Orica-Scott GC man benefits to take back six seconds on main rivals
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Carlos Verona and Adam Yates (Orica-Scott) on stage 12(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Adam Yates (Orica Scott)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Carlos Verona with Orica-Scott teammate Adam Yates(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Adam Yates at the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Adam Yates (Orica-Scott) in the best young rider jersey(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
For Orica-Scott, Stage 12 of the Giro d'Italia was meant to be a day for sprinter Caleb Ewan but instead it was a day which favoured its GC rider, Adam Yates. Ewan touched wheels with a rival in the fast run in to Reggio Emilia, breaking a spoke and ending his hopes for a second stage win. Yates meanwhile, was on the good side of a split in the peloton to gain six seconds on his GC rivals as Fernando Gaviria took out stage number three. It was a piece of good luck of Yates who was involved in the 'police moto' accident on stage 9 that contributed to him slipping from third to 16th overall.
"Everything was going well, and Caleb was looking strong, until the final kilometre. The boys had contributed to controlling the break all day and put in some fantastic work in the closing kilometres in support of the sprint," sport director Matt White said of the stage.
"Unfortunately Caleb has hit another rider and has bent his brake pad. When the mechanics received the bike after the race, the wheel wouldn't spin a full rotation. Unfortunately, it's impossible to compete in the sprint with that type of issue."
Ewan's rival Gaviria is enjoying a dream debut on his Giro debut while Ewan has suffered several bouts of bad luck, including pulling a foot from his pedal when in a winning position.
Fourth overall and the best young rider of last year's Tour de France, Yates is making his Giro debut in 2017 and leading the team in just his fourth Grand Tour. For White, Yates' nous in making the front group demonstrated the 24-year-old Brit's fighting spirit and commitment to riding GC despite the stage 9 misfortune.
"We have once again seen that Adam is in good form and is positioning himself particularly well in the finals," he added.
"It's easy for races to split in this scenario and it's great to see Adam on the right side of that. We'll take six seconds any day – bit-by-bit we are chipping away. Our goals haven’t changed."
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Stage 13 of the Giro d'Italia is again expected to suit the sprinters in Tortona but with the possibility of rain, Yates and Orica-Scott will need to be on the front foot ahead of Saturday's key GC stage to Oropa.
