Yates heads to Visma to chase his dreams

Simon Yates left Jayco-Alula after 11 seasons in pursuit of Grand Tour glory

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S imon Yates departed Jayco-Alula after 11 seasons to make sure that he finished his career without any regrets, he explained last week.

The winner of the 2018 Vuelta a España has signed a two-year contract with Visma-Lease a Bike, and the 32-year-old will lead the Dutch team’s GC ambitions at the Giro d’Italia, before then switching to a support role at the Tour de France for Jonas Vingegaard.

Describing his exit from Jayco as “quite emotional” after more than a decade there that encompassed 33 wins, including five GC titles, Yates told Cycling Weekly and other press why he opted to switch.

“I just think time waits for no one, and I’m not getting any younger. I was at a crossroads: was I really happy doing what I was doing?” he said. “I needed to try to get out of my comfort zone and do something different – I can’t keep doing the same thing over and over.