Adam Yates of the United Kingdom defeated twin brother Simon to win stage one of the Tour de France in Bilbao, Spain, and earn the yellow jersey.

Adam, 30, of UAE Team Emirates, won his first Tour stage by pulling away from Jayco AlUla rider Simon in the last stages of the uphill finish.

Tadej Pogacar, a two-time winner, finished third in a mini-group sprint.

“My brother approached me. I wasn’t sure if I should collaborate with him. “I asked, and they said, ‘Go for it,'” Adam explained.

Adam, who was initially concerned if he should continue attacking because Pogacar is his teammate, told ITV 4: “It’s just amazing – I am super happy.”

“I knew Simon was doing well because I talk to him every day, we’re really close, and sharing this experience with him is really nice.”

“I just wish he’d pulled a little harder because he almost dropped me at one point.”

Simon said cramps on the final climb slowed him down at the finish.

“There was a bit of cat and mouse going on over the top, and Adam rolled to the front,” he explained.

“He nodded to Pogacar, as if to say, ‘Can I go?'” ‘How is the situation?’ and it said ‘okay, sure,’ so he left and I went across to him.

“At first, I believe he was put in a difficult situation when he spotted me coming across.

“On the radio, he asked, ‘Should I wait or roll through?'” He wasn’t pulling at first, but I kind of knew that anyhow; I knew it was going to be tough, but I had to seize the moment.

“Normally, on a finish like that, I wouldn’t be able to beat Pogacar or Vingegaard in a really fast sprint, so getting away with Adam was a chance.”

“Normally, we’re pretty close, but I had cramps in the final.” It was a steamy day, so he got the better of me, but I’m sure there will be other chances.”

Earlier, Enric Mas of Spain and Richard Carapaz of Ecuador both crashed on the descent of Cote de Vivero.

Mas was forced to withdraw from the race with what seemed to be a shoulder injury, becoming the first of the 176 riders to do so this year, while Carapaz finished more than 15 minutes behind the winner despite bleeding from both knees.

The race was blown wide open on the way to Pike Bidea, the final categorised climb of a lumpy 182km circuit that began and ended in Bilbao, after a cagey start across demanding terrain.

Pogacar and the defending champion, Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, broke ahead with French rider Victor Lafay to reach the peak first, but they were overhauled on the descent by both Yates brothers.

The two established a 20-second lead over the trailing pack and were left to battle it out for the stage win.

Adam had the most power in the final 500m, and he gave a final look back over his shoulder before crossing the finish line with his arms up.

Pogacar’s fitness has been called into question after he broke his wrist while racing in April, but he won the sprint for third place, earning him four bonus seconds and putting him ahead of Vingegaard, who is regarded his major adversary.

The race returns to the Basque Country for the second stage on Sunday, a 208km route from Vitoria-Gasteiz to San Sebastian with five more categorised hills.