SIMON and Adam Yates played a key role in Team GB’s bid to win the UCI Road World Championships in Spain after making their debuts in the senior team.

The first-year pros, who have featured in the Tour de France and Vuelta this season, were rested for the Under-23s race and promoted to the elite ranks in a bid to help Ben Swift’s push for gold.

They joined fellow domestiques Gerraint Thomas and Chris Froome on the challenging 254km course in a bid to put Swift in contention before dropping out of the race.

Swift eventually finished 12th, with Michal Kwiatkowski of Poland taking the title.