Bury's Yates brothers take first and second places on opening day of Tour de France

Adam Yates beat twin brother Simon to victory on the opening day of the Tour de France to take the yellow jersey and his first Grand Tour stage win in Bilbao.

With their parents out on course, the 30-year-old twins from Bury relived the countless times they raced each other on training rides around the roads of Lancashire as youngsters before Adam got the better of Simon on the short rise to the finish.

The pair, riding for rival teams, opened up a 20-second gap on the chasing group as they descended into Bilbao before Simon said he began to suffer with cramp.

Adam opened up several bike lengths to take the win.

“Honestly, I don’t even know what to say,” Adam said.

“At first I didn’t know if I should work with him, I asked on the radio and they said, ‘Go for it’. I’m speechless.

"I knew he was going good, I speak to him every day. My brother and I are close and to share this experience with him is really nice.”

Adam is back in yellow after enjoying four days as leader in 2020.

Simon is a two-time stage winner in the Tour but the 2018 Vuelta a Espana winner has never worn the leader’s jersey in cycling’s biggest race.

“I’m pleased for him of course, his first Grand Tour stage so I’m ecstatic for him but I also wanted to win,” Simon said.

“We’re quite competitive…I have a fantastic relationships with my brother. I’m really happy for him but I’ll stick it to him in the coming days.”

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