In 1989 he joined the American team, 7-Eleven and took two stages and overall victory in the Tour of Belgium, won the Grand Prix Eddy Merckx and finished second in Gent–Wevelgem. In 1991 Yates then moved to Motorola, where he rode with Lance Armstrong. During stage six of the 1994 Tour de France Yates got into a breakaway and took the overall lead by one second over Gianluca Bortolami. He became only the third Briton to wear the yellow jersey. He wore it for one day and after Bradley Wiggins won the 2012 Tour de France he sold it to him; this has become Wiggins' most prized possession in his collection.[4]
Yates retired in 1996 having competed in 12 Tours, completing nine; 45th was his best placing overall.
Yates spent much of his 15-year career as a domestique. He was powerful on flat stages and noted as a descender of mountains. For a rouleur Yates climbed very well for his weight.
Doping
In 1989, Yates tested positive for anabolic steroids in a doping test in the first stage of Torhout-Werchter.[5] However, his 'B' sample did not confirm the 'A' sample[6] and Yates was subsequently cleared because it was accepted that a labelling error must have occurred and the tested sample was not his.[7]
Following the report in October 2012 from the US Anti-Doping Agency that detailed organised doping in the US Postal/Discovery Channel teams, Yates insisted on BBC Radio 5 Live that he saw nothing suspicious during his six years working alongside Lance Armstrong.[8]
Management career
After retiring in 1996, Yates became manager of the Linda McCartney Racing Team, which competed at the Giro d'Italia. After the team's collapse in 2001, Yates helped set up the Australian iteamNova but left after funds ran out. After six months out of cycling, he joined Team CSC-Tiscali before moving to Discovery, in 2005, at the invitation of Lance Armstrong. In June 2007, Yates was manager of Team Discovery a USA team and, in 2008, went on to manage riders on the Astana cycling team.
In October 2012, he left Team Sky and retired from cycling,[10] with the Daily Telegraph reporting that Yates had been forced to quit after admitting involvement in doping, meaning he did not meet the team's zero tolerance stance on doping.[11] Both Sky and Yates denied these claims with Yates stating that the decision to resign was based on ill health and a desire to spend more time with his family.[12]
After a year away from the sport, Yates took the position of directeur sportif for the NFTO team from the 2014 season.[13] Subsequently, Yates clarified that this role would be limited to the first three rounds of the Premier Calendar and the Tour Series. He was also involved in coaching the Catford CC-Equipe Banks under-23 team, which includes his son Liam on its roster.[14] He was one of their sports directors for Team Tinkoff–Saxo in the 2015 and 2016 seasons.[15]
Since relocating to Spain, he has worked part time as a coaching consultant.[16]
Post-professional racing
In 1997, he won the British 50-mile time-trial championship, and he finished third in the same event in 2005. In May 2007, he said he would not compete as a veteran because of heart irregularities.
In late 2016, Yates had an accident in the course of doing part-time gardening work, and was hospitalised for several weeks. This delayed his plan to move to a small farm near Useras in Spain, where he was living as of June 2020.[16]
In 2022 he was given Cycling Weekly's Lifetime Achievement award, recognising not only his multiple achievements but also a lifetime involvement in the sport.[18]
