Yates in shock after historic Vuelta victory

Clean sweep for British riders in grand tours in extraordinary season

Simon Yates said he was still “in shock” after bouncing back from “the real heartbreak” of his Giro d’Italia collapse earlier this season to claim his maiden grand tour victory at the Vuelta a Espana yesterday and complete a historic treble for British cyclists.

Yates’s implosion at the Giro in May, just days from the finish in Rome, was spectacular and very public. But after Chris Froome swooped to claim that race in his stead, and Geraint Thomas won the Tour de France in July, Yates’s win in Spain caps an extraordinary season for British Cycling.

Only twice before have riders from the same country won all three of cycling’s grand tours but this is the first time it has been done by three different cyclists.

Yates’ victory, meanwhile, will be the fifth grand tour triumph in a row for Britain, with Froome having also won last year’s Tour and Vuelta.

There were no British winners in any of the first 259 grand tours, yet following Yates’s victory in Madrid this weekend a British rider has now been victorious in nine of the last 20.