He won the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta Tour – now it’s over: British cyclist Simon Yates is ending his career. The 33-year-old announced this in an open letter on Instagram.
“I have decided to retire from professional cycling”wrote Yates. “This may come as a surprise to many, but it is not a decision I made lightly,” he explained. “Now seems to me to be the right time.”
The Brit won the Spanish Vuelta in 2018, and last year, somewhat surprisingly, he also won the Giro d’Italia at the age of 32 for the Visma-Lease a Bike team. He also collected three stage victories at the Tour de France, where the twin brother of professional cyclist Adam Yates also won the white jersey for the best young rider in 2017. In 2013 he also became world champion in the points race on the track.
Yates: Setbacks have taught me resilience and patience
“I am very proud of what I have accomplished and equally grateful for the lessons I have learned along the way. The victories will always stand out, but the difficult days and lows were just as important. They taught me resilience and patience and made the success even more meaningful.”
In fact, Yates carried with him a particularly memorable low blow for many years. In 2018 he had already entered the third-to-last stage of the Giro d’Italia as the confident leader. At the Colle delle Finestre, Yates collapsed completely after his opponent Chris Froome started 80 kilometers from the finish and lost almost 40 minutes.
The drama at Finestre was followed eight years later by a triumphal procession
Last year the infamous mountain pass was back on the Giro program. Yates started the stage 1:21 minutes behind the leading duo – and then conquered his trauma on the stage. With an attack, he tore a gap between Isaac del Toro and Richard Carapaz, who were overly tactical, and stormed up the final climb, his lead earning him the pink jersey.
“It’s a bit like a fairy tale. I can’t believe all of this“said Yates after the triumph. “I’m probably at the peak of my career, nothing will be able to top that. It won’t get any better.” This is what it says in the closing words of his letter: “I say goodbye with great pride – and a feeling of peace.”
“It’s a shame he’s stopping now, but he’s doing so at the absolute peak of his career”said Visma sports director Grischa Niermann. “Simon was an exceptional mountain rider and overall classification rider who was always there when it mattered.”