BILBAO, Spain (AP) — Adam Yates pulled away from his twin brother Simon Yates to win the first stage of the Tour de France on Saturday, with race favorites Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard finishing not far behind.

The Yates brothers escaped to the front with about seven kilometers (four miles) to go and Adam had the strongest finish to take the initial yellow jersey in the three-week race that began in Basque Country territory in northern Spain.

Pogacar, the two-time Tour de France champion who is teammates with Adam Yates with UAE Team Emirates, finished third after leading a group of chasers that also included Vingegaard, the defending champion of team Jumbo-Visma.

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports