CyclistI like being under the radar: Simon Yates profileName this rider. Hes one of only two Brits to win the Vuelta a Espaa. He has finished in the top ten at the Tour de France twice, including fourth last year. He has been on the podium at the Giro dItalia (in 2021) and is second behind only Mark Cavendish as the Brit with the most Giro stage victories. He has already won a stage race this year. He has won more races than his twin brother: 34 versus 28. He has stuck with the same team since turning pro in 2014. He arguably does not receive the recognition he deserves. Welcome to the understated world of Simon Yates. Related Posts I think everybody wants to win the Tour de France: Adam Yates profile Vuelta a Espana 2018: Simon Yates seals vintage year for British cycling with overall victory Who are the favourites for the mens Tour de France 2024? Mens Tour de France 2024: Route, how to watch and all you need to know Season stalledCyclist catches up with 31-year-old Yates off the back of a strong start to the year that then hit the buffers through illness. He won the final stage of the AlUla Tour in February to claim the GC, and by doing so thoroughly satisfied the main sponsor of his team, Jayco-AlUla. That came after he finished seventh at the Tour Down Under in January.After AlUla, I came down with a virus that lingered for a long time, he says. I was down for Tirreno-Adriatico but that was scrapped for a couple more weeks of rest. Instead it was Catalunya and then the Ardennes campaign.Yates looked under the weather as he finished 57th on GC in Catalunya. He then DNFed at the GP Miguel Indurin before his Ardennes campaign comprised just Lige-Bastogne-Lige, where he came 32nd.Veronika SchobererIt was an inauspicious spring for a rider aiming for a podium at the Tour de France in July. Still, Yates, who we discover is a man of science, can take comfort in a 2015 study entitled What Doesnt Kill Me that concluded athletes felt adversity provided the magic ingredient behind success, with repeated non-selection, a death of a family member, political unrest and injury variously deemed vital. Then again, there are further studies that show the maximal gain behind Olympic success is simply consistency of training. Yates is firmly a proponent of the latter.For me, remaining injury-free is massive. Last years Tour de France was the first Grand Tour for a long time I hadnt been ill or injured. I had Covid at two Grand Tours [Vuelta 2022 and Giro 2020], a knee injury at another [Giro 2022] and a crash at the Tour [2021]. If I can stay fit, I usually ride well.Overcoming his illness and cranking up fitness for the Grand Dpart in Florence on 29th June will mainly play out away from the spotlight as, similar to 2023, Yates has no races planned after late Aprils Tour de Romandie (at which this year he finished 11th).Last year I found going from training camp to training camp worked well. Obviously this could change, but whatever happens you know its really not easy to perform at the Tour, especially with the field as it is.That field depending on how various injuries heal could include the Fab Four of Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogaar, Primo Rogli and Remco Evenepoel. Its a daunting prospect but Yates is an experienced rider who knows that having all the focus on the four big names could play in his favour.I can do similar to last year and take a bit of a back seat, Yates says. No ones really looking at me and I prefer that. The Tour is such a huge spectacle and theres so much media coverage around it that it can begin to take its toll. You have the rest days, but you dont really have a rest because there are press conferences. Still, those superstars of the peloton should take up a lot of the attention, and thats good because all these things take you away from focussing on the bike. In that sense, I dont mind being under the radar.Living the high lifeAs tactically astute as it may be to stay out of the limelight at Grand Tours, thats not what Yates did on Stage 1 of the Tour de France last year. On a hilly 182km parcours around the Basque region, he joined his identical twin Adam on the descent of the final climb, the Cte de Pike. The brothers riding for rival teams entered the last kilometre with a few seconds advantage on a group that included Vingegaard and Pogaar. They worked together to stay ahead of the pack, but sibling sentimentality was forgotten in the final 300m as UAE Team Emirates rider Adam edged out his brother.Simon Yates would finish second again on Stage 17, when Felix Gall soloed to victory, and