Simon Yates transfer: Hit or Miss? | Briton joined Visma and fulfilled Giro d'Italia dream with a shocker

Team Jayco AlUla had Simon Yates in their ranks from the very start of his career in 2014 all the way into 2024. It was a decade of a successful partnership that saw the Bury-native win the Vuelta a España, stages in all Grand Tours and almost three dozen triumphs including plenty World Tour ones. However at age 32, there were big questions on how he would do in a new environment as he signed with Team Visma | Lease a Bike. The verdict is...

A complete hit. One of the most successful transfers of the year for both sides, without a shadow of a doubt.

Simon and his twin brother Adam began their career with Team Jayco AlUla (at the time called Orica GreenEdge, the team best known for having their bus crash into a Tour de France finish gate months prior to them turning pro. The same bus would welcome two British riders with an extraordinary climbing talent, both having shown tremendous features in their under-23 years and jumping onto the highest level of the sport already with a high reputation. Simon for instance had won two stages at the Tour de l'Avenir and one at the Tour of Britain where he also finished third whilst still racing for the club-level 100% Me team.

In 2016 he would break through as a Grand Tour contender, riding to a sixth place at the Vuelta a España whilst Adam had been performing in the Tour months prior. In 2017 Yates would naturally progress onto the Tour where he finished seventh, as well as winning races throughout the years in his favoured terrain. But in 2018 a lot changed as he went on to race the Giro d'Italia with stage wins at Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya already, and went on to dominate most of the Giro, winning three stages - all of them in the pink jersey - and then losing it on the infamous stage 19 to Jafferau, where he cracked fully on the Colle delle Finestre, losing his first place and replacing it with an 18th at the end of the penultimate mountain stage. One of the most dramatic fallouts in modern cycling, which in a way made him a more lovable and relatable figure.

Although he would bounce back, winning La Vuelta later in the year, two stages and the KOM jersey the next year at the Tour de France, he would never reach the heights he had seemed to promise back in 2018. True fans of the sport will remember the pre-Giro interview in which he said to his rivals: "I would be scared, I’d be shitting myself". 

Throughout the next years came GC wins at Tireeno-Adriatico, Tour of the Alps, Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, AlUla Tour; stage wins at the Giro and a few other races, a podium at the 2021 Giro - his best result to date there - and a career-best fourth place at the 2023 Tour de France, where he seemed to have shown his best-ever climbing level. But by the end of 2024 Yates wanted a new challenge, and to improve his level, which would be a hard task at age 32. His best bet was to move towards one of the absolute top teams in the peloton, and Team Visma | Lease a Bike was the one to take the chance.

Yates was now part of the Dutch team, a fully different environment but one that would go on to benefit him. But there were serious doubts early in the year that this was actually the case, as he only began his season at Tirreno-Adriatico where he finished in 14th place, followed by a 9th at the Volta a Catalunya. Not bad, but nothing compared to what he had the potential to achieve. In hindsight, he revealed that he had been hit by a car in February whilst training at altitude in Tenerife whilst he also had to deal with an illness before starting his season in mid-March.

His true level was then reached in May, but perhaps this lack of results was what he needed. He began the Giro as a mere outsiders and whilst everyone focused on the Juan Ayuso and Primoz Roglic rivalry (both abandoned the race), the rise of Isaac del Toro and speculation on how far he could go, and Richard Carapaz' climbing ability... Yates was lurking behind, riding a perfect race where he avoided the many race-changing crashes, remained healthy and also rode decent time trials that kept him close to the favourites. He was fourth ahead of stage 14 into Nova Gorica where the crashes in the rain took him to second place in the overall classification. Richard Carapaz still seemed to be the biggest threat to Isaac del Toro after the summit finish to San Valentino, but Yates remained second until stage 17 into Bormio. On stage 19 he and Visma planned on attacking the race in the Valle d'Aosta stage, but didn't manage to make an impact.

On stage 20 everything changed, as Carapaz and Del Toro charged up the first kilometer of the Finèstre like no other, and then entered a tactical battle up the ultra-mythical mountain. Yates, on his very best day, paced back towards the duo, and then within the flurry of attacks, he managed to carve a gap. Carapaz, frustrated towards Del Toro's lack of cooperation, didn't close it, and then didn't have the legs to catch Yates back. Del Toro initially didn't close the gap either, and then stopped when Carapaz refused to work after the climb, when the gap in the GC had been closed by the Briton.

Yates rode an astounding 6.2W/Kg for 59 minutes (Lanterne Rouge) at the very end of a Grand Tour, and then with the support of a perfectly-placed Wout van Aert, carved a gap of minutes to the chasers that led to an enormous pink jersey - on the very climb that ended his dreams eight years prior. Poetry in motion and justice served in its most thrilling manner.

The signing of Yates was already an absolute success for both the rider and team, who could have never imagined it would have such a successful outcome. Arguably, there weren't many celebrations he himself admitted as soon after some days of rest he got back to work, as the team began its final and full preparations towards the Tour de France. Yates was part of the plan, as the team looked to bring their A-game to defeat Tadej Pogacar. A possible task? Few would think so, but Visma were the only team that could afford to dream it.

Yates' support for the Dane eventually didn't come to fruition, as the team had to once again settle for second in the overall classification. His work didn't go unnoticed, although it came in the second half of the race, whilst in the first half he was given a free role that he managed to take advantage of. On stage 6, where Ben Healy rode to a stage victory, Yates was allowed and worked in the day's breakaway to then finish fifth.

But on stage 10, with the less explosive terrain of the Massif Central providing the backdrop for a day where Healy was again in front but this time around chasing the yellow jersey, Yates was able to outsmart and then outpower the competition. After having won twice in 2019, the Briton was able to win at the Tour once again six years later, beating Thymen Arensman in the summit finish to Puy de Sancy. At an individual level, not much more could've been asked of Yates in 2025, whilst his role for 2026 will be an interesting topic as Jonas Vingegaard is set to race the Giro d'Italia.