Yates bosses stage; Alaphilippe keeps Paris-Nice lead

Simon Yates celebrates as he crosses the finish line at the end of the 193,5 km sixth stage of the 75th edition of the Paris-Nice cycling race, between Aubagne and Fayence, on Friday. (AFP)

FAYENCE, France: Briton Simon Yates came home alone in Friday’s sixth stage of the Paris-Nice with France’s Julian Alaphilippe retaining the leader’s yellow jersey.
Orica rider Yates crossed the line 17sec up on Colombian Sergio Henao who gained a dozen seconds on Alaphilippe, who finished the day in fourth.
Alaphilippe heads the general classification from his compatriot Tony Gallopin, over half a minute adrift, with Henao 46sec away in third.
Yates made a decisive move on the penultimate climb 20km from the finish of the near 200km ride between Aubagne and Fayence.
Saturday’s seventh and penultimate stage concludes with a 15.7km climb up to the 1678m col de la Couillole, the highest finish in the race’s 75-year history.
Double world champion Peter Sagan of Slovakia won the third stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico cycling race on Friday.
Sagan, 27, won a sprint finish ahead of Italy’s Elia Viviani and Belgian Jurgen Roelandts at Montalto di Castro.
Australia’s Rohan Dennis of BMC pulled on the leader’s blue jersey, replacing team-mate and defending overall champion Greg Van Avermaet at the top.
In an unrelated development, embattled Team Sky principal Dave Brailsford denied he was close to quitting on Friday despite this week admitting mistakes had been made over the “jiffy bag” saga.
The former British Cycling performance director, who has plotted four Tour de France triumphs for Team Sky, has come under fire for failing to prove what was in a medical package ordered by a team doctor at the 2011 Criterium du Dauphine.
“Of course I’m not hiding. I’m fine in myself and I’ve got confidence in my team,” Brailsford said in an interview with magazine Cycling World at the Tirreno-Adriatico race.
“No (I’m not quitting). My thoughts are about what’s good for the team and what’s right. We’re just here to win as many races as possible and do it the right way and that’s my primary concern and that’s what I think about.”
Team Sky and British Cycling have both been subject of an investigation by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) into allegations of wrongdoing in the sport. Both have denied any doping violations.
British lawmakers have also carried out an inquiry into a newspaper allegation suggesting the package ordered by Dr. Richard Freeman and administered to Bradley Wiggins was the powerful corticosteroid triamcinolone — the same product Wiggins took using a WADA-approved therapeutic use exemption (TUE) before winning the 2012 Tour.
Brailsford told lawmakers that the package contained the legal decongestant Fluimucil — although a lack of a paper trail has called in to questions Sky’s medical record keeping.
The 53-year-old said he was “disappointed” that the start of the season had been overshadowed by the furor and said it should not reflect badly on his riders.
“This has nothing to do with them,” Brailsford said. “On the other hand we’ve got to move forward. Personally, I’m fine.”
Several Sky riders offered support for Brailsford on social media this week, although triple Tour winner Chris Froome was not one of them, leading to speculation that the relationship between the pair was under strain.
“We had a good conversation, that’s it,” Brailsford said.
Brailsford said he welcomed UKAD’s investigation but insisted there had been no wrongdoing.
“On a personal level, I’ve been through a lot over the years and it’s important to make sure that you can look at yourself and say that there has been no wrongdoing,” he said.
“I’m confident of that.”
Brailsford’s highly successful time with British Cycling has also been scrutinized in a UK Sport investigation into the culture within the governing body’s elite program following the resignation of technical director Shane Sutton.
On Friday, British Cycling responded to a leaked draft of a report into the investigation published by the Daily Mail in which Brailsford was described as “untouchable.”
“(The) World Class Programme leadership focused on medal delivery without sufficient care and attention to the overall staff and athlete culture and environment,” it said.