"It's a question of motivation": Matteo Trentin explains so many sudden retirements such as that of Simon Yates
Cycling
Matteo Trentin rode a more than decent 2025 season - a year that didn't bring any breakthrough result, but didn't disappoint neither. Although the 36-year-old had to wait for his first victory of the year until October when he won a sprint of a reduced group to triumph at the traditional Paris-Tours. For 2026, he doesn't give up on some of his biggest dreams, but an even better year than the previous would've already made the Italian satisfied with the season.
In an interview with Cyclism'Actu, Trentin hints at his early season programme: "The classics season will begin with the opening weekend in Belgium, with a series of races. Then Paris-Nice, and the rest as usual." Either Giro or Tour are on the cards in summer, though that's yet to be decided.
Thus Trentin heads into his third year with Tudor Pro Cycling. In 2024, he joined a team that was slightly above average in the ProTeam division, but two years down the road, the Swiss stand on top of the freeding chain in the second division as they're looking at a possible WorldTour promotion in 2029. "That's why I chose this project: it's a long-term vision," Trentin confirms.
"We're not thinking about next season, but about the ones that follow, all the way to 2029. For a cycling team, it's not easy to plan within the WorldTour or ProConti. This project is here to stay and grow even more. Tudor Pro Cycling was founded in 2023, 2024 was the team's first full year, and in 2026, three years later, we're already the top Pro Continental team with all the invitations to the major races in the world. We've made great strides."
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Thoughts of retiring? Not quite yet
2026 also happens to be Trentin's last on the current contract. And although he suggests that he's unlikely to see all the way through to Tudor's possible promotion in 2029, he doesn't yet feel like retiring. "For now, this is my last season, as I don't have a contract for 2028 or beyond. But I've spoken with the team, and if it's possible to continue, why not? It's something that depends as much on me as on the team."
He continues: "After 15 years as a professional, the children are growing up, and my job no longer dictates my life. I still love cycling, I love training, I love racing and the adrenaline rush. So, we'll see how things go this year."
Matteo Trentin would like to add one more Giro d'Italia participation to his record
It's about motivation
Simon Yates made waves in the cycling peloton with his unexpected retirement after a memorable 2025 Giro d'Italia victory, one that closed a massive chapter in his career.
"I think it's largely a question of motivation," Trentin suggests. "I knew Simon (Yates) very well; we were teammates at Mitchelton (Scott) in 2018-2019. For a general classification rider, it's different from a rider like me. There's a lot more stress and pressure during the Grand Tours. No rest days (for general classification riders), whereas for us it's a bit different; you're more relaxed in the mountains."
"And year after year, in cycling, very few win a Grand Tour, with the exception of a few like Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, or Remco Evenepoel. Simon (Yates) has done it all: [rode at the] Olympic Games, World Championships, [won] two Grand Tours…
Alberto Contador stressed how challenging it is to remain at the top of one's game in the sport of cycling, even more so if you're trying to win a Grand Tour. "This job demands a huge investment every day, 350 days a year: eating, sleeping, training… Because you're up against world-class riders. Behind you, it's a war! There are 20, 30, 40 runners at the same level, and small differences can make or break a race," Trentin echoed the legendary Spaniard's words.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- It’s off-season mate, I’m bored and fed up with the mediocrity of people unwilling to provoke change when they admit things aren’t right. What have you done lately to make anyone realise you won’t put up with things? What conversation, are you dictating to me which part of the incident I have to be interested in or telling me other parts are taboo? That’s what I guess the UCI would really like, let them moan, let it blow over for them pass on to the next thing, let’s keep the status quo, let’s try our best not reviewing or revealing anything about decision-making just like every time before, they’re used to it by now so we can take the risk they’ll never give us grief.Jumpyjohn09-11-2026
- As far as CUTD headlines go this is far from the worst. It helps if you look at it twice and realise it’s a list of descriptions from distinct events. You can’t deny the reality of being a rival if you consider the picture immediately below, frontrunner is unfortunate but I’m guessing this time it’s more a linguistic failure than a clickbaiting opportunity. Just a reminder that this is not an anglo website, for those who find it too tedious to interpret text to get the gist of things which are rarely of great importance (as opposed to eg purposely biaised DOJ extradition translations in order to achieve hidden agendas), there are plenty of anglo cycling websites google can suggest.Jumpyjohn09-11-2026
