Simon Yates

This is the page about Simon Yates. The British cyclist has been riding with Jayco AlUla and its predecessors since 2014. His most significant victory came in 2018 when Yates won the Vuelta a España. IDLProCycling.com keeps a close eye on all news related to Yates, along with maintaining a biography of his career.

Simon Yates, born alongside his twin brother Adam in 1992 in Bury, UK, first caught the public's eye in his final year as an under-23 rider (2013) by winning the mountainous Haytor stage in the Tour of Britain. Remarkably, he outperformed the likes of Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins and Nairo Quintana. The following year, Yates began his professional career with Orica-Greenedge.

In 2015, at a young age, Yates secured a fifth place in the Critérium du Dauphiné, showcasing his talent as a climber. A year later, he won his first stage in a grand tour during the Vuelta a España and finished sixth overall in the general classification.

Dramatic collapse of Yates in the 2018 Giro d’Italia

Yates continued his strong performance in 2017, securing a seventh place in the Tour de France and winning the young rider classification. His breakthrough as a world-class rider came in 2018. Dominating the majority of the Giro d’Italia, he consistently outpaced rivals like Tom Dumoulin and Chris Froome with his powerful accelerations and claimed three stage victories.

Yates appeared unstoppable in his pursuit of the overall win in the Giro. However, during the eighteenth stage, finishing at Prato Nevoso, the first cracks in Yates' stronghold began to show. Facing multiple attacks in the group of favorites, Yates struggled in the final kilometers of the climb, conceding about thirty seconds to his closest rivals, Dumoulin and Froome.

Sensing vulnerability, his competitors intensified their efforts. Despite the Giro d’Italia nearing its end, the most challenging stage, featuring the partially unpaved Colle delle Finistere, was yet to come. The previous day's struggle for Yates was no fluke, as he quickly fell behind under Team Sky’s relentless pace. Exhausted, the British rider's energy reserves were depleted. He lost a staggering forty minutes that day, ultimately watching the victory slip to his compatriot Froome.

Yates’ ultimate redemption in the Vuelta a Espana

Later in 2018, Yates prepared for his second grand tour of the year, the Vuelta a Espana. Riding for Mitchelton-Scott, he started off strong again, capturing the red leader's jersey on stage nine. After briefly relinquishing the jersey, he reclaimed it with a victory on the brutally steep Les Praeres. In the subsequent mountain stages, he successfully repelled all attacks on his lead and ultimately claimed his first grand tour overall victory.

After an unsuccessful second attempt to win the Giro d’Italia in 2019, Yates focused on supporting his brother Adam in achieving a high overall ranking in the Tour de France. However, Adam quickly fell out of contention in the general classification, giving Simon the opportunity to pursue stage victories. He did so brilliantly, winning the mountain stages to Bagnères-de-Bigorre and Foix. To date, Yates has won seven stages in grand tours.

In the pandemic year of 2020, after winning Tirreno-Adriatico, Yates started the Giro as a top favorite but was thwarted by a Covid infection. In 2021, he was once again a prominent figure in the stage race, but it wasn’t until the final weekend that he truly impressed, finishing third and determined to return stronger in 2022.

2022 Marked by misfortune for Yates

The 2022 season started off promisingly for Yates, with a stellar performance in the spring races. Entering the Giro as one of the favorites, he outperformed rivals like Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Dumoulin in the Budapest time trial. However, a crash on the way to Mount Etna threw a wrench in his plans. Despite winning a stage, a high ranking in the general classification was already out of reach and he withdrew on the seventeenth stage. His Vuelta campaign also hit a snag – he was fifth after ten stages but far behind the leader, Evenepoel. To make matters worse, he contracted Covid again, forcing him to withdraw from his second Grand Tour of the year.

In 2023, Yates decided to forgo the Giro for the first time in many years. He started the season with a second place in the Tour Down Under and a fourth in Paris-Nice, only to withdraw quietly from the Tour de Romandie before making a comeback in the Tour de France. On the opening day of the Tour, he broke away with Adam, who edged him out at the finish. Leading Jayco AlUla, Yates was a contender for the podium for much of the race but ultimately finished in fourth place.