Visma | Lease a Bike seduces Simon Yates to join the Dutch team
Cycling
If we are to believe the usually reliable HLN , Simon Yates will become one of Visma | Lease a Bike's grand tour leaders starting next cycling season. The 31-year-old British cyclist is moving from the Australian-Saudi team, Jayco AlUla, which plans to feature Ben O'Connor as its main grand tour rider moving forward.
Yates, of course, has already earned his stripes in cycling. He won the Vuelta in 2018 and also seemed on his way to winning the Giro that year after numerous stage wins, but a major slump thwarted those plans. In 2021, he finished on the podium of the Tour of Italy once more, while last season he finished fourth in the Tour de France.
Having raced for years alongside his twin brother Adam at what is now Jayco AlUla, Simon watched his brother abandon ship and move to INEOS Grenadiers in 2021 and then to UAE-Team Emirates, where Adam plays a crucial role supporting Tadej Pogacar. Just last week, Adam clinched an impressive victory in the Tour of Switzerland and secured third place in the previous year's Tour de France.
Simon Yates looking for a team with multiple grand tour leaders
According to HLN, Simon Yates is on the hunt for a team that boasts several grand tour leaders, allowing the pressure to be shared among multiple shoulders. The climber from Bury seems to have found this ideal setup at Visma | Lease a Bike, where he would share the role of deputy leader to Jonas Vingegaard with several other riders.
Cycling transfers can be confirmed from August 1st, but Visma | Lease a Bike seems well on its way to making impressive signings. The acquisition of Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny) and Axel Zingle (Cofidis) also appears to be almost finalized, while Tijmen Graat, Menno Huising, Jorgen Nordhagen, and Matthew Brennan are set to move up from the training squad.
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Latest Comments
- Well explained, thanks for the clarity! Daniel DantasDanieldantas20-12-2024
- This is the kind of 'news' that belongs in a cheap tabloid. No matter how boring the offseason gets, nobody wants to read this.
santiagobenites19-12-2024 - I wish we could have seen him try. He'd absolutely get dropped before Pogi overtakes his domestiquesVeganpotter10-12-2024
- Talk is cheap! Next year barring crashes with a healthy team... all well be on track! Some need to talk to make a headline!mootman27-11-2024
- I do not see this event listed on HBO Max Sports Online? Can anyone confirm? Thanks!
MrYuck23-11-2024 - It seemed that he was focusing forward at the time of the crash, after seeing a quick video snippet. But one thing I think he should focus on more intently is breaking a bad habit he has, right now. And that is his constant looking over his shoulders. He does that so much, that I am very sure it is not good for him. Simply watch videos of the greats of CX and you will see very little of that constant looking over their shoulders. That is a behavior that betrays a bit of insecurity on his part. He shouldn't be so concerned, incessantly, about what is over his shoulder. He needn't worry they didn't all disappear. He neds to keep his focus more ahead of himself, and he needs to pay a bit more attention to himself, in a confident manner. It is very frustrating to watch, because it is apparent that he has a lot of potential, and is in much better shape thwan many of his competitors, but the mental game needs to be sharpened more, because that part of strategy plays a huge part in the final results
reemmo022-11-2024 - hahahaha love this shit! I didnt even watched the race, but reading all the gossip articles of how stupid this is!Zatoichi19-11-2024
- Van Aert is really handsome. He can influence me all day! Ditto for Philipsen. Why do you think many of us love cycling?: to see heroic attempts at climbing mountains at high altitudes or to watch speedsters sprint for the finish line or to watch a human being ride at break neck speed down a tricky descent? No, it's all about their lean physiques and muscular legs. (apologies for objectifying these dedicated and amazing athletes).BarwonHeadsUp25-10-2024
- It is unfortunate that the author can't feel the joy that Pogacar brings to the sport and his fans who are legion and I for one feel lucky to have watched such a memorable performance and historic season From the Strada until yesterday with multiple wins in stages in both tours and beyond dominance in the World's. He is proud to wear the Rainbow stripes, shows his leadership to protect his fellows and is as courteous and sportsman-like as the sport allows. He goes early to not have to respond to each attack as all the rest would make him do it. Any racer who could would do the same. Don't "grow tired" of greatness as it is always fleeting.ccrider13-10-2024
- What load of rubbish. Pog is likely a once in a generation cyclist, the like of which hasn't been seen since 'the Cannibal '. How many people were complaining that Merckx was making racing predictable? I remember this year's World RR as one of the most exciting I've watched. Mainly BECAUSE Pog was the favourite and launched what everyone thought (Pog included) was a suicidal attack with 80km to go. For the next 2 hours, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "this is too much, even for Pog". Maybe Zonnefeld prefers the snooze-fest that is a bunch sprint? Like most people I know, I can't watch two hours of the bunch riding very fast... I wait for the final 5km and watch just the sprint. In any event, most races are won from a sprint or lone break. What difference does it make who makes the lone break? Ultimately, the other contenders will have to figure out a way to beat Pog. Even if that means collaboration between teams. It's going to be an exciting few seasons, until the next Pog arrives on the scene. If this is boring, heaven knows what exciting looks like!Michael513-10-2024