SIMON Yates says he and his brother Adam will be partners in crime, rather than rivals, as they plot a route through the mountains at this year’s Tour de France.

The 22-year-old Bury twins had been tipped to come into their own in the mountains and Adam certainly did that when the race arrived in the Pyrenees on Tuesday.

Adam – a life member of Bury Clarion – hung on to the coat tails of Tour leader Chris Froome on the ascent of the Col de Soudet, eventually finishing in seventh place, just over two minutes behind Froome but ahead of yellow jersey contenders Alberto Contador and Tejay van Garderen.

It was a momentous performance on what is his debut in cycling's blue riband event, pushing the former Derby High School pupil up from 46th overall to 29th.

Simon, meanwhile, kept his powder dry, waiting for another day to make his own assault on the head of the race after being tipped to go for victory in a mountain stage by his Orica GreenEdge team boss Matt White.

After being withdrawn at the second rest day on his own Tour de France debut last year, Simon knows only too well that he must be patient if he is to make his mark on the race while also reaching White's second aim - to finish the race.

And while the competitive urge burns brightly inside the young racer, he assures that sibling rivalry will not get in the way.

“No, I do not think so,” he said. “We get along really well and there is never any rivalry. It is all friendly, just a bit of banter and a few teasing words. But as I said we get along really well so there will not be any issue there.”

Adam may have already earned two top 10 finishes – in stage eight and 10 – but Simon has also had his moments in the Tour before yesterday's stage, which finished after the Bury Times went to press.

He beat Froome in the individual time trial on the opening day and finished eighth on stage three while successfully staying out of trouble, avoiding the crashes that forced three of his team-mates to withdraw from the race and left one of them, Michael Matthews, soldiering on with broken ribs.

“I am not suited to the flat lands so I think it would have been hard to arrive after those stages in the same time as the GC (general classification) guys,” said Simon, who admitted on Monday's first rest day that he was still feeling his way after just two seasons at the top echelon of the sport.

“It has given me a much bigger opportunity to go for stage wins later in the race. I have saved my legs (for the mountains).

“I just do not think I am ready (for a shot at the yellow jersey). I have not even finished a Grand Tour yet. To be saying I could even be challenging for the overall… there is a long way to go yet.

“Once we get a few years down the line we can start talking about that. But I think that at the minute, mentally and physically, I am not ready.”