"I accepted a pay cut to go to Visma": cyclists are no longer just motivated by money

After militating throughout the 11 years he has been a professional cyclist in the Green Edge Cycling structure, currently under the name Jayco-AlUla, Simon Yates changes airs to join the ranks of Visma-Lease a Bike lowering his cachet. A change in which the sporting project of the Dutch team has had a lot of weight when tipping the balance.

Simon Yates has prioritized the sporting aspect over the economic one when choosing his new team

In recent seasons, getting the best contract seems to be taking a back seat for the best cyclists in the peloton. Not long ago, the latter was what prevailed and we saw absolutely incredible signings. However, in many cases, this situation turned into a "bread for today, hunger for tomorrow" as the destination team did not have enough potential to support the cyclist, which ended up translating into a decrease in results.

This is an aspect that cyclists are increasingly taking into account and those top-level professionals, who have the possibility to choose their destination thanks to the numerous offers they receive, begin to value the sporting project of each team in a way that keeps them in a position to continue adding victories that extend their position in the elite of the peloton for as long as possible.

The statements of Simon Yates before the dispute of the GP Quebec a few days ago are eloquent, in which he made it clear that "I accepted a salary reduction to go to Visma. That's why I also wanted to go there because I want to be part of the best team" after it was announced a few days ago that he will join the Dutch team for the next two seasons.

Simon Yates, at 32 years old, is aware that he can no longer compete in the major events of the calendar. However, he still has enough class to achieve partial victories or wins in other types of races where having a team with sufficient level and a structure that allows the cyclist to perform at his best is essential. There is no doubt that Visma-Lease a Bike is a team that meets all these requirements. Simon Yates himself expressed it by saying, "It's an exciting opportunity and I think it was the right time for a change. I'm not getting any younger, but I still have the motivation. I still have strong feelings in my legs."

A similar case was experienced a year ago with the signing of Mikel Landa by Soudal-QuickStep, leaving the leadership role he had at Bahrain-Victorious to join the Belgian team as a trusted man of Remco Evenepoel. A role he fulfilled perfectly in the Tour de France and, in addition, has allowed him to have freedom and the support of the team to lead in La Vuelta 2024 where, until the failure in the climb to Herrera, he was even in a position to have approached the podium.

On the other hand, the sporting projects of other teams such as Movistar, INEOS, or Bahrain have been losing preference among cyclists, who, although they may join these teams with good contracts, if they have the option to go to Visma, Red Bull, or UAE, they end up choosing the latter, which guarantee them more opportunities to shine and grow despite the high average level of these teams. In fact, a good example is that of Adam Yates who left INEOS in favor of UAE Team Emirates where he has become a cornerstone for Tadej Pogacar and, in turn, has had opportunities such as the one that allowed him to win in La Vuelta 2024 one of the queen stages of the race, the one that ended in Granada after a tough journey through Sierra Nevada.

Simon Yates highlighted the latter regarding the role he will play in Visma-Lease a Bike where, although he will have to work for Jonas Vingegaard in the Tour de France, he said, "It was an open position. I had possibilities and I could also work sometimes for someone else. I was completely satisfied with that."