Yates set to hold what he has in bid for Giro d’Italia crown

Britain's Simon Yates admits he is likely to adopt a cautious approach during the final five days of competition after he inched closer to the Giro dItalia title in Tuesdays time trial.

Despite finishing in 22nd place, 97 seconds down on winner Rohan Dennis of Australia, Yates was only 75 adrift of Tom Dumoulin, the reigning champion and his closest rival in the general classification.

Dumoulin was expected to take a far greater chunk out of Yatess lead, but the 25-year-old emerged from stage 16, from Trento to Rovereto, with a 56-second advantage in the overall standings.

“Im very satisfied with where I stand now,” said Yates. “Im really happy. I felt good in the first half. I had a good rhythm. I was trying to hold on to my position, but I died in the final 10km.

“Being in the lead after the time trial changes my tactics for the remaining stages. Unfortunately for the fans, I might be more defensive.”

There was also positive news for fellow Briton Chris Froome, who finished the 34.2km course 35 seconds down on stage winner Dennis to move back to fourth in the general classification, three minutes and 50 seconds behind Yates.

Froome said: “Im really happy. I thought I would lose a lot more but I managed to hang on, so Im really happy.”

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CityAM

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