Yates' retirement a sign of bigger problem? 'Applies practically to everyone except phenomena like Van der Poel'

It was quite a surprise after all, when Simon Yates suddenly announced his immediate departure from cycling on Wednesday. The rider and team have since explained that decision, but the cycling world still talks about it. A lot, actually. Davide Cimolai, the 36-year-old Italian who said goodbye to the sport this winter, sees a bigger problem with it.

Among other things, Yates cited spending little time with his family and relatives as a reason for quitting at the age of 33. This is something that Cimolai, who after two final years at Movistar will not return in 2026, agrees with. 'If cycling had remained the same as it was a few years ago, it would certainly have been much easier,' he says to CyclingPro.

'With the demands of professional cycling these days, it is very difficult to combine career and family if you want to raise your children in a certain way,' the Italian continued. 'If you are in a sense "satisfied" with the idea of your children being with their mother or a babysitter, of course it's different.' Cimolai himself decided to quit to be with his children while raising them.

The term "burnout" is also more common in cycling nowadays. 'That's not a big problem,' Cimolai observes. 'If I had been a top champion, I wouldn't have hesitated for a moment to quit at a very high level. I would have done it at the peak of my career, regardless of the stress of cycling.'

The former Movistar rider saw the cycling world change in his professional career, which began back in 2008. 'Because I experienced the radical changes in recent years, especially after Covid, I understand how hard it is, both physically and mentally.' To portray that, Cimolai uses the example of Milan-Sanremo. 'Before, to prepare for that race, you arrived at the Tirreno-Adriatico at 80 or 90 percent of your ability.'

Now that is different. 'A good professional must be in top form before the first race of the year, otherwise you run the risk of not crossing the finish line or extending your recovery time. This applies to practically everyone except phenomena like Van der Poel and Pogacar. Nutrition has also changed enormously. You have to be constantly alert.'

That is not easy for pro's of this era, observes the Italian. 'One of the things that destroys riders is that you don't have fun anymore. Perhaps also because of the overuse of social media, there is little interaction between riders. There is no longer a tight group within the team like there used to be. I noticed this a bit at Movistar, where after dinner we would have coffee together or eat a piece of chocolate on the bus.'

For him, there was nothing else to do but quit as a pro rider. 'I realized I wasn't enjoying the races anymore. Maybe just because of fatigue, right? But I used to leave races always feeling happy, the last few years.... well, you know,' Cimolai draws his final conclusion.