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Didn't see that coming :O(
He was never the most personable in an interview but his legs did a lot of talking.
Shame.
Leg = Legs! Why doesn't the edit feature work?????
That is a surprise. It'll be interesting to see what he does next. Triathlon?
Triathlon?
Gravel... 😉
Actually wasn't it Simon Yates who did one hell of a rapid 10km run a little while ago? As far as I remember, he's a bloody good runner (although maybe it was The Other Yates...?)
Shame to see him leave the sport but he's finishing on a high as Giro champion and it's cool that he gets to choose that option rather than plugging away in an increasingly anonymous manner or suffering a horrific crash and injuries. Best of luck to him.
Shame. Used to love him on Our Tune.
There was me thinking of the mountaineer….
He will be missed. In think being a pro roady has got harder. The level is very high, so they rarely get much of a break. As others have said he goes out on a high and presumably a few quid in the bank
I imagine Vinogoagoago going for the Giro and Vuelta rather than race Pog for le tour left Yates in a supporting role which could well have kicked his motivation in the guts
Timing is a bit odd after he'd already been on a training camp and team kit launch but hopefully he's just decided he's had enough rather than something forcing the decision. His Giro redemption was epic.
One of his DS’s is interviewed about it here:
He’s had an incredible career. A really aggressive racer and looks absolutely class on a bike. Worth remembering that as well as being a climber he won a couple of world tour time trials.
Feels too soon, but probably better that than feeling too late when he looks back on his career. Funnily enough I thought of him as not aggressive enough, in a Schleck sort of way, but then again climbing is very much an “on the day” thing.
No one could have watched the Giro he lost to Froome and thought he was holding back. The problem was he didn’t win. So he changed tactics and won
Being a competitive GC rider these days means having to live like a monk 365 days a year just so another genetic freak can't get one over on you on a mountain next July, some people seem to actively relish it but when it gets old I bet it gets very very old.
Fair play for going out on a high and not dragging it out.
Being a competitive GC rider these days means having to live like a monk 365 days a year just so another genetic freak can't get one over on you on a mountain next July, some people seem to actively relish it but when it gets old I bet it gets very very old.
It got alluded to earlier as well about pro roadie being hard work.
The old days where you could do a Jan Ullrich and lounge on a beach all winter, returning 8kg overweight and pottering around at the back for a bit to race yourself fitter, then necking some drugs and lining up at the Tour are long gone.
It's all or nothing now; every race is full gas, every meal is nutrition-checked, every training session analysed... There are three outcomes.
You're 90% committed but always playing catch up, not a "team player".
You're 100% committed, love it and are good at it.
You're 100% committed, hate it and are burnt out and exhausted.
Being able to work out which group you're in and make a free choice about leaving is a chance not many athletes get.
Unfortunately, the history of cycling has made me a sceptic of the top performers and my first thought was the he wasn't (or was no longer) prepared to do what is necessary to win the biggest race.
My second thought was whether he had been diagnosed with a significant illness that he doesn't want to reveal.
It could, of course, just be that he's just had enough of the cycling circus but as has already been said, the timing is odd.