Yates: ‘I'm getting better every day'

Ruta del Sol stage win bodes well for Giro hopeful, reports Vern Pitt.

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British Vuelta a España champion Simon Yates professed to be improving each day at the recent Ruta del Sol as he builds form towards the Giro d’Italia in May.

Yates lost time on the first day of racing in Andalusia, Spain, but bounced back to take a commanding win on the queen stage to Granada.

The Bury-born rider said: “Well, it was getting better every day; I didn’t sit up the first day, it was just too fast for me.”

The Mitchelton-Scott rider distanced a group including his brother and team-mate Adam, Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) and Ion Izagirre (Astana) by 26 seconds on the way to victory on stage four. “It’s not easy, I was almost at 200 heart rate and I can tell you now that it hurts,” he said.