On a random Wednesday afternoon in January, on the cusp of the new cycling season, Simon Yates announced his retirement. Perhaps anticipating the reaction, he wrote in a farewell address: “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.”
One of the oddities of an athlete’s life is wrestling with the idea that, at some point, you have to call it quits. There is a school of thought that you should know when the time is right, that you should go gracefully, rather than clinging on helplessly as your body starts to betray you and fresher, hungrier competitors supersede you.
