Yates will target Tour stage wins

TEAM Ineos have announced the signing of Adam Yates from next season, bolstering their British contingent in a week when Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas were left out of the squad for the upcoming Tour de France.

The selection of a

Tour squad built around Colombian Egan Bernal, the defending champion, and the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz was seen as a watershed moment for a team which has won seven of the past eight Tours - six with British riders - but the signing of Yates will keep the British influence strong on the team bus.

The 28-year-old Yates will join on a two-year deal from MitcheltonScott, the Australianregistered team where he has raced alongside his twin brother Simon since the pair turned professional in 2014.

“The prospect of riding for a British team is one that I am extremely excited about,” Yates said.

Simon, the 2018

Vuelta a Espana winner, committed his future to

●● Bury-born Adam Yates

Mitchelton-Scott earlier this week, signing a two-year deal of his own, though the brothers have emphasised throughout their careers that they were never a package deal.

Adam is due to race this year’s Tour, which starts on Saturday, though the rider that finished fourth overall back in 2016 will not target the yellow jersey but instead pursue stage victories after seeing his general classification hopes frustrated in each of the past two editions.

Yates has two top-10 finishes in Grand Tours to his name, having come home ninth in the 2017 Giro d’Italia, while he has won a number of week-long stage races and one-day events.