Simon Yates makes shock decision to retire from cycling

Yates won the 2025 Giro d’Italia in May to add to his other grand tour triumph at the Vuelta a Espana in 2018 but has decided to hang up his helmet

Simon Yates won the 2025 Giro d’Italia to cap an impressive cycling career (AP)

Two-time grand tour winner, and reigning Giro d’Italia champion, Simon Yates had announced his shock retirement from cycling with immediate effect.

The 33-year-old Brit added to his 2018 Vuelta a Espana triumph by thrillingly winning the Giro last May for his Visma-Lease a Bike team and then added a third Tour de France stage win of his career in July.

He hangs up helmet after 13 years at the top level, where he won two grand tours, 10 grand tour stages and 36 professional races, as well as another Giro podium (third in 2021) and a best Tour de France finish of fourth in 2023 – leaving him content with his cycling palmares.

In a statement confirming his retirement, Yates said: “This may come as a surprise to many, but it is not a decision I have made lightly. I have been thinking about it for a long time, and it now feels like the right moment to step away from the sport.

“Cycling has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. From racing on the track at the Manchester Velodrome, to competing and winning on the biggest stage and representing my country at the Olympic Games, it has shaped every chapter of my life.

“I am deeply proud of what I have managed to achieve and equally grateful for the lessons that came with it. While the victories will always stand out, the harder days and setbacks were just as important. They taught me resilience and patience, and made the successes mean even more.

“I step away from professional cycling with deep pride and a sense of peace. This chapter has given me more than I ever imagined. Memories and moments that will stay with me long after the racing ends and for whatever comes next.”

Simon Yates won a second grand tour by claiming Giro d’Italia glory last year (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

And he added a third Tour de France stage victory in July (REUTERS)

Yates, the twin brother of fellow professional cyclist Adam Yates, started his career on the track, winning the points race gold medal at the World Championships in Minsk in 2013. He also represented Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, finishing 17th in the men’s road race.

Having turned professional in 2014, he served a four-month doping ban in 2016 after testing positive for the banned substance terbutaline in an in-competition test during Paris–Nice, where he finished seventh.

In a statement, his team at the time, Orica-GreenEdge claimed full responsibility for the test result, saying that the team's doctor had failed to apply for a therapeutic use exemption for an asthma inhaler used by Yates which triggered the positive test. The UCI opted for a four-month ban, backdated to March, which ruled him out of that summer’s Tour de France.

The following year at Le Tour, he won the young rider’s classification before his breakthrough triumph at the 2018 Vuelta. Aside from his two grand tour wins, his most notable successes came in the 2020 Tirreno–Adriatico and the 2021 Tour of the Alps.

Yates claimed points race gold at the Track World Championships in 2013 (Getty Images)

Visma’s head of racing Grischa Niermann paid tribute to Yates following his retirement, saying: “With Simon, we won the Giro d’Italia last year, an incredibly special achievement for both him and the team. That was one of the major goals of the season, for us as a team and for Simon personally.

“The fact that he also went on to win a stage in the Tour de France underlines his class. It is a shame that he is stopping now, but he does so at an absolute high point.

“Simon was an exceptional climber and general classification rider who always delivered when it mattered most. In the Giro, he peaked at a moment when almost no one expected him to be able to win anymore, which truly characterises him as a rider.”