{"id":404729,"date":"2026-01-12T14:12:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T14:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/404729\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T14:12:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T14:12:07","slug":"i-cant-help-wondering-whether-there-are-untold-reasons-behind-this-expert-claims-visma-have-reason-to-be-unhappy-with-simon-yates-surprise-retire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/404729\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI can\u2019t help wondering whether there are untold reasons behind this\u201d \u2013 Expert claims Visma have \u2018reason to be unhappy\u2019 with Simon Yates surprise retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nDanish analyst Emil Axelgaard believes the way and the moment the decision arrived have consequences that cannot be separated from the choice itself. \u201cHis decision puts Visma in a very awkward position,\u201d Axelgaard writes in his column for TV2.<\/a> \u201cThey were already facing the coming season with a weakened squad, and in recent years it has in fact been Yates who has been their only truly significant external reinforcement.\u201dThe problem of timing<\/p>\n

Yates\u2019 final public appearances as a Visma rider came in December, during the team\u2019s winter activities. \u201cHe took part in the team\u2019s training camp in December, and the team published photos of him when they presented their new kit,\u201d Axelgaard said. \u201cIn other words, this must be a decision that was made over Christmas and New Year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Axelgaard also referred to reports that the idea of stopping had existed long before the official announcement. \u201cThere have apparently been rumours about his retirement already during 2025, and if that is true, then these are thoughts he has been carrying around for a long time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The issue for him is not the right to retire, but the lack of time left for the team to respond. \u201cIn that light, one can reasonably expect and demand that he make a decision early enough for the team to have time to react,\u201d Axelgaard said. \u201cThis late decision leaves them without any chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t help wondering\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Axelgaard repeatedly returned to the question of whether everything behind the decision has been made public. \u201cI cannot help wondering whether there are other, untold reasons behind this,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is of course, pure speculation.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stressed that he does not know what has happened behind closed doors. \u201cOf course, we do not know the details and we do not know what has gone on behind the scenes,\u201d he said, \u201cbut in any case it is a decision that has come suddenly.\u201d<\/p>\n

That suddenness shapes his judgement of how the team may view the situation. \u201cThat is why management also has reason to be unhappy with Yates\u2019 decision,\u201d Axelgaard said.<\/p>\n

Possible background factors<\/p>\n

Axelgaard mentioned one possible element that could have influenced Yates, while underlining that he was speculating. \u201cMaybe he is unhappy with the race calendar that was outlined for him and discussed at the training camp in December,\u201d he said. \u201cIt would probably have meant that he was to act as a helper for Jonas Vingegaard, and then perhaps get his own chance at the Vuelta.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even that, in his view, would not explain the timing. \u201cThat is not really a valid excuse, because he knew the conditions when he changed teams and left a squad where he was the big star,\u201d Axelgaard said. \u201cHe even has a twin brother who could tell him what it is like to be a luxury helper on a big team\u2026 It cannot have come as a huge surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two sides of one decision<\/p>\n

Yates leaves the sport after a final season that included winning the Giro d\u2019Italia and a stage at the Tour de France. For him, it marks the end of a long career on his own terms.<\/p>\n

Axelgaard, however, looks at the same moment from the team\u2019s side. \u201cAt the moment, it is impossible to fill that hole, even if they have the money, because there are no riders of that class available on the market,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

And that, in his view, is why the timing matters as much as the decision itself.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Danish analyst Emil Axelgaard believes the way and the moment the decision arrived have consequences that cannot…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":404730,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,130286,82,130976],"class_list":["post-404729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-simon-yates","tag-sports","tag-team-visma-lease-a-bike"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=404729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404729\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/404730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=404729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=404729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=404729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}