Whilst it perhaps wasn't the dream performance in the Catalan region for Yates, there are some reasons for optimism. "I did enjoy the short and powerful stage here in Barcelona today," he concludes his assessment. "Now it is time to go on altitude training and hopefully I will be ready for the Giro d'Italia, one of my biggest goals this cycling year.”
For Team Visma | Lease a Bike as a whole however, the 2025 Volta a Catalunya will go down as a success, thanks mostly to some brilliant work from Yates' teenage compatriot,
Matthew Brennan. “Our set goal in advance - to win a stage and to finish in the top ten in the general classification - has been more than achieved. We can be proud of that. Matthew won two stages here in a fantastic way and really showed that we have a special rider in the team. In addition, he rode in the leader’s jersey for two days and also finished second in a stage once. He really took every opportunity this week. That’s impressive”, sports director
Marc Reef comments.
“Simon's ninth place in the final classification is partly due to the good efforts of the team in the fifth stage full of echelons where we had five riders in the front. Our good team performance is ultimately confirmed by winning the team classification. All in all, we can look back on a great week here," the sports director concludes.