Team Put Tour de France Behind AlUla Tour Win

How the team of Simon Yates put more importance on winning the AlUla Tour than what’s to come in the 2024 Tour de France. Gregor Brown speaks with Yates, William Junior Lecerf, Finn Fisher-Black after stage 5 in #alulatour More race info here: https://flosports.link/4bpAopi

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Oh yeah it’s incredible it’s the first time I’ve really been able to fight for a victory big pressure cooker here more pressure to die boys than the the to of France I’m actually pretty got it stage five alula tour 2024 it’s Simon Yates who gets the win it looks like over fin

Fisher black we don’t know if that’s going to be enough for room to win the general classification William Jr lurf in third place and Rafal Micah who worked for Finn Fisher black there took fourth place out of that fourman move up here at the top of the viewpoint big win for

Simon Yates home team co-sponsor alula riding for JA alula Finn Fisher and L Surf did so much work on that final climb Riders everywhere on the ground we just got to look at Simon Yates stage winner sobrero and his bore Hans gry teammates Simon Yates delivers today there’s finfisher

Black there’s William lurf over there big pressure cooker here with the co-sponsor alula you guys pulling out the victory after Dyan getting sick and going home yeah I mean uh we all knew this last stage will be really good for y uh yeah the GC was a big goal so the

Writers are there the changing room and we just looked at the confirmation on the results of the stage and also the general classification we had Simon Yates William Jr LF and then of course in third place Finn fiser black on the stage and that’s also the GC so a big

Coup for jqu Lula with their co-sponsor being a and also the jco boss Jerry Ryan is here watching the day too so big showing for the sponsors we’re hoping to get a word with all the Riders who were up there in the top today when they get out of the

Changing tent well congrats uh Simon came here did the job for the co-sponsor Lula also a big win for JA as well uh was the pressure on for him and the team to do something here uh I did say to uh the team Before the Race that there’s

More pressure today boys than the the to France and uh really yes uh 12 months ago uh we decided to bring the best Sprinter best uh uh climber uh to here we’re going to win this we planned it 12 months ago and it’s it’s a great to win

In this beautiful part of the world but also to repay our sponsor and they’ve been great supports the last couple of years and you know they picked us up when we probably weren’t traveling all that well and uh um we laid out the plan

Of what we want to do and uh it’s been a great relationship uh um and partnership so the sponsors and the team understands uh kind of the weight you’re putting on this race and how much effort It Takes by the Riders to be ready and be prepared for an early season race well

That’s it it’s very early and uh uh Simon went to the two of down under purely to get informed for this was our goal uh when you you set out with a plan plan um you hope that you can uh execute that plan and today they did it beautifully very marginal very stressful

For me in the team car that was a marginal gain a 2.1 classification race on par or if not better what you’re saying than than the turd France for you for the team for the sponsors it it is it uh it is and uh it’s one of the best

Wins in the the 13 years that I’ve been involved in uh today it’s come true and success you hugged Y at the Finish there what did you say to him well done the plan worked so we’re making our way from up there was the mixone the changing

Tent we got William Jr right here and right up there third place overall finfisher black and further up Simon Yates we’re heading down to the Viewpoint up here and it’s amazing looks all over the valley and down to what is alula which lends its name and sponsors

This tour and puts this Tour on now in the fourth year of this race it was the Saudi tour now it’s see alula tour and up there we have hard to believe but the tours the Race’s oldest ever winner Simon Yates and we just spoke to a team

Owner there Jerry Ryan he’s been with the team forever since it started as green Edge he was saying they put this race on par with the tur of France on how important it was and so 12 months out they started planning for this race and they told the boys be ready they

Brought in Gan they brought in Yates two of their best guns one for the Sprints Yates for the GC grov got sick had to go home but Yates was here and finished off the job but this kid right back here 21 years old winner of the of the young

Lombardia classic in Italy last year rider for quickstep is an upand Comer 21 and blasted away early attack on the clim that really put Simon Yates on the defense and Simon Yates had to play a tactical game and he did and so did UAE by having two men up there in the move

And look at this Viewpoint we’re heading down there right now and Finn Fisher black clearly upset he pinpointed this race and we were speaking about this yesterday morning at heger he was telling us that he really wanted to do something here and this was his

Opportunity and he gave it a great go he got ahead of William Jr on that climb got the bonus seconds at the top but then in that final 8 kilomet to the finish line things played out there was some strategy and Simon Yates used his years to watch the wheels and prepare

For the Sprint and it paid off with the stage win and the 10 seconds and bonus when it all worked out when we did the calculus it was Simon Yates on top so they’re going to do the podium celebration down there and then we’re going to get a chance to hear from them

What a cool shot back there with all of alula back down behind them Simon Yates on top with an early season Victory and he’s got the T of France ahead of him flanked by Will William junr and Finn fer Black Finn you put on an excellent

Show out there worked the climb well got the bonies over William but it wasn’t to be up there in the Sprint even though you had raal with you yeah I mean I was actually like uh I felt good on the climb and this yeah I did a move in the

