Sunday, June 30, 2024 at 4:30 PM
Video Simon Yates can hardly remember the last time he sat in the barber’s chair, it’s been so long. Due to all the racing, all the travelling that goes with it and the altitude training camps in preparation, it hadn’t happened yet. The Barbershop of Alpecin and WielerFlits comes in handy.
For the leader of Jayco Alula it is already his seventh Tour de France. Ten years ago he was there for the first time. He did not make it to Paris that year. Last year he did. Behind Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogacar and his brother Adam he achieved his best result so far with a fourth place.
“Like last year, I’m going for the general classification once more,” says a relaxed Yates sitting in the Alpecin Barbershop. “But that’s going to be a tough battle once more. There are a lot of strong competitors, but last year I was good. I’ve had an almost identical preparation, so we’ll see. Like last year, the Tour starts off with a few tough stages.”
In the Tour he hopes to realize another big wish. “The yellow jersey is the only jersey I have never had the chance to wear. I was able to win the Vuelta a Espana (in 2018, ed.) and I was in the lead in the Giro d’Italia. After my career I would love to be able to hang all three leader’s jerseys of a grand tour on the wall. I am relatively old now, but I feel that I still have the legs to realize this.”
Every day during the Tour de France, we publish a candid conversation from the barber’s chair in collaboration with Alpecin. In this series, (former) cyclists take a seat in the mobile barbershop of Alpecin Grey Attack to talk regarding their lives on and off the bike, and of course regarding the Tour de France.