then on a mountainous Stage 20 he stuck with Vingegaard and stage-winner Pogaar to secure fourth place in the GC.Veronika SchobererDespite that, Yatess exploits drew few column inches. Like his training-led approach, he flew under the radar. Did he feel under-appreciated?Not at all. I was very happy with my performance. Still, I always think that if Id won those two stages, Id have beaten my brother to the podium and then it would be seen as a hugely successful Tour. I was just missing that little bit which is why Im not afraid to give it another shot.According to Yates, that little bit might be about maintaining top-end, punchy power as time goes on.As a climber, over the past year or two Ive had really strong numbers when it comes to watts per kilo and also raw wattage. Thats across the board, from five to 60 minutes. But maybe Ive lost the real top-end as the years have rolled by. But Im working on it, and I have to because races are getting faster and faster.In search of that top end, Yates has changed his approach to training. He moved to Andorra in 2015, well before half the peloton gravitated to this tiny principality in the Pyrenees in search of rarefied air, smooth roads, a range of climbs and, no doubt, lower rates of income tax. That was only his second full season as a professional and he has been training high ever since, which is great for his blood profile and oxygen-carrying capacity but possibly less so for helping with post-race recovery.When I first went there I moved straight up to altitude, so I was roughly training high all year round. That paid off to a degree but it also meant Id return from a race and not enjoy sufficient recovery. Now Im spending more time training at sea level to feel fresher as well as doing some really high-quality sessions day in, day out. Ill then head higher for the key parts of the season. Thatll involve time in Sierra Nevada because you enjoy good heat there, which is what youll face at the Tour.Veronika SchobererSierra Nevada is also good for hills, of which there are many at this years Tour de France. The race will visit five mountain ranges and there are seven mountain stages in all, with four summit finishes at Saint-Lary-Soulan, Plateau de Beille, Isola 2000 and Col de la Couillole. And in line with recent editions of the Tour, the first mountain stage comes very early, on Stage 4, including the Col du Galibier.Thats good, says Yates. We had a really tough start last year too, and I prefer to get stuck in straight away. I remember the Giro one year. You do these huge training camps and then you line up and youre not really racing until the tenth stage. This suits me better. There are also two time-trials whereas last year there was only one. That suits me too. My time-trials really come on over the years.Last year, Yates finished fifth on Stage 16s 22.4km time-trial into Combloux. He also won a time-trial on Stage 2 of the 2022 Giro. His performance against the clock is testament to his science-based approach to his job.I enjoy the data side of things, looking at the graphs and seeing whats good and whats not. Id say this has really skyrocketed since around 2018/2019 the nutrition, the gear, positioning, every 1% is looked after. And I think thats why you now see so much aggressive, hard racing throughout the entire year. But I enjoy it. I can see where I need to improve. Change is sometimes needed.Which brings us to Yatess ten years at the same team.Life on the EdgeIt was on 9th February 2014 that Yates made his debut for then Orica-GreenEdge, finishing 104th at Trofeo Palma. He has since seen the team morph into Orica-Scott, Mitchelton-Scott, Team BikeExchange, BikeExchange-Jayco and finally Jayco-AlUla.His brother, Adam, joined with him in 2014 but left for Ineos Grenadiers in 2021 before moving to UAE Team Emirates two years later, providing support for Pogaar. Would Simon consider leaving if an appealing opportunity came along?Getty ImagesId never say no to change, but Ive not had the opportunity so far. In my career, no one has really come searching. But thats fine. This team is great and they give me flexibility. They let me organise many of my own training camps and I can take my family, and dog, with me. Im privileged.They also give me an opportunity to race. When I joined the team they really wanted to develop the climbers and go for Grand Tours in general classification. I slowly worked my way up the tree, albeit a fair bit of pressure falls on my shoulders now. In the past we had Simon Gerrans, Daryl Impey, Esteban Chaves, my brother, all these guys who could win