Eddie Dunbar gets new team mate as Adam Yates joins Team Ineos

As Chris Froome prepares to exit and Geraint Thomas has been dropped from the Tour de France line-up, Team Ineos has strengthened its British contingent with the signing of Adam Yates.

He joins the team, where Ireland's Eddie Dunbar is among the roster, from Mitchelton-Scott, though his twin brother Simon Yates has just extended his contract and will stay with the Australian team.

Adam Yates, who won UAE Tour earlier in the year with a dominant display, adds to the Team Ineos pool of general classification riders, with Egan Bernal and Richard Carapaz already in the team and Pavel Sivakov rapidly emerging.

Chris Froome is set to move on from the team for Israel Start-Up nation next year. Thomas still has another year to run on his contract, but his exclusion from the Tour line-up and the fact he is now aged 34 mean his time with Team Ineos is likely nearing an end.

Dunbar is among a group of riders at Team Ineos that the British squad believes can step up in the next few seasons; Dunbar's 4th place in last week's Giro dell'Emilia suggesting a big win may be just around the corner.

Related News

Lara Gillespie attacks Dolomite stage as Giro hits high mountains

Video - Ireland's Meehan climbs with best on brutal Alpine terrain

The team, which becomes Ineos Grenadiers once the Tour de France starts, said signing Yates was a confirmation of its British identity.

“As a global team with a British heart, Adam’s no-nonsense British character is a perfect fit," said team principal Dave Brailsford, adding Yates was now coming into his prime.

"He knows how to win and his gritty, determined and resilient approach are exactly the attributes we are looking to foster as we assemble the new Ineos Grenadiers to be built on purpose.”

Yates said he was "extremely excited" to be joining a British team, especially after a period in which cycling has gained in popularity in Britain.

“It is an exciting opportunity and one that I feel has come at the right time," he said.

“My results in week-long races and one day races have been really solid but I would like to take that consistency to Grand Tour racing with the Ineos Grenadiers and see where it takes me.”