Since shocking the cycling world and retiring as the reigning Giro d’Italia champion, Simon Yates is getting to enjoy the things he couldn’t amid the pressure of being an elite professional rider, according to his brother and fellow top pro Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).
Adam Yates has had to field much of the questioning since his twin brother announced he would be exiting the sport and ending his time with Visma-Lease a Bike on a high note, back in January. More than a month on from that revelation, Simon Yates is still training but with some new goals in mind.
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Simon Yates called time on his career after 13 years in the WorldTour, winning the Giro, Vuelta a España, three stages of the Tour de France – including one in 2025 – and multiple stages in all three Grand Tours.
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(Image credit: Getty Images)‘The sky’s the limit for Del Toro’
With Del Toro on the start line, UAE will be among the favourites to retain Tadej Pogačar’s crown from last season, but Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) will be the big threat after his flying start.
Adam Yates, like Evenepoel a former GC winner himself in the UAE, back in 2020, and four-time podium finisher in five appearances – his only miss coming in 2024 when he crashed out with concussion – didn’t mince his words in saying that Del Toro is the outright leader on this occasion.
“No, no, I’m not here for GC. Obviously, it’s a race that suits me on paper, but again, there’s a TT that’s completely flat. Remco is here. He’s obviously quite good at them. Isaac’s not bad at TTs as well,” said Yates. “So obviously, when you have a card like that to play, I think you back him.
“It’s not like there are stages with multiple mountains, and you can kind of use numbers to your advantage, where we would do in Europe. Here is more completely flat and a climb at the end. So it’s a different kind of dynamic, and here you should back the best horse, and our horse is Isaac.”
Yates made up part of Del Toro’s support at the Giro last season, where the Mexian burst onto the scene and almost won the maglia rosa, finally falling short and finishing second to Simon Yates after the final mountain stage. But still, as Del Toro’s teamame Adam Yates noted the bags of talent the Mexican possesses, but also his maturity at still only 22.
“I think he surprised himself [last year], to be honest. Even at the start of the year, he wasn’t at a super high level, but even now, you speak to him, he’s said he made some mistakes, and he changed some things with the training, and he took a big step,” said Yates.
“He’s super smart, Isaac; he knows what he’s doing. And when you listen to the body, listen to yourself, and you take advice from other people – you put it all together, and you get the results as he does.
“He’s still young, he’s got the room to improve, and as long as he keeps his feet on the ground and keeps working hard, then the sky’s the limit.”