partial triumphs in Tyrrhenian-Adriatic (in an infernal stage in 2018), Dauphin, Comunidad Valenciana or Pas Vasco.

---