'Last year I got too motivated' - Adam Yates goes again at Giro and Tour in 2026

Adam Yates has confessed that he was short of his best on this year’s Tour de France, but he is set to follow a similar racing programme in 2026. 

Speaking at the UAE Team Emirates-XRG media day in Benidorm last weekend, Yates confirmed that he will again ride the Giro d’Italia before lining up as part of Tadej Pogacar’s guard at the Tour.

Yates placed 12th overall at this year’s Giro, where he rode in support of Isaac del Toro, before he helped Pogacar to overall victory at the Tour in July. In 2026, he will line up with João Almeida at the Giro before turning his attention to the Tour.

“Last year I did too much, I got a bit enthusiastic, got too motivated and put myself in a hole,” Yates told reporters including Domestique. “I started the season quite well but from that moment on, I didn’t really perform. 

“I felt tired and a bit run down and that’s how I went through the first part of the season. I came through towards the end of the season, but by then it’s a bit too late, and the races had been and gone. But it’s a lesson learned and hopefully I’ll be a bit smarter and use my head a bit more next year than the legs, and we’ll see how it goes.”

Yates has been spending his off-season in Australia, and he will return there after the conclusion of UAE’s December camp before starting his season at the Tour Down Under. In February, he will ride the Tour of Oman, where he is seeking a third straight overall victory.

“We’ll have to work out what we’ll do between Oman and the Giro, but we’ll come up with something that works for me and that will get me in top shape,” Yates said. “When I’m in top shape, I’m not a bad bike rider. I’m normally not bad at the start of the season, I’ve won Oman twice, and then it’s about managing the load and doing the right things to arrive in top shape. I’ve not done the Giro too many times, maybe twice, so it’s not something I’ve done a lot or have peaked for a lot, so we’ll see. We’ll see if we can get it right.”

The inclusion of a 40km time trial on the route may have persuaded Almeida to ride the Giro, but Yates said the stage had left him questioning his own participation in the corsa rosa. Yates confirmed that Almeida will be the outright leader at the Giro.

“For sure he’s the absolute leader, but the team want multiple options at every race, and I guess I’m one of those options,” Yates said. “There’s such a long time trial there, so it’s not an ideal course for me, but at the same time it gives me a bit more freedom to get in the breaks sometimes and cause a bit of carnage. 

“I just need to arrive in the best shape that I can and then everything else will figure itself out. For sure I’ll try for GC, but it’s not the number one goal. It’s going to be João, and with the TT there, he’s always performed well in these sorts of races. For sure he’s the leader and I’m more of a back-up, but I think it works really well.”

Yates placed third overall at the 2023 Tour in his first season at UAE Team Emirates-XRG and he remains under contract with the squad until the end of 2028, by which point he will be 36 years old.

“I’m obviously getting older and older and getting a bit more grey on the sides, but I feel young and I feel good,” he said. “I came here to training camp with all these young guys and then you feel old but I’m enjoying it and if you enjoy it then you have morale and you can go for as long as you can.”