Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) finished third in the second stage of the Tour de France behind stage winner and yellow jersey winner Julien Alaphilippe and surprise package Marc Hirschi (Team Sunweb).

The trio separated from the peloton on the final Col de Cattleshman climb after Alaphilippe and Hirschi separated before joining Yates. On the descent to Nice, Yates led the pack for the last few hundred meters, with the peloton in pursuit. In a tense finale, Alaphilippe broke away early and held off Hirschi's chase, with Yates taking third.

"I caught up with Julien Alaphilippe and Hirschi and we started downhill. The final wasn't easy with the headwind, they were both faster than me, but I'm happy with third place in the second stage."

The result, which included a valuable bonus second, moves Yates into second place on GC. When asked if he could have changed his tactics to win today's stage, the British climber gave a realistic assessment.

"Maybe one more climb or something would have been nice, but like I said before, in a sprint finish like this with these two guys, I was always going to finish second or third. All in all, it was a good day.

"I rode at a solid pace on the climbs and felt fatigued on the first one. A lot of people were suffering, just like me. The smaller guys didn't contribute much, but in the end it started to work, third place was the best I could do."

Yates' result was second overall, four seconds behind the leader. But for now, the 28-year-old is focused on stage wins. But this is a strange Tour and a race under strange circumstances, so it is too early to assume that he will just sit back and lose time in order to go for more stages.

"Last winter I told the team that I wanted to be aggressive in my first week at the Tour. They allowed me to do that and there are plenty of opportunities for me in the future."

Matt White praised Yates' ride, especially on the final climb, where he chased down the two leaders and gave it his all before the sprint. Mitchelton-Scott's director will be mindful of this rider's performance early in the race, especially with so many opportunities still remaining.

"The second stage of the Tour de France is no ordinary stage and has special bonus seconds. As a result, Alaphilippe won yellow, but it was a great ride today with Adam bridging the two leaders," White said.