One of the strongest and most successful professional cyclists of the past decade is calling it a day: Simon Yates is ending his professional career with immediate effect, as announced by his team Visma-Lease a bike in a press release on 7 January 2026. "I have decided to retire from professional cycling. This may come as a surprise to many," said the 33-year-old Briton in his team's statement. In fact, he had been thinking about the move for some time and now the right moment had come.
Successful completion in 2025
Last season was extremely successful for the cyclist, who was born in Bury near Manchester and grew up in Yorkshire. He won the 20th stage of the Giro d'Italia with a bold attack on the Colle delle Finestre and also took the overall victory. A few weeks later, he celebrated a stage win at the Tour de France. In 2018, he won the overall classification of the Tour of Spain. "I'm very proud of what I've achieved and just as grateful for the lessons that came with it. The victories will always stand out, but the tougher days and the setbacks are just as important," said Yates, who missed out on overall victory in the Giro in 2018 on the last tough mountain stage when he was unable to follow the attack of eventual overall winner Chris Froome on the Colle delle Finestre while wearing the pink jersey. After nine years with the Australian team GreenEdge, Yates only switched to his last employer for the 2025 season. There, race director Grischa Niermann paid tribute to the retired rider's performance: "It's a shame that he's quitting now. But he's doing it at an absolute peak. Simon was an exceptional climber and classics rider who always delivered when it mattered most."
Andreas Kublik
Editor
