Simon Yates sacrificed money to join Visma-Lease a Bike

Simon Yates has said he took a pay cut to join Visma-Lease a Bike on a two-year deal for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

The British rider left BikeExchange-Jayco at the end of last season after three years, and despite interest from other teams, the 30-year-old opted to join the Norwegian Continental outfit for a new challenge.

“There were a few options for me, but when I was talking to Matt Brammeier I felt like it would be the best option for me at this time in my career,” said Yates on a Zoom call on Thursday.

“I’m really looking forward to it and I think it’s going to be a good change for me. I think I needed a fresh start after the last few years.

“Obviously the team are a bit lower level but I think it’s an exciting project and I want to be a part of that.

“I’m not sure how I’m going to get on in the smaller races, but I knew that I didn’t want to go to another WorldTour team and be riding the same races as I always have,” he said. “I wanted to try something different.”

Visma-Lease a Bike is a second-tier ProTeam and Yates admits he has taken a pay cut to join the Norwegian squad.

“It’s not a secret,” he said. “I took a pay cut, but I took it because I want to be happy and want to enjoy my racing again. I feel like I’ve had a lot of pressure on me over the last few years.”

Yates enjoyed a successful second spell at Mitchelton-Scott after rejoining the Australian team in 2020 following a difficult year at Team BikeExchange.

In 2021, he won the Volta a Catalunya for the second time and was runner-up at Paris-Nice. He also played a key role in helping Michael Matthews to win a stage of the Tour de France.

But while he started the 2022 season strongly, winning two stages and the overall at the UAE Tour and placing third at Tirreno-Adriatico, his form tailed off after the Giro d’Italia.

Yates is hoping that he can rediscover his best form with Visma-Lease a Bike and is targeting the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in 2023.

“I’m still hungry for success,” he said. “I want to be one of the best riders in the world. I’ve won two Grand Tours and I want to win more. I think I can do that with this team.”