races and score UCI points. So theres pressure now but I like our policy of bringing through the youth and letting them develop. The future looks strong.Yates is currently in contract talks as his expires at the end of the season. Hes relaxed about signing a new one and is confident that young riders such as Luke Plapp will drive the team forward. For now, his focus remains on the Tour, potentially followed by the Paris Olympics.Ive put my hand up for selection but Im not entirely sure what happens next. But I would love to go. I raced Tokyo and it was an amazing experience. In fact, that was my dream growing up in Bury. I never even thought about racing the Tour de France, I just wanted to be an Olympian. That and having Manchester Velodrome nearby was how I ended up on the track. I wanted to do the points race but that stopped after Beijing, which was one of the reasons why I ended up changing to the road.It was a move that has reaped rewards for a decade, and which begs the question: when will Yates reach the end of his road?When you turn 30, its always in the back of your mind. You think, how long can I do this for? Whats the motivation? But Im still very motivated so I hope to go on for a lot longer yet.What will I do afterwards? I havent really thought beyond racing but I doubt Ill step into a management role. I dont know if I have the wits for that. A lot of my race wins have been down to raw power rather than tactical nous.If he can find that power come July and avoid illness and injury in the meantime he could once again quietly go about upsetting the favourites at the Tour.Simons successesThe riding life of Simon Yates2010On British Cyclings Olympic Academy programme, Yates is selected as a support rider for the 2010Commonwealth Games in Delhi, where he rooms with Chris Froome.2013Wins gold in the points race at the 2013 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Belarus. Also claims victory atop Haytor at the Tour of Britain.2014Along with brother Adam, Yates signs with WorldTour team Orica-GreenEdge. Makes Tour de France debut with only five days notice. He is withdrawn on the second rest day.2015Starts to realise stage race potential by finishing fifth at both the Tour of the Basque Country and Critrium du Dauphin, winning the white jersey as best young rider in the latter.2016Finishes seventh at Paris-Nice, but tests positive for the banned substance terbutaline. Team take blame but four-month ban means he misses the Tour. Wins first Grand Tour stage at the Vuelta.2017Finishes seventh at the Tour de France and wins the young rider classification.2018Wears the race leaders pink jersey at the Giro dItalia for 13 stages, before finishing 21st. He then becomes only the second Brit (after Chris Froome) to win the Vuelta.2019Plays support to Adam at the Tour de France, but when his brothers ambitions falter, hes freed to go for stage wins, which he does with aplomb, winning two.2020First Brit to win Tirreno-Adriatico, ahead of Geraint Thomas in second.2021Finishes third at the Giro, winning one stage along the way.2022Wins two stages of the Giro but withdraws in the final week. Covid ruins chances of a second Vuelta title.2023Finishes second at the Tour Down Under, fourth at Paris-Nice and ninth at Tour of the Basque Country. Finishes fourth overall at the Tour de France.2024Wins Stage 5 and the overall at the AlUla Tour.Yates onriding in his home town of Bury, LancashireOnce youre ten minutes out of Bury youre into some great riding with some stiff hills. You can ride across the border into Yorkshire. It was a great place to grow up as a bike rider as the Manchester Velodrome was close too.time off the bikeIm a big gamer and spend many hours unwinding via video games: FIFA, Call Of Duty, Battlefield, Forza Ill play literally anything.runningI really enjoy running and enjoy banging out a 5k or 10k on the treadmill. I dont run during the main season as theres the chance of injury, but Id like to run a marathon. My brother ran the Barcelona Marathon a few years back [in 2:58:08] and its something Id like to do after cycling while Im still fit. This article originally appeared in issue 153 of Cyclist magazine. Click here to subscribe Related Posts I think everybody wants to win the Tour de France: Adam Yates profile Vuelta a Espana 2018: Simon Yates seals vintage year for British cycling with overall victory Who are the favourites for the mens Tour de France 2024? Mens Tour de France 2024: Route, how to watch and all you need to know The post I like being under the radar: Simon Yates profile appeared first on Cyclist.