Bjarne Riis sees Yates' retirement as disaster for Vingegaard and Visma | LaB: 'They’ve weakened on all fronts'

With the retirement of Simon Yates, the 2026 season has already suffered a major shock. The Brit leaves Visma | Lease a Bike after just one year, and his departure leaves a significant gap within the Dutch squad. How will Visma cope with that loss? Bjarne Riis wonders aloud, and believes it is a very bad sign.

According to the Dane, Visma | Lease a Bike did not see this coming; otherwise, a replacement would already have been lined up. “You can’t help but ask: why on earth now? They are training hard for the upcoming season,” Riis told BT. “I don’t think it was planned. Because if it was, he probably would have helped the team by saying it in time.”

Would Yates really have been allowed to leave so easily? “I think it’s a mistake by Visma, which already has plenty of challenges to deal with,” Riis continues. “The team has already become smaller, and that makes a rider like Yates even more important. Because I don’t see a replacement any time soon. Visma has become weaker. They haven’t improved; they’ve weakened on all fronts.”

It is particularly bad news for Jonas Vingegaard, says the 1996 Tour de France winner. Vingegaard now loses one of his most important lieutenants for the coming season. “It’s a big loss. They are losing a Giro winner who could possibly finish in the top five of the Tour de France. Jonas loses an important rider for the Tour. Jonas needs all the support from his team.”

Yates recently worked through a long-standing trauma with his surprise victory in the Giro d’Italia, and later in the summer he also won a stage in the Tour de France. Yet Riis finds the 33-year-old climber’s decision hard to understand. “It’s a bit strange, and these are strange times. But if you lose the will, you lose the will.” According to reports, Vingegaard is set to ride the Giro d’Italia, meaning Yates would not have been able to defend his title.

Still, Riis believes that should not have been a reason to quit. “On the other hand, as the reigning Giro winner, you should be extra motivated,” he says. “There must be someone who feels like you’re being fooled. That guy has just won the Giro and suddenly doesn’t care anymore, while others fight all year without winning anything.”