Final on the climb and then getting the bonuses made me feel pretty confident you know and then I was thinking okay I’m here with the few climbers and then uh maybe yeah maybe I can pull it off in the Sprint but I knew already in the

Back of my mind mind that uh Simon was is fast and uh yeah I definitely wasn’t going into the Sprint overly confident but uh yeah I was thinking I had the edge over them but uh I just opened up the Sprint and just had nothing so yeah

I gave it everything did kind of everything I could to be in the right place but in the end when the Sprint opened up just didn’t have the legs he showed his years of experience in the in the Sprint leading up to it but you showed a lot of skill and tactics there

On the climb first letting William junr go Go free and then hunting him down how did that play out for you there yeah I had a ref of my ear the whole way up the climb and he was kind of just saying like uh he could see every time I got a

Bit excited and like he would just uh say go easy go easy and then we knew that last last like one minute of the climb was going to be super hard and really important and you know any Gap you can kind of bring back in that last

Minute so uh it was just about being patient until the last minute of the climb and coming over the top and getting the bonuses and uh yeah what’s your feeling now uh obviously I’m actually pretty gutted but uh you know it’s it’s like this it’s like the first time I’ve really been

Able to fight for a victory especially in the GC so yeah it wasn’t to be today but hopefully yeah hopefully one day my time will come and and I can fight for the win and you did it you conquered I’m sure there was a lot of pressure on you

How did you deal with that and how did you do it yeah it was difficult uh even even from the start of the race I was feeling the the pressure to before me I I think once we hit the climb um everyone’s kind of watching uh watching

Me I tried to shake them at first but I couldn’t get rid of them so and actually they were stronger than me towards the top so uh yeah I kind of switched to just looking for the stage at that point um I managed to pull that off and I

Think with a bit of look in the the placings I’ve actually managed to take the overall so uh really happy yeah can’t believe it you’re the oldest winner here in the four years um I suppose you used a bit of that kind of age and wisdom when those attacks

Started happening from William Jr and from Finn from Finn fiser black yeah I mean I sawar him go and I still have the likes to follow a little bit but uh like I said before everyone was kind of watching me and I was I was hoping to to

Try and draw someone else out um you know to to do the chasing but in the end I think uh Finn went across on the Steep part and you know I just tried to limit the losses over the top um so then yeah like I said before I

Just tried to focus on the Sprint um I was not really confident but uh yeah if I if I some you know sometimes when I take the or get the right moment I can pull off a good Sprint so today was one of those days and you worked over UAE

Team owner Jerry Ryan said this race is bigger for you guys than the tour to France this year and you guys really aimed at it how did you deal with that and how important is it for you to pull this off for the team knowing that yeah

That’s what I mean talking about the pressure it was uh we were joking about it at the start just you know how much there was really um so yeah really happy but also relieved that I was able to do it me ask a question which impression does ler give you first race is

Professional you knew him William Junior no but I think uh I already saw the confidence of the the team that they showed in him so obviously he’s a massive Talent um and obviously he showed his legs also there on the final he was he was really strong and uh yeah

And I you know in the Sprint there I think uh I thought it was Finn coming up my my on my left or maybe it was was him so also very quick yeah young guy like I he was saying to you guys earlier in the week uh these young guys they coming now

To these races you know um really targeting the smaller races and it’s getting for these for us old the BLS to uh to pull off these wins so uh no happy I could do it what an attack we saw that we thought you were going to pull it off

Uh Finn Fisher black hunted you down you still got second there at the bonies coming to the line what was your plan with the UAE boys having the numbers and the experience of Simon Yates uh By Your Side oh yeah it was it was an incredible

Day for me uh the team did a great job they put me in great position the whole day so I was fresh on the start of the bottom so I want to thank them for that and then yeah I was feeling really well I attacked and uh yeah after Finn came

Back on the top and uh yeah also Micah was there so I know in the last kilometer uh he will pull for the GC of Finn then it was everything uh on the final Sprint and uh yeah I I had the legs I think but uh I waited too long

And I was boxed in so that was quite a bit disappointed for me but still finishing second in my first race in Pro it’s incredible for me yeah in fact I was going to ask do you have any regrets it sounds like you said you waited too

Long in the Sprint would you have time that attack differently or was that exactly how you wanted to go oh no now afterwards it’s it’s easy to say but I had to to go myself uh before to launch the Sprint but yeah now it’s like this

And uh still I’m really happy with the in GC and uh also winning uh the young Jersey it’s it’s incredible what do you take from this oh yeah it’s it’s incredible to start like this uh I don’t know we will see what uh what’s next yeah thanks buddy this is working the

Finish well this is working the Finish area here we got simones over there at the green backdrop a lot of sun in his face uh but that’s how we have to do it with the sponsors in the background at the same time I was keeping an eye off

To the side watching William Jr L Surf because I knew he might try to attack escape from us and I definitely wanted to get a few words in with him and in fact he was going up there but the team DSW day batti stopped him there for we

Were able to get a few words on him his first big Pro Race and he finished his second on the day so even if he didn’t win he’s going to take a lot away from that look at this over here we got the jco alula boys just celebrating relaxing

With the sponsors because it was mission complete for them