The news left everyone speechless: Simon Yates , winner of last year's Giro d'Italia, has decided to retire from cycling.

Team Visma shared a letter from the British rider on its social media channels, in which he explained that he had made the decision to retire after much consideration.

Yates leaves cycling 'with serenity and pride ', and wanted to thank 'all those who have been close to me since the first races in the Manchester velodrome and in particular Team Visma, for their understanding and support even in this decision'.

The 33-year-old, however, did not discuss the specific reasons that led him to make this completely unexpected decision , and Team Visma did not want to comment on the choice either.

Simon Yates, in fact, had shown that he could compete at the highest levels : in addition to winning the Giro d'Italia, last year he managed to win a stage at the Tour de France and such a sudden and unexpected choice left all cycling fans quite surprised .