Simon Yates is set to complete a dream year for British cycling as he heads into the final day of La Vuelta a Espana with a lead of one minute 46 seconds.
The 26-year-old will also enjoy a little redemption after seeing a winning position slip away in the Giro d’Italia earlier this year.
While he was put under pressure on a thrilling final mountain stage in Andorra, just 97km but with virtually no flat whatsoever, Yates came through to finish third on the stage behind Enric Mas and Miguel Angel Lopez.
That pair should join him on the podium in Madrid after tomorrow’s sprint finale after a dramatic penultimate stage.
Yates’ win completes a clean sweep of Grand Tour victories for Brits, as he follows in the footsteps of Chris Froome in the Giro and Geraint Thomas in the Tour de France.
That feat has only been achieved twice before, and also makes it five successive Grand Tour wins for British riders following Froome’s twin successes in the Tour and Vuelta last year.
And having come so close in the Giro back in May, Yates admits it has taken a while for him to really believe he was going to achieve this feat.
“Finally, I think it's sinking in. I'm incredibly proud, and incredibly proud of the team also. They carried me through the entire three weeks. It's the first GT for the team – it’s just unbelievable,” he said.
“Adam [Yates] was running out of legs and I didn’t want to be in the position where I was riding through the valley to the final climb. I think that could have been the worse situation possible. I knew that Lopez and Quintana were up the road, and Lopez especially had something to gain, so I knew he’d maybe work with me.
“As they say, sometimes attack is the best form of defence.
“In the last climb I was OK, I was really at my limit. Lopez and Mas they were really incredible in the final. I just tried to make my own rhythm. That was it, really. I gave it everything I had and thankfully it was enough.”
Coming into this final stage with a comfortable advantage over Alejandro Valverde, Yates found himself in great position to take his maiden Grand Tour title.
However he had to contend with a very attacking Astana team, who tried to set up Lopez for breaks on numerous occasions.
By the time the leaders got to the penultimate climb of the day, Yates had only his brother Adam for support.
It did not matter though, even when Lopez and Nairo Quintana opened up a little gap. Yates attacked to join him, forming a quartet with Mas also jumping across.
While Yates was dropped by that group on the final climb, along with Quintana, he was able to keep the front two in his sights throughout, eventually coming home 23 seconds behind the lead duo with Mas outsprinting Lopez at the summit of the Coll de la Gallina. Sportsbeat 2018