Whilst Simon was selected for the British Cycling Olympic Academy programme, Adam pursued his road racing career in France with financial help from the Dave Rayner Fund.

[11] In his first professional race, the Tour de San Luis in Argentina, Yates finished eleventh overall and first in the young rider classification.

Yates's good form continued at the Critérium du Dauphiné, where he placed eighth on the first mountain top finish on Stage 2.

[23] He returned to racing at the GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano in July, which he won to take his first one-day professional victory.

[34] In September, Yates recorded podium finishes in two Canadian races held in consecutive weeks; he finished second overall to Bauke Mollema at the Tour of Alberta – winning the young rider classification in the process – before losing a sprint à deux against Tim Wellens at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, a result that still left him "pretty happy".

Yates was thought to have moved into the yellow jersey on stage 12, which finished at Mont Ventoux, following an incident with a motorcycle on the final climb which delayed Froome, Porte and Bauke Mollema; the race jury later decided to give those riders the same time as Mollema – who finished 19 seconds ahead of Yates, meaning Froome actually extended his lead.

[41] Yates started 2017 with a victory in March's GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano for the second time in his career, ahead of Richard Carapaz and Rigoberto Urán.

He worked his way back up to eighth, but lost a position to Bob Jungels on the final day individual time trial, which also determined the winner of the young rider classification.

[48] He rode the Vuelta a España for the first time since 2014, running as high as eighth overall – before losing more than nine minutes on stage eleven,[49] which finished at the Calar Alto Observatory, removing him from overall contention.

[53] After another fourth-place overall finish at the Tour of California following a two-month injury layoff,[54][55] Yates came second in the general classification at the Critérium du Dauphiné, having won stage 7.

[58] He then rode the Vuelta a España in support of his brother Simon Yates, with both riders competing at the same Grand Tour for just the third time.

[72] Yates started his 2020 campaign at the UAE Tour, where he won the third stage – finishing at Jebel Hafeet – by more than a minute, to take the lead in the general classification.

[85] He then contested the Volta a Catalunya, winning at the Vallter 2000 ski resort for the second time in as many editions of the race,[86] to take a 45-second overall lead ahead of teammate Richie Porte.

[87] Yates held this lead over Porte for the remainder of the race, with Geraint Thomas ultimately completing a podium lockout for the Ineos Grenadiers.

[93] In October he competed in the autumn Italian classics, finishing fourth in the Giro dell'Emilia,[94] second in Milano–Torino,[95] and third in Il Lombardia, where he outsprinted Primož Roglič in the chase group behind winner Pogačar and runner-up Fausto Masnada to take his first podium in a cycling monument.

He dropped from fifth to tenth in the Pyrenees over consecutive days due to sickness,[103] but ultimately finished the race in ninth overall, following the disqualification of Nairo Quintana.

[105][106] He concluded the season with five one-day races in Canada and Italy, recording a best finish of fourth place at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal.

[115] On the opening stage held in and around Bilbao in the Basque Country,[116] the Yates brothers joined forces on the descent from the Pike Bidea climb to pull clear of their rivals,[117] with Adam going clear at 350 metres (1,150 feet) remaining, and pulled out a four-second gap on Simon for victory – they became the third set of brothers to finish 1–2 on a Tour de France stage, after the Pélissiers (Francis and Henri) and the Schlecks (Andy and Fränk).

[121] At the same time, Yates lost almost two minutes to Vingegaard,[121] but solidified his third place from Carlos Rodríguez,[121] a position he would hold until the end of the race.

[123] At the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal in September, Yates made a move on the final lap of the race and only Pavel Sivakov was able to follow him.

Yates started the 2024 season with a campaign in the Middle East, where he won the fifth and final stage of the Tour of Oman, which moved him up from eighth to first overall.