The (Pro) Retirement thread

[No Ta Doctor]

Marc Madiot stepping down as manager of FDJ....I'll miss his speeches/rants ☹️

Blimey, first Lefevere last season now Madiot.
Mauro Gianetti must be sweating it....

 

[No Ta Doctor]

At the other end of the age scale, Fem van Empel is stepping away from cycling and leaving Visma, as she just isn't feeling it any more.
Brave move at 23, hoping she finds out what makes her happy

 

[No Ta Doctor]

Blimey, didn't see this one coming

Simon Visma Yates retires with immediate effect

 

[Gweeds]

A surprise, but going out as a GT winner is probably the way to go. 13 years in a sport asking more of a rider every year is a good crack.

 

[Paulus]

Just saw it on the BBC sports website.
There was no warning beforehand.
Bowing out at the top though.

 

[mrushton]

Quite shocked at that. He signed up to Visma and gave them a Giro in his first year and in a thrilling way. He has had some big wins but as said has gone out on top. Wonder if the pressure to constantly improve has brought about his decision

 

[No Ta Doctor]

To be honest, it might have been mostly about having to go to the Giro or the Tour as a domestique for Jonas.

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

SY only 33, wasn't expecting that!

Could Ineos snap him up, to take Onley under his wing for GC training?

 

[mrushton]

Well yes, but Jonas is #1 but Simon may have got his chance. Able to retire at 33. As long as he is healthy he can have a whole other life now whilst still young. 2 x GT, only British rider along with Froome with multiple GT wins

 

[wakemalcolm]

SY only 33, wasn't expecting that!

Could Ineos snap him up, to take Onley under his wing for GC training?

Unfortunately for Simon, they only take staff with doping backgrounds, not riders.

 

[TomDW]

Sounds like he ran out of desire
Best to quit while you're ahead. He only had a 2yr contract anyway. He's one of the standout riders of his generation and he'll never be able to beat winning the Giro on stage 20.

 

[Dan Lotus]

Sounds like he ran out of desire
Best to quit while you're ahead. He only had a 2yr contract anyway. He's one of the standout riders of his generation and he'll never be able to beat winning the Giro on stage 20.

That's coming from Visma though.

I watched an interview with Yates from only about 5 weeks ago from the Giro presentation.

He was saying how keen he was to return to the Giro and defend his title, and how rare it was to get the chance to come back with a No1 on your back.
When asked about the chance of Jonas riding it and him having to slot into a supporting role, and how he felt about it, he basically didn't answer and said that a load of discussions were in progress (He may even have used the word painful) and that it would be decided in due course.

He certainly seemed fully motivated at the beginning of December, unless it was all an act.

My theory (And that is all it is) is that he did want to defend his title, and maybe gave them an ultimatum of sorts - either you give me full leadership and support at the Giro, and I'll support whoever you need me to for the rest of the year, or I retire.

Jonas is clearly the future for that team, and at present the only rider capable of taking any more TDF titles, so I imagine he pulled rank, and they had to say to Adam Simon it was a support role or nothing.

Shame, as clearly he was in stunning form last year, and no reason to assume he would not be in a similar place this year.
Good shout with Ineos, would have been good for Onley, but I imagine due to him being under contract, that wasn't ever going to be an option.

EDIT: Of course theoretically Ineos wouldn't be able to sign him as he missed some scheduled doping tests way back in the day, and Sky as it was then, said they would never sign a rider with anything hanging over them.

 

[M.R.M]

Simon*, but sounds entirely feasible otherwise. It's also possible, that he was initially on a high, but that faded when he needed to start with all the hard efforts. I think your theory has more merit though.

 

[Dan Lotus]

Simon*, but sounds entirely feasible otherwise. It's also possible, that he was initially on a high, but that faded when he needed to start with all the hard efforts. I think your theory has more merit though.

Thankyou, now updated!

Must be a little tough having likely been at training camps and fully primed and ready to go racing, to now do nothing competitive on a bike.
Wonder if it will hit home in a couple of weeks, or hopefully he'll just be enjoying time with his family - I have no idea if he has any children even?

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

This is all coming across to me as if Yates has thrown his toys out of the pram because JV wants the Giro, team have called his bluff when he threatened to walk if not supported to retain Giro in '26.

He hasn't got the palmares of the likes of G and Cav, but Yates has been far from an also ran, I'd expect him to announce his retirement at end of a season around midway through a season like G and Cav did.