Mitchelton-scott shelve Tour GC ambitions to back Yates’s Giro bid
Australian team will target stages in France,
Mitchelton-scott have announced they will not be targeting the yellow jersey at this year’s Tour de France, as they go all in for the Giro d’italia with Simon Yates.
The Brit wore the pink jersey for 13 days in 2018 and came within two stages of the win before his dramatic collapse. But the 27-year-old proved himself a Grand Tour star by dominating the Vuelta a España that year to win his first three-week race.
Mitchelton-scott sports director Matt White said: “The focus for us at the Giro d’italia will be to support Simon Yates as best as possible, to help him achieve the optimal result we can as a team and ultimately try to win the race.
“For me, the Giro is the most physically demanding Grand Tour, so having a strong team around you certainly makes a difference. The team we will send will be a deep one and I’m confident Simon will have great support across all facets of racing.”
The Australian Worldtour team had their most successful Tour to date last season, taking four stages after the initial disappointment of losing their general classification chances as Adam Yates’s challenge wilted. This year they will eschew those GC goals in favour of chasing stage honours in France.
Explaining the team’s approach to the Tour, White said: “After the success of last year, we want to chase stage wins at the Tour de France. We rode an aggressive style of racing last year and we want to continue in that vein this year.
“The stacked GC field can affect stage opportunities, but it can also create opportunities. It’s no secret the strongest squads are Team
Ineos and Lotto-jumbo but once the GC is stabilised, there will still be opportunities because no one wants to control the Tour de France for 20 days; you just have to pick the right moments.”
White said that the team are recceing stages and that the best chances are after stage 10, when the race leaves the Pyrenees as the GC picture will be more settled.
Meanwhile, Geraint Thomas has confirmed his run in to the Tour de France. He told Welsh TV channel S4C he will start his season at a three-day stage race in France, most likely La Route d’occitanie from 1 August, alongside Egan Bernal.