'It's an environment that helps you win, but I'm still the same guy': Scintillating early form not down to dramatic changes at Ineos Grenadiers, says Adam Yates
The Brit took his first victory for his new team, but says he's stuck to what he knows in order reach top form


What does Adam Yates attribute his impressive early season form to? New team, new ideas, in his supposed peak of his career at 28? The truth is none of that.
Instead, the winner of stage three of the Volta a Catalunya is still the same bike rider he always has been, and the fact that he's now racing in Ineos Grenadiers colours and not BikeExchange is irrelevant.
"I was looking pretty good last year too. Nothing's changed," he said at the top of Vallter 2000, the second time in two successive editions he was won at the small ski resort.
"I am just doing my thing and it doesn't really matter what team. It's a great environment and it's an environment that helps you win bike races but at the end of the day I am still the same guy and I want to keep the ball rolling."
It mirrors what he told Cycling Weekly at the start of the day when asked if life inside the British super-team is different on the inside from what it appears from the outside.
"It's just another team," he dead-panned. "Every team can be a little bit different, but in the end it's all the same - everyone's trying to win bike races.
"I'll keep working like I said and hopefully I can try and win a bike race.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"Everything's good. If you've got nothing to say, then it's usually really good and you're not complaining. I've got nothing to say. It's really good.
"Everything is really organised, I've fitted in well. I'm just trying to stay focused, keep working hard and it's working well on the bike so far so I'll keep doing that."
Neither he or his twin brother Simon can be relied on for headline quotes - they let their bikes do the talking.
And right now, his bike is screaming loudly: second at the UAE Tour, seventh in this race's time trial, and now a victory.
"I just like winning bike races. It's good fun," he chuckled. "I train hard and work hard and it's good when you win.
"At the beginning of the day we had options and we used them at the bottom. I felt the moment and I just went for it. It's a good job I did.
"It feels good [to get his first win for Ineos] I came close in UAE and I would have been in Paris-Nice but I messed my face up pretty bad so we decided to take a bit more of a rest, recover fully and come here with good ambitions.
"The condition and the form is still there, I hope I showed that. I am just really happy to win."
Leading the GC by 45 seconds from his team-mate Richie Porte, with Geraint Thomas fourth a further eight seconds back, Ineos are in pole position to win the Catalan race, if they can overcome stage four's shark-tooth profile.
"We all did a good TT so it's about playing the cards and being smart about what we do," he said.
"We go into tomorrow which is much harder than today. There's a couple of big climbs, not just one big one at the end.
"There are three big bergs tomorrow. It's pretty close to where I live so it's convenient and I managed to do the recon the other week so we'll see."
His victory in the Pyrenees puts him alongside Primož Roglič and Tadej Pogačar as the standout GC riders of the early season.
Yates, however, will not be taking aim at a Grand Tour until late summer's Vuelta a España, instead targeting a number of shorter races, with the next set to be the Tour of the Basque Country.
He revealed: "When the team was asking me what I wanted to do, I said I wanted to race a lot in the beginning. It's a lot of racing back-to-back-to-back and it's the kind of style that suits me.
"I did it before in 2019 and it went really well so I wanted to do the same thing and try get some wins.
"We have a lot of big riders and leaders in this team and it's not so easy to be number one, but so far so good."
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
A freelance sports journalist and podcaster, you'll mostly find Chris's byline attached to news scoops, profile interviews and long reads across a variety of different publications. He has been writing regularly for Cycling Weekly since 2013. In 2024 he released a seven-part podcast documentary, Ghost in the Machine, about motor doping in cycling.
Previously a ski, hiking and cycling guide in the Canadian Rockies and Spanish Pyrenees, he almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains. He lives in Valencia, Spain.
-
'It took everything' - Puck Pieterse outclimbs Demi Vollering to win La Flèche Wallonne
Dutch 22-year-old shows Classics pedigree with first one-day victory
By Tom Davidson
-
Tadej Pogačar flies to dominant victory at La Flèche Wallonne
Slovenian takes second win at Belgian classic ahead of Kévin Vauquelin and Tom Pidcock
By Tom Thewlis
-
'It can really push me along' - How a velodrome comeback is making Caleb Ewan faster on the road
Australian says he'll "definitely" continue track work after rekindling passion
By Tom Davidson
-
Could Caleb Ewan be Ineos Grenadiers' first Tour de France sprinter since Mark Cavendish? 'That's my goal'
"All I can do is try to win as much as possible and prove that I deserve to be there," says Australian
By Tom Davidson
-
Can anyone stop Primož Roglič or Juan Ayuso from winning the Giro d’Italia?
Roglič and Ayuso's form suggest they are the two outright favourites for overall victory in Rome next month
By Tom Thewlis
-
'An unprecedented opportunity for brands to be part of the evolution' - Ineos Grenadiers sponsor hunt steps up with sales agency partnership
Sportfive have been employed to find "non-endemic global partners for the team"
By Adam Becket
-
'We've all got a little bit extra in us this year' - Ineos Grenadiers recapture 'fighting spirit' with aggressive Paris-Nice display
British team continue to put tumultuous 2024 behind them with momentum and a new found mentality
By Tom Thewlis
-
Could a TotalEnergies deal be the end of Ineos Grenadiers as we know them?
Reports suggested this week that Ineos could be close to signing a deal with the French petrochemical firm
By Tom Thewlis
-
'They’re racing with their hearts again' - Robbie McEwen on Ineos Grenadiers' bright start to 2025
The British squad have already won four times in 2025
By Tom Thewlis
-
Ineos Grenadiers are entertaining so far this year, but how long will it last?
The British WorldTour squad have won four times already in 2025, but more than that, they have been fun. Is this the new dawn?
By Adam Becket