Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) launched a desperate but amazing attack on the eighth stage of Paris-Nice, which nabbed him the second overall position, his performance was spectacular, to say the least. His attack started at the climb of Col d’Èze, but was held back by the Jumbo-Visma duo of Wout Van Aert and Primož Roglič.
After the race had ended, Simon Yates described his feelings:
I’m not going to win a sprint against Van Aert or Roglič, so I had to try something, and I wasn’t feeling great either. I wasn’t confident to make an advantage, but if you don’t try then you never know. I tried, and there were no real tactics, I just had luck.
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Simon’s attack was aimed for something beyond his comfort, he knew he would not be at an advantage but still had to do it in order to pursue the Slovenian. Yates finished the chase and then ended 29-seconds behind Roglič. Yates was focused on winning the stage, he had nothing else in mind.
He told the media post-race:
I don’t know, I was not thinking about the GC today. I was just thinking about the stage win. Of course, it crossed my mind once the gap really started to go out, but today I was all in for the stage win and that was it.
Including this amazing victory at Paris-Nice, this is him winning the event for the fourth time. But the first one since 2019. In our personal opinion, this is the best we have seen of Simon Yates since last year’s Tour Of The Alps. Yates promised that the best is still yet to come, and warned people to not get too excited over a week’s performance.
Yates once again shared his experience and what lies ahead of him:
The Giro [d’Italia] is still a long way away, at least as far as I’m concerned. Of course, I’m very happy with my performance this week, it’s been good. I do Catalunya next as well, which is not far away, so hopefully another good performance there.
I think I’m really happy with the stage win, but the time trial was the best one I’ve done for a long time, so of course, I’m very happy with that performance there.
Yesterday I think it took us maybe 40 minutes to do the final climb, more of an aerobic effort. Obviously the conditions as well. I don’t like racing in the rain or the cold but I had a lot of clothes on today. Maybe after the long descent into Nice that’s where I gained a little bit maybe, I kept a lot of clothes on.
The eighth stage of Paris-Nice took a toll on everyone, even Roglič could not breathe properly after crossing the finish line. Maybe Yates might be able to win the pink jersey ahead, after all, his form is definitely better than most of the riders. Let’s see what lies in store for him, stay tuned for more updates!
Also Read: Roglic Earns Redemption At Paris-Nice, Praises Van Aert For Undying Support
Featured Image Via YouTube/ Cycling Pro Net
