Tuesday 5 March 2019 14:39, UK
Adam Yates hopes to banish last season's bad memories and finish the 2019 Tour de France on the podium.
Yates was given the support of his Mitchelton-Scott team last summer as a previous winner - back in 2016 - of the white jersey as the Tour's best young rider.
But, after staying well in touch with the remaining race favourites for the first 10 stages, Yates would drop away in the final week and finish outside the top 25 overall, more than an hour behind winner Geraint Thomas.
Yates went on to support his twin brother Simon to victory in 2018's closing Grand Tour - the Vuelta a Espana - and he hopes to be able to secure a second major title for his family and team.
He has been in encouraging form so far in 2019, finishing fifth at the Ruta del Sol, where he beat Alejandro Valverde on an uphill finish to win a stage as well.
"I'm super excited to go back to the Tour this year. Last year we made some mistakes that cost us and it was a big disappointment, so it'll be good to go back and rectify that," he told the team's website.
"Even though I've got earlier races/targets coming up, in the back of my mind everything I'm doing is build-up for the Tour.
"Already this year the team has been really committed in all aspects and it just goes to show because the results are flowing. Even though the Tour is a long way away at this moment in time and there's a lot of races before we get there, it's a good feeling to see the team working so well so early in the season.
"Obviously 2016 was a highlight for me personally, riding almost two weeks in the white jersey and eventually finishing fourth on general classification was an amazing experience and confirmed to myself that I can ride at the highest level for three weeks."
