UAE Team Emirates-XRG's Adam Yates has opened up about his brother Simon's surprising decision to end his career, saying his twin "wasn't feeling it anymore" and that "it's better to stop than to prolong the suffering".
The Yates twins started their professional careers together, joining Orica GreenEdge in 2014 and spending several years racing for the Australian team. Their careers have since diverged, though always remained close, but will now take the biggest step apart as Simon leaves the peloton and Adam continues, with a contract in place with UAE until at least 2028.
Yates started his season at the Tour Down Under after spending the off-season in Australia, and had previously said little publicly about his brother's retirement, but opened up about the topic as he sat down with the media ahead of the Tour of Oman, where he is chasing a third-straight GC victory.
"He spoke to me a couple of times [about retiring]. Obviously I was in Australia and he was in Europe so with the time zone it was quite tricky to talk," he told media in Oman, including Wielerflits.
"But he was saying not feeling it, not motivated, and that's it. If you're not happy doing something, then it's better to stop than to prolong the suffering. We've been in this sport for a long time, I turned pro in 2014, so it's 11 or 12 years now, that's a long time, but actually we've been riding our bikes since I was eight or nine. Eventually you get tired of something and you need to change and do normal life."
Simon's decision at the start of January came as a shock to everyone – including his own Visma-Lease a Bike team, who had already factored him into their 2026 plans and ambitions – but his brother downplayed the loss of his brother in the bunch for him personally.
"No, not really," Yates answered when asked if it would be weird to be in the peloton without his brother. "We've been on different teams for a long time now. He's enjoying life actually."
Simon arguably had a more successful 2025 than Adam, winning the Giro d'Italia in emotional fashion in May whilst Adam has largely ridden in support of others in recent years, but the UAE rider emphasised that he wasn't thinking of following in his brother's footprints any time soon.
"Me? No, I enjoy riding the bike and I'm here for the next three years at least. I think if you enjoy it, you keep going for as long as you can," he said. "He was not enjoying it, so he decided to stop, and that's how it is. I think if you're happy with what you've achieved and you're at peace with what you did in your career then you can stop and enjoy the rest of your life, enjoy normal life."
Though a former Tour de France podium finisher, Adam Yates' Grand Tour ambitions have shifted towards helping others, namely Tadej Pogačar, he does get opportunities in races like the Tour of Oman, and will be going after the win this week. The race started well for UAE, with Sebastián Molano sprinting to victory on stage 1.
"For me it's going to be more of a patience game, we'll need to wait for stage 5 with the Green Mountain, it's the one that suits me the most and normally where I can try and win, so we'll see," he said.
