Simon Yates Retirement: Pro Cyclist Announces Immediate End to Career

Giro d’Italia champion and former Vuelta a España winner Simon Yates stunned the cycling world on Wednesday by announcing his immediate retirement.

The 33-year-old confirmed via a statement from his Visma-Lease a Bike team that he’s ended his wildly successful career “with a sense of peace.”

“This may come as a surprise to many, but it is not a decision I have made lightly,” Yates wrote in a lengthy retirement note.

“I have been thinking about it for a long time, and it now feels like the right moment to step away from the sport.”

There had been some rumor Yates wanted to retire immediately after he won pink last May at the corsa rosa.

It seems those thoughts didn’t quieten through the seven months that followed.

“I step away from professional cycling with deep pride and a sense of peace,” Yates wrote. “This chapter has given me more than I ever imagined.”

Yates’ retirement reshuffles the hierarchy at Visma-Lease a Bike

Yates – who was under contract through 2026 – leaves the sport on a high.

He won the 2025 Giro d’Italia with a sensational raid over the Coll delle Finestre and backed it up with a stage-win at the Tour de France.

The British star also claimed red at the 2018 Vuelta a España and counts a total of 11 grand tour stage-wins on his palmarès.

The news marks a major setback for Visma-Lease a Bike in its super-team battle with UAE Emirates-XRG.

Yates was a domestique de luxe for Jonas Vingegaard and, as he proved last year, a winner in his own right.

U.S. racers Matteo Jorgenson and Sepp Kuss will move up the hierarchy in the “Beehive.”

“It is a shame that he is stopping now, but he does so at an absolute high point,” said Visma’s head of racing Grischa Niermann.

“Simon was an exceptional climber and general classification rider who always delivered when it mattered most.”

Here’s the full retirement statement from Yates:

Dear all,

I have made the decision to retire from professional cycling.

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.

To everyone who has supported me along the way, from the staff to my teammates, your unwavering belief and loyalty made it possible for me to realise my own dreams. Whenever I doubted myself, you never did. Thank you.

To my team, Team Visma–Lease a Bike, thank you for your understanding and support of my decision to stop now. You gave me the opportunity to rewrite my history, and through trust and belief, we did it together. Thank you.

To my family, you shared the sacrifices that came with this sport. The absences and missed birthdays were never easy, yet you understood what this journey meant to me and supported it wholeheartedly. I owe you more than I can ever properly express. Thank you.

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.

Thank you for the journey.

Simon Yates