Unexpected retirement of Simon Yates: farewell at 33 and at the top

The peloton woke up this Wednesday to news as unexpected as Simon Yates' retirement from professional cycling at the age of 33. He announced it through a statement released by his team, Visma–Lease a Bike, just a year after winning the Giro d’Italia and while he still had a contract in place, at least until 2026.

Simon Yates announces his immediate retirement at 33: he leaves at the top

The decision is surprising not only because of his age but also due to the sporting moment. Yates bids farewell after signing one of the brightest pages of his career, with that victory at the Colle delle Finestre that made him the third Briton to win the overall Giro, alongside Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins.

In 13 seasons as a professional, Simon Yates accumulated 36 victories, including the 2018 Vuelta a España, stage wins in all three Grand Tours, and overall wins in one-week races like Tirreno-Adriatico or stages in Paris-Nice. A pure climber, explosive and brave, he was always a rider capable of changing the course of a race when the road really steepened.

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However, his career was not linear. In 2018, he was close to winning the Giro for two weeks before losing the maglia rosa on a historic day against Froome, a blow that would have sunk many but which Yates transformed into momentum to conquer the Vuelta months later. He also went through complex episodes, such as the four-month sanction in 2016 for an unintentional positive for terbutaline, after which he returned to the highest level.

Trained at the Bury Clarion club, Yates turned professional in 2014 alongside his twin brother Adam Yates at the then Orica–GreenEDGE, a structure in which he remained for eleven seasons and which we now know as Jayco AlUla. In 2025, he opted for a radical change by signing with Visma–Lease a Bike, a decision that, viewed in perspective, turned out to be almost perfect: his last great act as a cyclist was winning the Giro.

His last victory came in the tenth stage of the 2025 Tour de France, and his last race was the GP of Montreal in September. In addition to his road achievements, Yates was also a world champion on the track, winning the points race in 2013.

In the letter published on social media, Yates acknowledges that the decision had been maturing for some time: “It may surprise many, but I feel that now is the right time to step aside.” Grateful to teams, teammates, and family, he emphasizes that he leaves “with pride and a deep sense of peace,” making it clear that this is not a forced retirement, but a chosen one.

From Visma, his performance manager, Grischa Niermann, summarized it this way: “It’s a shame he’s leaving now, but he does so at the highest possible point. He won the Giro when almost no one expected it, and that perfectly defines who Simon Yates is.”

Simon Yates leaves without fanfare, without extending his career out of inertia, and without scheduled farewells. He gets off the bike when he could still keep winning. And in modern cycling, that may be the most exceptional thing of all.