Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) started his 2020 season with a win on stage 3 of the UAE Tour.

The British climber blew away all of his rivals in the summit finish at Jebel Hafeet after dropping the last survivor from the lead group with 5km to go. Although pre-race favorite Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) fought back in the closing stages, Yates finished more than a minute ahead of the second-place Slovenian to extend his lead. The race climbs the same uphill as Thursday's stage 5, but Yates appears to be in complete control, despite the threat of crosswinds from stage 4.

Yates arrived in Dubai a few days before the race and revealed on the podcast that he arrived earlier than planned to preview the 10km long climb.

Yates made his first attack with 6km to go and it looked like an attack too early, but when David Gaudou and Alexey Lutsenko joined him, it was clear that the trio was in no mood to wait around. Pogacar briefly cut Yates' lead to about 20 seconds, but the gap only widened with 1km to go, and Yates was 1:03 ahead of the UAE rider. In the overall standings, Yates leads Pogacar by 1:07, followed by Luchenko by 1:35 and Gordow by 1:40.

"I knew it was tough, and the conditions were really tough," Yates said after the finish.

"My Garmin showed 37 or 38 degrees all day. It was really hot. I want to thank the team for their support. It's my first race of the season, so I don't know how I'm going to be. You know you are in good shape in training, but racing is totally different. The team supported me and trusted me.

"I came in a couple of days before the race to see the climb and that helped. It worked."

As the race approached the final climb, it was the CCC team that set a frantic pace for Ilnur Zakarin; UAE Team Emirates and Beulah Hansgrohe were the ones who launched the most important attack as the lead group began to dwindle in numbers, and Yates was the one who made the most important move.

"It was a bit windy, so I decided to go early. I just wanted to test my legs and see where I was at. I went full throttle, but luckily no one came with me. It was totally unplanned. There was a lot of jockeying, but I chose my moment."

Stage 4, at least on paper, should be settled in a group sprint, but the threat of crosswinds could test Yates and his team as they try to defend their race lead. Then on stage 5, the race climbs again to Jebel Hafit. Yates will not be given a free ride and may be forced to race tactically if isolated, but with the way he rode on Tuesday, he could win his second race this week.

"We have this climb again, and if we have the same legs, we could win again. I've heard there is a chance of crosswinds tomorrow. But like I said before, we have a great team and some big guys to protect me from the wind and keep me out of trouble," Yates said.

"The next climb will involve more tactics and everyone knows everyone's conditions and level. We just hope we have the same legs."