"It's truly a monk's life you live": Tom Dumoulin can understand Simon Yates' decision to retire
Cycling
Team Visma | Lease a Bike is not in a good spot at the moment. 2025 Giro d'Italia winner Simon Yates suddenly retired at the start of the season. Jonas Vingegaard's coach, Tim Heemskerk, also quit with immediate effect. Cian Uijtdebroeks terminated his contract early to join Movistar and injuries continue to set back Visma's key riders.
"My first reaction is: striking," fellow former Giro d'Italia winner Tom Dumoulin whose career ended with Visma in 2022 said on the podcast In De Waaier. However, the Dutchman doesn't want to speculate too much. "I'm not in the thick of it, none of us are, and none of us know what's going on within the team. I try to stay away from speculation a little bit. It is striking, though."
In any case, he finds the case of Simon Yates quite worrying. "He's still at training camp in December, and in January, he decides: figure it out, I'm quitting. You don't do that when you're having a blast. If you're cycling with complete joy and you're having a great time in the team, you don't do that. Apparently, there's something they have triggered in him."
Maybe there's truth to the most common explanation that Yates simply ticked off the last big box in his career and lost motivation, but it's not something that happens every day: "Maybe that played a part for him. In the sense of: I'm quitting, because if you like it, but not enough to live that monk's life every day..."
No need to go far for examples of when being a professional cyclist is not much fun.
There's the training camp in the Sierra Nevada, where Visma team has to stay indoors due to bad weather. "They can't do anything about that, but it's truly a monk's life you live. They're there for three weeks at training camp in the snow, riding those rollers for hours every day and then weighing your food. I like it more now. I'm more comfortable here," the Dutchman laughs.
The former world time trial champion doesn't want to draw conclusions too soon. "I can't really explain it from the outside. I also don't know if one thing is connected to the other. Tim Heemskerk's departure could have a completely different cause than Simon Yates's retirement. I don't think we should judge that too much. It is striking, though."
Simon Yates completed a chapter in his career and life at the 2025 Giro d'Italia
Is Visma at a crossroads?
"Well, no, because I still think Visma | Lease a Bike is leading in many areas within cycling. The way they approach their sport, their performance, their approach to coaching - it's really excellent and unparalleled in modern cycling," he continues, praising the team.
Yet, the Dutchman sees the focus on enjoyment perhaps fading a bit. "Of course it's about winning and performing, but if someone doesn't enjoy it and doesn't get the best out of themselves, you can write nutrition plans until you weigh ounces, but then you're not going to get the most out of a rider."
When Zonneveld asks if that's a problem for Visma | Lease a Bike alone, or for cycling as a whole, Dumoulin is adamant: "I think it's for all of cycling, but Visma is the first, because they're also leading the way with that data-driven approach. That doesn't suit some personality types as well," concludes the former Giro winner.
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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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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