It's hard to think of a worse time for a cycling team to lose a key rider than just seven days into a new year and season, but that's the situation which Visma-Lease a Bike found them in after Simon Yates announced he was retiring last week.
A two-time Grand Tour winner, reigning Giro d'Italia champion, and a key cog in the climbing train for team leader Jonas Vingegaard, a surprising end to the Brit's career means Visma have been forced to adapt calendars and redesign a 2026 plan that had included Yates.
