Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Thursday, January 8, 2026
Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary | Our YouTube page
2025 Tour de France | 2025 Giro d'Italia
How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these. - George Washington Carver
Les Woodland's book Cycling’s 50 Craziest Stories is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Upcoming racing:
- January 17 - 25: Tour Down Under
- January 25: Classica Comunitat Valenciana 1969-GP Valencia
- January 28 - February 1: Challenge Ciclista Mallorca
- February 1: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
Latest completed racing:
- January 1: GP Sven Nys
- December 30: Superprestige Diegem
- December 29: Trofee Loenhout-Azencross
- December 26: World Cup Gavere
- December 23: Superprestige Heusden-Zolder
- December 14: World Cup Namur
- November 16: Trofee Hamme-Flandriencross
- November 1: Trofee Oudenaarde-Koppenbergcross
- October 26: Superprestige Overijse-Vlaamse Druivencross
- October 14 - 19: Tour of Guangxi
- October 14 - 19: Tour of Holland
Content continues below the ads
Here’s the announcement from his Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Simon Yates has decided to bring his professional cycling career to an end. After a successful season with Team Visma | Lease a Bike, the 33-year-old Brit is calling time on his career.
In his final year as a professional, Simon achieved several outstanding results. He won the Giro d’Italia for the team and claimed a stage victory in the Tour de France. Earlier in his career, the Brit also won the Vuelta a España, multiple stages across the three Grand Tours, and the overall classification of Tirreno–Adriatico.
Simon Yates with his Visma | Lease a Bike team after winning the 2025 Giro d'Italia. Sirotti photo
Yates writes:
“Dear all,
I have made the decision to retire from professional cycling.
This may come as a surprise to many, but it is not a decision I have made lightly. I have been thinking about it for a long time, and it now feels like the right moment to step away from the sport.
Cycling has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. From racing on the track at the Manchester Velodrome, to competing and winning on the biggest stage and representing my country at the Olympic Games, it has shaped every chapter of my life.
I am deeply proud of what I have managed to achieve and equally grateful for the lessons that came with it. While the victories will always stand out, the harder days and setbacks were just as important. They taught me resilience and patience, and made the successes mean even more.
To everyone who has supported me along the way, from the staff to my teammates, your unwavering belief and loyalty made it possible for me to realise my own dreams. Whenever I doubted myself, you never did. Thank you.
Content continues below the ads
To my team, Team Visma–Lease a Bike, thank you for your understanding and support of my decision to stop now. You gave me the opportunity to rewrite my history, and through trust and belief, we did it together. Thank you.
To my family, you shared the sacrifices that came with this sport. The absences and missed birthdays were never easy, yet you understood what this journey meant to me and supported it wholeheartedly. I owe you more than I can ever properly express. Thank you.
I step away from profession al cycling with deep pride and a sense of peace. This chapter has given me more than I ever imagined. Memories and moments that will stay with me long after the racing ends and for whatever comes next.
Thank you for the journey.
Simon Yates”.
Head of Racing Grischa Niermann: “With Simon, we won the Giro d’Italia last year, an incredibly special achievement for both him and the team. That was one of the major goals of the season, for us as a team and for Simon personally. The fact that he also went on to win a stage in the Tour de France underlines his class. It is a shame that he is stopping now, but he does so at an absolute high point. Simon was an exceptional climber and general classification rider who always delivered when it mattered most. In the Giro, he peaked at a moment when almost no one expected him to be able to win anymore, which truly characterizes him as a rider.”
Content continues below the ads
Here’s the team’s announcement:
Valentin Paret-Peintre has inked a new deal with our team, which will see him remain a key part of Soudal Quick-Step until the end of 2028.
Paret-Peintre winning stage 16 of the 2025 Tour de France. That's Ben Healy just behind him. Sirotti photo
The French climber joined the squad in 2025 and made an immediate impact, announcing himself at the highest level by taking the queen stage of the Tour of Oman, claiming two distinctive jerseys along the way and finishing an impressive runner-up on the general classification.
That breakthrough season reached its defining moment in the final week of the Tour de France, where Valentin produced a ride for the ages to triumph atop the mythical Mont Ventoux, writing history for both Soudal Quick-Step and French cycling. It was an unforgettable success for the 24-year-old from Annemasse, who stood alone as the only French stage winner of that Tour.
“I’m very happy here, I feel at home in the team, and I’ve built strong relationships with both the riders and the staff. I love being part of this group, whether it’s at races or training camps. Signing until 2028 means a lot to me, because last season showed how much I can grow in this environment. I believe strongly in this team, and I feel their confidence in me every day, which is hugely motivating and pushes me to keep progressing”, said Valentin, who will begin his season next month at the Muscat Classic, ahead of the Tour of Oman.
“It was immediately clear that Valentin had the qualities we value most at Soudal Quick-Step. From the moment he arrived, he showed not only his talent, but also the mentality, ambition, and hunger to improve that define our team. His performances spoke for themselves, but just as important was the way he integrated into the group and embraced our way of racing. Extending his contract was a natural and strategic decision for us. Extending Valentin is an investment in the ambitions this team has for uphill racing and grand tours, and we are proud to continue building something strong and ambitious together over the coming years”, said Soudal Quick-Step CEO Jurgen Foré.
Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary