postmanhat said:
Has already exceeded Kelderman. Barguil, Talansky and Dennis in terms of recent GC neo-pro performances? Especially given his relative lack of road-race experience.
As a climber, can't think of anyone who's had a better first season??
If you look purely at GC it's going to be difficult. Sergio Henao technically got a top 10 in the Giro as a neo pro.
But not everybody targets GC's or gets the chance to target GC's as a neo-pro.
Barguil didn't target GC's, but he did win two stages in the Vuelta, which imo is more impressive as a neo-pro, than getting 6th in the Dauphine.
Quintana could only ride for himself in smaller races, but his performance in Route du Sud, his stage win in the Dauphine, his win in Emillia and his work as a domestique in the Vuelta for Valverde was definitely way way way more impressive than anything Yates has shown.
Nevertheless, the Yates brothers are huge talents that probably deserve more attention than they are getting. But there are a few climbers that can be argued to have a more impressive neo-pro year.