The rider

Adam Yates is no longer introduced as a coming force, which may make him more useful than ever. He has worn yellow, won a Tour stage, stood on the podium in Paris and spent enough Julys near the sharp end to understand the difference between ambition and panic. For UAE, he is the elder statesman of the mountain guard: a rider who can pace deep into the final climb, mark a dangerous move, or step into leadership if the race turns chaotic. He brings memory as much as power.

His 2023 Tour remains the reference point for what he can be at this race. Winning the opening stage, wearing yellow and finishing third overall proved that Yates can handle both pressure and the rhythms of a three-week GC battle. Since joining UAE, that individual pedigree has been folded into the Pogačar project. He often becomes the final high-altitude bodyguard, the rider whose tempo hurts everyone else just enough that Pogačar's attack lands on already-thinned legs.

The subtle value is trust. Leaders need helpers who know when to empty themselves and when to leave one more effort for the next kilometre. Yates has the experience to make that judgment without drama. In the Pyrenees and Alps, he will not be chasing headlines unless the race gives him freedom. His job is to turn the steepest sections into controlled territory for Pogačar, and few riders in the peloton are better suited to that hard, thankless, decisive work.