SIMON Yates is to stick with his original plan for the 2020 season and miss the Tour de France to concentrate on a bid for Giro d’Italia glory.

It had always been the intention of the Bury cycling star to focus on the Giro and then the Tokyo Olympics.

But the coronavirus pandemic opened up the possibility that things could change for the 2018 Vuelta a Espana winner.

His team Mitchelton-SCOTT have however confirmed that while twin brother Adam is part of the 11-rider long list for the rescheduled Tour, Simon’s efforts will solely be on success in Italy.

Simon won two stages in France last year but it is Adam who looks set to fly the flag for the Yates family in the world’s most iconic stage race from August 29 to September 20.

All eyes will then be on the Giro from October 3 to 25.

Head sports director Matt White said: “The focus for us at the Giro d’Italia will be to support Simon Yates as best as possible, to help him achieve the optimal result we can as a team and ultimately try to win the race.

“For me, the Giro d’Italia is the most physically demanding Grand Tour, so having a strong team around you certainly makes a difference. The team we will send will be a deep one and I’m confident Simon will have great support across all facets of racing.

“There will be only a few riders who will double up with the TDF/Giro combo this year and there certainly won’t be any GC (general classification) riders at both. This will have an impact on the make-up of the field on the start line in Sicily.

“I am also very curious to see how the weather affects the race.

“In the normal May timeslot

the threat of average weather is always lingering, especially in the high mountains, but we could see less erratic conditions in October.

“The extra month will also give riders a chance to do more racing coming in, so it will mirror a more traditional Grand Tour build up.”

Simon Yates wore the leaders’ Maglia Rosa for 13 days of the 2018 Giro, winning three stages, before settling for eighth overall at last year’s event.