According to UAE Team Emirates, GC contender Adam Yates will continue his protected rider status at the Vuelta a España despite losing nearly two minutes in the early stages.

Yates started the 2024 Vuelta a España as co-leader with Joan Almeida and rode well in the first stage time trial, beating Roglic by less than 20 seconds. However, he lost the most time on the mountain stage of Pico Villillercas, losing over 90 seconds to the Slovenian stage winner. Teammate and co-leader Joan Almeida finished third in the lead group of seven and is now eighth in the Vuelta a España GC standings. For now, with Almeida performing well, they favor a two-pronged attack on GC rather than Yates turning to superdomestiques.

“Yesterday [stage 4] was a special stage, so it's too early to think that,” team manager Jocsen Fernandez Maxin told Cycling News at the start of stage 5.

Maxin added, “Yesterday we raced in 42 or 43 degrees non-stop for about three hours.

“Adam suffered in that heat, but he has good legs. [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...]