“One door closes, another opens” – Ben Tulett ready to fill Simon Yates gap at Visma after shock retirement

Simon Yates walking away has forced Team Visma | Lease a Bike to redraw parts of their 2026 map. One of the riders now standing closest to that open space is Ben Tulett.

The British climber had already been mapped into Visma’s plans for next season, but those plans assumed Yates would be there too. When that changed, Tulett immediately found himself in a different position.

Speaking to Wielerflits, Tulett admitted the timing of Yates’s decision came as a surprise, but also as an opportunity. “We already had a plan for 2026 with Simon as part of it, but now that’s changed,” he said. “So it looks like there will be some changes to my calendar personally, and that’s exciting. One door closes, another opens.”

That single line now frames his entire build-up to 2026.

Yates was expected to play a major role in Visma’s Grand Tour structure. His retirement leaves more than just an empty jersey; it removes experience, leadership and a rider capable of shaping race strategy in three-week races.

Tulett knows that space exists. “Simon’s race programme now needs someone to fill those shoes,” he said. “So there are opportunities coming, from what it looks like.”

That does not mean a straight swap. Tulett is still only in his mid-twenties and remains in a development phase, but his last two seasons have shown why Visma see him as more than just a long-term project.

He has already delivered overall wins in smaller stage races, podiums in one-day races and solid performances in the Ardennes. He also rode the Vuelta supporting Jonas Vingegaard during a race that was disrupted by protests, neutralisations and stage changes, gaining experience in how leaders handle chaos around them.

That is not nothing when a team suddenly needs new pillars.

Before Yates stepped away, Tulett’s role for 2026 had been communicated as a free role in the Ardennes classics and again at the Vuelta. Now even the Tour de France is no longer off the table.

When asked if Yates’s planned Tour role could open a door for him, Tulett did not dodge it. “Yeah, it’s definitely a possibility,” he said. “We had a plan thinking Simon was also going to be racing, and now that’s changed. So we have to adapt and see what’s there.”

He went further when pressed on whether he could imagine himself riding the Tour. “It’s definitely a possibility. And if it does happen, we’ll be ready to race the biggest race in our sport. That’s really exciting and motivating looking ahead to the coming year.”

For a rider who is still described as developing, that is a big shift in tone.

Tulett recently renewed his contract, and he links that directly to the environment he is in. “This is a team where I feel very comfortable,” he said. “I believe that in the next years I can get the best out of myself here. That brings a lot of trust, trust from the team and trust in myself.”

Visma have quietly been building what they call their “white jersey group”, a system designed to prepare younger riders for leadership in the biggest races. Tulett has already been part of that process and sees it as proof that the team plans years ahead, not just months.

“I think it’s a really nice project from the team, to develop younger riders into racing and winning the biggest races in the world,” he said. “If you look at the history of it, it’s worked very well.”

That matters now, because Yates’s absence forces Visma to lean harder on riders who were being prepared for tomorrow, not necessarily today.

For all the talk about opportunity, Tulett keeps his personal aim simple. “My long-term objective is to target the general classification in Grand Tours,” he said. But he also made it clear he does not want to wait quietly for that moment. “Whenever there’s an opportunity to win, I want to be there and take it.”

That line fits neatly with what Visma now need: riders who can grow, but who are also willing to step forward when the team structure shifts unexpectedly.

Yates leaving was not part of the script. But for Ben Tulett, it has turned 2026 from a year of steady development into one where doors are suddenly opening much faster than planned.