Team Sky’s lead Sports Director, Sean Yates has announced he is quitting the team and retiring from cycling after three decades in the sport. Yates was himself a pro cyclist, the British individual pursuit champion in 1982 and 1983 and a stage winner at both the Tour de France and Vuelta a España in 1988, before retiring in 1996 to follow a management career in the sport. He joined Team Sky at their inception and is largely credited with masterminding Bradley Wiggins win at this year’s TdF.
In a statement Team Principal Dave Brailsford said: ‘After a long career in professional cycling, he has told us that he wants to move on, for purely personal reasons… Sean has been a great support to the riders on the road and a valuable colleague to us all. We wish him the best for the next step in his life.’
The news of his departure comes immediately on the back of Team Sky’s Race Coach, Bobby Julich, leaving the outfit after disclosing that he used a banned substance whilst a pro cyclist during the late 1990s. However Sky are at pains to point out that, although he was interviewed – along with all staff – about any historic misdemeanours there were ‘…no admissions or disclosures that would have required him to leave the team,’ and his exit is, ‘for purely personal reasons.’