‘What a moment!’ – Yates reflects on ‘unbelievable’ and ’emotional’ Giro d’Italia victory

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Two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador said he was not surprised by Simon Yates’ retirement, even if the timing came as a shock.Yates announced he was stepping away from the sport on Wednesday after a year which saw him become just the third British man to win the Giro d’Italia – after Chris Froome in 2018 and Tao Geoghegan Hart in 2020.The news comes barely a month after the 33-year-old said he would “love to defend” his title at the Giro d’Italia 2026 launch on December 1, 2025.

And while Contador, who retired at the age of 34 in 2017, described the timing of Yates’ announcement as a “big surprise”, the Spaniard went on to explain why he could understand the Brit’s decision.

“Big surprise today with the news that Simon Yates is retiring from professional cycling at just 33 years of age. It’s complicated. We all have our own thoughts – it is surprising in terms of when the news has broken, but perhaps not so much in terms of him retiring,” Contador .

“Why? Because he has won the Vuelta a Espana. He has won the Giro d’Italia. The latter, eight years after losing it on the Colle delle Finestre was the exact place where he won it last year. He has won stages on the Tour de France, stages on the Vuelta and Giro.

“From a sporting perspective, he has accomplished all his objectives. He has been at a high level for many years, and must have life set up nicely in terms of the future.”

Yates’ dramatic GC triumph in the 2025 Giro put him alongside Froome as the only other British male cyclist to have won multiple Grand Tours, with the Vuelta a Espana secured seven years earlier.The Bury-born climber also took his tally of stage wins at the Tour de France to three in 2025 when he claimed Stage 10 in July.

In total, Yates won 11 individual Grand Tour stages from 2016 to 2025, during which time he also earned the white jersey for best young rider at the 2017 Tour.

“You have to take into account that cycling is a sport where you sacrifice a lot,” Contador said. “For 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, you have to be aware you are a professional cyclist.

“And another important factor, which you notice more as the years go by, is that it is a risky sport. There are a lot of crashes and sometimes that can also be a factor in making you think.”

Yates broke his shoulder aged 19 at La Cote Picarde and fractured his collarbone two years later at the Tour of Turkey, all before making his debut at the Tour de France in 2014.

The Brit was forced to abandon the 2021 Tour after a heavy crash on Stage 13 and bowed out of the Giro a year later due to a knee injury.

“I think this mix of circumstances is what has made him take this decision. So there you go, Simon, thank you for the show, congrats on your amazing career, and the best of luck on what lies ahead,” concluded Contador.

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