"Inspiring and quite motivating" - Simon Yates looks to follow on the footsteps of Jonas Vingegaard and his coach
Cycling
Simon Yates raced with his twin brother Adam for many years at the Jayco team but both have now departed. In 2025, they find themselves in the top rival teams of Team Visma | Lease a Bike and UAE Team Emirates - XRG, both leading their teams at the Giro d'Italia and then supporting their leaders at the Tour de France. Simon talks about why he decided to switch to Visma and how he hopes to evolve from his partnership with Jonas Vingegaard.
"Maybe I'll do worse here, but I got the feeling I had got the best out of what I could do there. I was doing a lot of the training camps by myself, which is not a bad thing, and I enjoyed that freedom. But the sport is at such a high level now there came a point where I needed more input," Yates said in Visma's media day, as reported by Cyclingnews.
I didn't have the knowledge. I didn't know what to do any more. So that was also another reason to make the change, because at one point or another, it's never easy to be suffering on everybody's wheels." After seeing the evolution of Adam in the Grand Tours since joining UAE, it also gave motivation for this move. The Briton is no longer a solo leader, but he will still enjoy a fair share of leadership of his own.
Whilst Olav Kooij and Wout van Aert will chase stage wins, Yates will aim for the pink jersey, one that eluded him in 2018 when he arrived at the final week leading the race, with the likes of Wilco Kelderman and Steven Kruijswijk set to support him in the mountains. Even though it's a B-team, it will count on a ton of experienced and strong riders to back him up. It's a demonstration of power from one of cycling's top teams.
"I think a lot of WorldTour teams are close to each other now, it's just the finer details that separate the top ones from the others. This one [Visma] is very tightly organised, and the people here are very direct: this is how we do things, this is the way it's done," he continues. "It was the opposite at Jayco, where I had a lot of freedom and I enjoyed having that, for certain periods."
"But there came a moment when I was doing my own thing and getting the same results, so I needed a change. And that's where I thought – ok, let's try this. I don't want to finish my career and have any regrets. I wanted to be the best version of myself," he justifies as the main reason for joining the Dutch team.
Another is the hope of taking another step in his climbing performances, at age 32. For this, he links up with Tim Heemskerk, Jonas Vingegaard's coach. "It's one of the reasons why I am here, because I want to learn from the best. Jonas has shown himself to be one of the best riders in the world and I am also searching for that, I want to see if I can make that jump. So I made the decision to work with his coach."
As is the case with riders joining UAE, Yates has some important differences in his training methods over the past few months. "I will not go into excruciating detail, some things should be kept private, but it's definitely a different approach - everything from the timings of how much things are done to when to do them. That's a big difference, but it's nothing space age."
On Vingegaard himself, whom he'll race with at the Volta a Catalunya, and then again at the Grand Boucle, the Briton got a good first impression. "He's got a real attention to detail, I was not expecting that to be different but to see it in first person, that was inspiring, and quite motivating. Hopefully I'll pick up some things from him."
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- I'm deeply sick of this guy and his unwillingness to race seriously for more than a month or two. I'll never respect riders who do that. Seixas will be stronger than him next season, and maybe Del Toro as well. I don't even think he'll finish on the podium at any GT where Pogi, Seixas, and Del Toro are racing.megasmacky15-11-2026
- Not a chance in hell.megasmacky15-11-2026
- If you go watch some races from last season other riders that have never caught Jonas...are now catching him. Some are just riding away from him and he can't hold the wheelmd197514-11-2026
- He just doesn't have the desire anymore. I read an article earlier today that said he almost retired last year. His reasoning was he is away from home to much. Visma was able to keep him riding by allowing him to skip certain camps. So, while currently Visma is doing altitude work...Jonas is at home. Which means 2 things. 1- He maybe fresher than other riders. But, not the condition. 2-Is a somewhat slap in the face to others on the team that are supposed to help him win. Yet feel like he hasn't done what they have so perhaps they don't provide as good of protection or they ride more for theme (which the team may not notice).md197514-11-2026
- Roglic could not have won anyway, after Jonas followed him when Roglic decided it was his turn for a stage win. Jonas had already attacked Kuss twice, so it was Jonas who was within seconds of taking the lead before Kuss was 'gifted' the win. It felt a bit like Roglic was being thrown under the bus when the team made his unhappiness public.Hills3314-11-2026
- POG1, another nice doc about our favourite, I watched most of it with a big smile on my face (except for the bits about his crashes 😢 obvs!).Lozza14-11-2026
- Martinez had a good year! 5th at the Tour was a great result for him, albeit largely through getting in successful breaks, but he held it better than Pidcock who’d done the same.Lozza14-11-2026
- guess what Valgren, you're 34, and no you're not good enough. sorry to say.mij14-11-2026
- I'm a sepp fan and like to think he earned that LOL, indulge me : ) I think Jonas was fine. Roglic did not want to concede to Sepp. and I don't think you ever attack your own teammate in the leaders jersey if he is holding his own, which Sepp just about was.mij14-11-2026
- enough time? he's 24 years old. He's won 10 races over the last 2 years and some are significant. I won't argue about his attitude being good - it needs to improve. But with some coaching and mentorship he has a lot of winning ahead of him and has plenty of time to win a GT. I don't think he will ever beat Tadej, but everyone else is fair game Look at Mas and Valverde - they were 31 and 29, respectively, when they won the Vuelta.mij14-11-2026
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