Yates twins now top of Orica-GreenEDGE class?

Simon Yates will exhaust all superlatives by the end of this year’s Tour, if he rides to Paris in the same style as he rode to Gérardmer La Mauselaine. The 21-year-old neo pro from Bury will already have exceeded the expectations of his Orica-GreenEDGE team – an experience that must by now have taken on the aspect of routine – and can enjoy the rest of his debut appearance in cycling’s greatest race.

His decision to join a then two-man breakaway formed of multiple French time trial champion, Sylvain Chavanel, and Paris-Roubaix winner, Niki Terpstra, spoke volumes for the younger man’s confidence. The prospect of hours in the company of two vastly more accomplished riders at the biggest race in the world may have convinced others to remain safely ensconced in the peloton. Not Yates.

The most telling remark on Yates’ burgeoning reputation came in the post-race comments of Blel Kadri, who told television reporters that he had considered Yates to pose the greatest threat to his ambitions for stage victory and had attacked Chavanel on the Moinats to distance the Englishman. It’s hard to imagine greater praise: Kadri admitting that his modus operandi in seeing off a three-time Tour stage winner was merely to discourage the more dangerous neo pro.

Simon Yates, famously, is a twin, and it is only his brother, Adam, winner of the Tour of Turkey, whose achievements as a neo pro can match his own. Their Australian employers must already be planning the long-term future of the entire team around them. There is talk that Sir Bradley Wiggins might join the Antipodean outfit next season, and the Yates twins could barely wish for a more accomplished mentor, assuming they want or need one. As for Wiggins, if he is seeking a refuge from younger riders with GC ambitions, he might be better advised to look elsewhere.