- Ah, finally someone willing to be a bit proactive.Jumpyjohn09-11-2026
- So? Do you understand the way instructions, decisions and authority work? Do you think in a football match if after a match (or even after play has gone on) a player tells the referee he did touch the ball with his hands when the referee didn’t award opponents a penalty that they will revise the score or force a replay? You really don’t get my point, it’s not against the rider but everyone here is so emotional for her they can’t get back to an issue which needs resolving for the future and the first step (or maybe second) is to try to understand how and why it happens, none of you have contributed in the least to that. All everyone is interested in is letting everyone know they agree how unjust it was, not even sure anyone thinks that could affect anything.Jumpyjohn09-11-2026
- Shouldn’t you be in MOUrning?Jumpyjohn09-11-2026
- Maybe you don’t like it and that’s fine, we all have different sensibilities and topics that touch us, but as you try to show me, it doesn’t hurt to reflect and compare ourselves to others behaving similarly. What precisely is the difference between a sports fan interested in every detail of his/her hero’s life and a celeb fan having the same hobby? It’s far more interesting to learn and think about how and why (which) people do things than reading about what they are actually doing. And just to add another level, maybe you’ll agree we don’t use the same value system for everyone, we discriminate in an enormous number of systematic ways. For example, when is the last time you saw a discussion arguing about the achievements of two politicians to compare or for that matter two business leaders apart from the comparison of hypothetical wealth accumulated? Perhaps you misunderstood the intention?Jumpyjohn09-11-2026
- I don’t think I know what’s beneath the surface but I am willing to think about it, discuss it, compare it to a known past, extrapolate to a potential future and ask/try to find out truth or even take action within my powers (boycotting something or someone is within EVERY person’s reach). If you think your attitude has more chance of changing a result, a process, a system or an institution or it just makes you feel good, keep at it but to me it looks like you’ve already given up before trying.Jumpyjohn09-11-2026
- All journalists should start asking the UCI uncomfortable questions, sending inquiries about the interpretation of the rules and the justification of the results. This is the only way to change anything.averagecyclist09-11-2026
- OFF TOPIC: OK, don't get mad with me... I have some very important news, something that can't be overlooked, something that can't be ignored!!! In the new documentary Anatomy of a G.O.A.T. (released in November 2026), legendary Belgian cyclist EDDY MERCKX spoke about TADEJ POGAČAR: Merckx: “He has revived a style of cycling that we had almost forgotten. He is now better than me.” Key statements by Merckx about Pogačar in 2026: - Acknowledging his superiority: This time, Merckx openly admitted, without any subsequent backtracking or reservations, that Pogačar had surpassed him and was now above him. This contrasts with 2024, when he quickly softened his remarks about Pogačar being faster. - The possibility of a historic triple (Giro, Tour and Vuelta): During the July Tour de France (where Pogi claimed his fifth title), Merckx stated that Pogi was the only cyclist in history capable of winning all three Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España) in a single season, provided the conditions were right and he had sufficient team support. - Lack of serious competition: Merckx emphasised that Pogačar has no real rivals in the mountains since 2024, thanks to his extraordinary climbing ability and the fact that he continues to improve despite still being under 28 (he turned 28 in autumn 2026). - Praise for his racing style: Merckx highlighted how Pogačar is bringing back the aggressive, uncompromising spirit of cycling's golden era, when races were not merely about calculated stages and tactical conservatism, but about attacking from long distances. PS: Now, this is real important cycling news. This is not "boring" ... this is called making real history, not BS history. Capish?PogiSloFans09-11-2026
- how else is there to look at things? we are responding to words and pictures, we are not there. your long winded replies make zero sense to anyone. pretty much everyone but you says the same thing. MS was robbed. somehow you think you're so smart to dig beneath the surface and discover something no one else, including the opposing coach and cyclist, saw. lol. you are a tool.mij09-11-2026
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