Team Visma LAB

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Man, peoples be touchy.

 

[pastronef]

Yup.
Also, there's so much talk about mental health in professional cycling and sports in general, then an athlete calls it quits before burning out and he's deemed unprofessional. Or worse someone who belongs in the clinic. I don't get it.

true

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Please connect use of a bronchial dilator in @2015, 2016 with made up diabolical retirement plan, tough if not impossible to connect the dots.
Yates is a great, great bike racer and the level of internet ugly just grows and grows and grows. As podcasts and blogs grow like cancer, so do angles for every action of everyone, everything. There is nothing that will not birth a conspiracy theory, times a million. Everyone is searching for clicks, trying to title things to get attention.

Alternate less attractive headline

33 year old cyclist retiring after highly accomplished track and road racing career.

The question was open-ended though; "what could you possibly accuse Simon Yates of?" In that context, the fact that he has had a doping ban, no matter how inconsequential, is a material fact because it is something you can accuse him of, even if it isn't really relevant to his retirement. Jono's post doesn't purvey any conspiracy theory; it just highlights that there actually is something you can accuse Simon Yates of, regardless of whether relevant at this point in his career.

Frankly, about the second part, I think it's the reverse of what you're talking about, things like this are far more accepted than they were ten to fifteen years ago. If a two-time former GT winner with a doping suspension in his history, riding for one of the most dominant teams in the sport, retired out of nowhere on the eve of the season in 2011, you'd have seen a lot more shade being thrown at them than Yates' retirement has attracted. I'd point out that this thread is in the Clinic; if you don't want to see people raise doping stories around riders you like, then you might be in the wrong place.

Another thing is that typically at the moment riders are more successful young than they were in that era, and so are riding WT calendars at a younger age, and therefore have more miles on the clock by the time they hit their early 30s than riders used to. We may start to see this more often going forward.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Following his sudden retirement, Simon seems to have gone on a blocking spree on social media.

 

[Cookster15]

I'd point out that this thread is in the Clinic; if you don't want to see people raise doping stories around riders you like, then you might be in the wrong place.

You are right. But if people disagree with doping accusations and insinuations they are free to challenge those views here using facts, logic and reason. That's why this forum exists.

 

[Squire]

Another thing is that typically at the moment riders are more successful young than they were in that era, and so are riding WT calendars at a younger age, and therefore have more miles on the clock by the time they hit their early 30s than riders used to. We may start to see this more often going forward.

Completely agree. I (and tons of others, so it's not like I've invented the wheel here) have been saying this for quite some time. I expect a rather early decline and retirement from Pogacar, and he's even started insinuating that himself lately. It feels like a lot more riders nowadays are dropping off when the get near 30, and that has to be more down to mental fatigue than anything physical, although 'miles on the clock' might play a part physically too. Of course it's not unprecedented, we've had guys like Saronni in the past. But the amazing 1990 generation is a great example, I think. A lot of those guys were pretty much done around 2019/2020.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

You are right. But if people disagree with doping accusations and insinuations they are free to challenge those views here using facts, logic and reason. That's why this forum exists.

I think a generous amount of sense of humor should also be applied when frequenting the Clinic. I mean, why so serious when broaching the topic of doping? Plenty of my fave athletes from the past have gotten popped, you just kind of learn to laugh in despair and move on.

 

[Revelation]

Please connect use of a bronchial dilator in @2015, 2016 with made up diabolical retirement plan, tough if not impossible to connect the dots.
Yates is a great, great bike racer and the level of internet ugly just grows and grows and grows. As podcasts and blogs grow like cancer, so do angles for every action of everyone, everything. There is nothing that will not birth a conspiracy theory, times a million. Everyone is searching for clicks, trying to title things to get attention.

Alternate less attractive headline

33 year old cyclist retiring after highly accomplished track and road racing career.

Whatever you say, Simon. C'mon, spill the beans, what are they cooking up at Visma?

 

[HashRouge]

They said on the Cycling Podcast that they'd heard rumours of Simon Yates wanting to retire last summer, they just weren't sure how seriously to take them at the time. According to Daniel Friebe, he actually wanted to retire after the Giro and didn't even want to go to the Tour, but was "reminded of his obligations to the team". All in all, I'm inclined to think there isn't much drama here, other than that Simon Yates doesn't really care anymore and didn't enjoy the prescriptive regime at Visma.

 

[jono]

They said on the Cycling Podcast that they'd heard rumours of Simon Yates wanting to retire last summer, they just weren't sure how seriously to take them at the time. According to Daniel Friebe, he actually wanted to retire after the Giro and didn't even want to go to the Tour, but was "reminded of his obligations to the team". All in all, I'm inclined to think there isn't much drama here, other than that Simon Yates doesn't really care anymore and didn't enjoy the prescriptive regime at Visma.

You're probably right although the timing is still quite strange.