Adam Yates: 'We're coming to the UAE Tour with confidence and three options'

Heading into the UAE Tour as not only the leader of the home WorldTeam, but the overwhelming favourite to take the overall title, there is a lot of pressure on the shoulders of Adam Yates as he continues his season in the Middle East. But a little over a week on from his victory at the Tour of Oman, the UAE Team Emirates man shows no sign of stress at the pre-race press conference.

“We’re coming here with a strong team and confidence, so hopefully we can pull it off,” said a relaxed Yates of repeating his 2020 title. “We swapped some guys around [from Oman], especially this year with the TT [which] makes it a little bit more difficult for me."

As Yates is quick to note, the team’s hopes do not lie solely on his back but are shared by both Jay Vine and Brandon McNulty, who themselves have the pedigree to climb with the best on the race's two summit finishes: Jebel Jais and Jebel Hafeet.

“[With] Jay, this is going to be the first race of his season, but it's usually a race that suits him well, so we actually have three options. We have Brandon here, who obviously won in Valenciana as well, so we have options and it should be a good week.”

In the latter rider, Yates knows that UAE Team Emirates have an ace up their sleeve. McNulty not only won a stage and the overall title at the recent Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, but the 25-year-old is also the reigning American national time trial champion.

UAE Team Emirates did a recon of the stage 2 time trial on Saturday morning, which, at 12.1km in length and over the pan-flat terrain of Hudayriyat Island, looks set to suit McNulty's strengths. Perhaps it may offer the American a handy advantage over the team's GC rivals heading into stage 3's first uphill finish.

"Brandon’s already shown he is flying, so he’s a super good option for us, especially with the TT. He’s going to smash me in the TT, so that’s good for us," Yates chuckled to GCN and other members of the media.

Aside from the time trial, UAE Team Emirates' strength in their home race is self-evident. With Vine and McNulty waiting in the leadership wings, the team can play multiple cards throughout the week - a numerical advantage likened by Yates to the one he shared in Oman with Finn Fisher-Black - and in the team's domestiques, the leaders should have ample protection on the flatland.

"For the crosswinds, we have the big guys as well, we have Mikkel [Bjerg], Vegard [Stake Laengen], Ivo [Oliveira], even [Sebastián] Molano - last year he made the front split on his own," notes Yates. "So we have good guys for the crosswinds, we will try not to make any mistakes and hopefully be there."

Jebel Hafeet awaits well-prepared Yates

The UAE Tour is nothing new for Yates. In fact, the Brit has started each of his last four seasons with the Middle East's only WorldTour race. But for this campaign, Yates strayed from his usual routine and rode the recent Tour of Oman in advance.

As he explained in Abu Dhabi, the 31-year-old's debut in the 14-year-old race was part of a plan designed solely to best prepare himself for the UAE Tour.

"It’s obviously a super important race for the team and I enjoy coming here," said Yates on the eve of the race. "Last year we started with the crosswinds stage and it was a pretty big shock to the system, so I asked to do Oman as a warm-up race and obviously that went pretty well."

Pretty well indeed; Yates won the final stage atop Green Mountain and claimed the overall win in the process. Now on the Brit's to-do list is to repeat his stage-winning feats from Jebel Hafeet last season. Whilst Yates was unable to win the overall at last year's UAE Tour, he did emerge victorious on the race's most iconic summit finish.

In his four UAE Tour appearances, Yates has never finished outside the top three on the climb and will be the man to stop on stage 7 between Bait Mohammed Bin Khalifa and Jebel Hafeet.

© UAE Team Emirates / Fizza

'Hopefully it’s not too windy, hopefully I can do ok in TT and without mistakes, let’s see what happens.'

His track record prompts the question from GCN: why does Jebel Hafeet seem to suit Yates so well?

"It’s not often you have a stage where it’s completely flat and then you go straight up the climb," he responded. "Especially in Europe, it’s usually multiple climbs before, and over here it’s pan-flat and straight into it. That suits me down to the ground.

"I don’t know why, I’ve always been good at it, even when I was an amateur I have always been good at these kinds of efforts."

However, the 2020 UAE Tour champion does note that the finish is not a dream finish, despite his history with the climb.

"To be honest, it’s not a perfect climb for me. Right at the top it flattens off and you still have the little dip right in the final. So it’s not the perfect climb for me but obviously, the track record speaks for itself, I’ve had some good performances and hopefully this year we can also perform at a high level."

Before thoughts turn to the mountains, however, the flatter stages must first be dealt with, and with the Tour of Oman fresh in his legs, Yates will hope that any crosswinds will not prove to be as punishing as last year.

For all the important information about the 2024 UAE Tour, be sure to check out our dedicated race hub for our full preview, the race startlist and much more.