On Sunday, Australian rider Simon Yates finished his first Tour de France. It was difficult for the Orica GreenEDGE Cycling rider who has suffered from bronchitis. But he confirmed he is still made a massive improvement.

"I’ve come a long way considering what has happened in this Tour", he told Cycling Weekly. Last year, he had to leave the race after two weeks. "I feel physically better. Even if I’m really tired now. At this point last year, although I was already home by now, I reckon I wouldn’t have been able to make the breaks on these sorts of days."

He added he finished the Tour de France with only 75 per cent of his shape. "We had easy days, but it was physically hard for me. My body wouldn’t let me go any harder. It’s a shame."

"I’m no where near ready for the GC," Yates said. "I still have a long way to go, three years maybe, until we target that. Maybe we won’t even start with the Tour, the hardest one, maybe you can test yourself in the Vuelta a España, for two weeks. If you can’t do it, you can go for stages. You can’t do that in the Tour, we come here to do our best. It’s either all or in."