Visma-Lease a Bike have emerged as the front-runner to sign Simon Yates as the Brit looks to move on after 11 years at the Australian side now called Jayco AlUla.
Having turned pro with the team as Orica GreenEDGE in 2014, Yates’s contract is due to expire at the end of this season. Australian rider Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) is reportedly set to join Jayco and replace Yates as the GC leader.
Yates’ strong links to transfer to the Dutch outfit were confirmed by multiple sources first to Het Laatste Nieuws then La Gazzetta dello Sport, with the Brit looking to join a team that already had leaders in place so he could share the burden at the biggest races.
He’s one of several new signings heavily rumoured to bolster the Dutch squad in 2025 alongside Classics man Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny) and Axel Zingle (Cofidis), with Visma's status as one of cycling’s super teams not harmed by their injury-derailed 2024 season.
At Visma, Yates would join Matteo Jorgenson, Sepp Kuss and Cian Uijtdbeoreks one step below overall leader and two-time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard but leadership opportunities would likely be up for grabs at one-week WorldTour races and at the Giro and Vuelta.
Vingegaard would undoubtedly be the leader at any race he lines up at, however, Yates may have taken inspiration from twin brother Adam Yates, who has reached career-best form riding as a domestique for Tadej Pogačar at UAE Team Emirates.
Since joining the Emirati team from Ineos Grenadiers in 2023, Adam Yates has taken 10 wins, including the opening stage of the Tour in 2023 which saw him enjoy a stint in the yellow jersey. Adam finished third at that Tour overall and looks to be riding into flying form for the upcoming Tour again after dominating the recent Tour de Suisse alongside teammate João Almeida.
Simon Yates has brought great success to Jayco throughout his career, taking overall victory at La Vuelta a España in 2018, alongside a podium at the Giro in 2021 and a career-best fourth place at last year’s Tour.
He’s also managed 33 wins in his time on the squad at some of the biggest races, notably two stages at the Tour, six at the Giro and two at the Vuelta, alongside GC victories at Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour of the Alps.
But at 31 years old and after one final crack at the Tour with Jayco this summer, Yates is ready for a new role on the Dutch squad. No official confirmation will come until the transfer window opens on August 1 but look for Yates in yellow in 2024.
