LONDON (AP) — British rider Simon Yates announced his immediate retirement from cycling on Wednesday, ending a career that included overall victories at the Spanish Vuelta and last year's Giro d'Italia as well as stage wins at the Tour de France.
Yates' decision came as a surprise, since he was under contract with Team Visma-Lease a Bike until the end of 2026 following his departure from Jayco-AlUla after 11 years.
“But it is not a decision I have made lightly,” the 33-year-old climber said in a statement released by his team. “I have been thinking about it for a long time, and it now feels like the right moment to step away from the sport.”
Yates won the Vuelta in 2018 for his first Grand Tour title, which cemented Britain's dominance of cycling at that time. In the same year, Geraint Thomas captured the Tour de France and Chris Froome won the Giro.
Seven years later, Yates cruised to a win at the Giro — calling it “a defining moment of my career.”
His best finish at the Tour de France was fourth place in 2023.
“Cycling has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. From racing on the track at the Manchester Velodrome, to competing and winning on the biggest stage and representing my country at the Olympic Games, it has shaped every chapter of my life,” said Yates, who also won gold in the points race at the track world championships in 2013.
At the 2025 Giro, Yates produced one of the greatest rides of his career on one of cycling’s most grueling climbs.
He started the penultimate stage in third, one minute and 21 seconds behind previous leader Isaac Del Toro, but the British cyclist launched a solo attack on the climb to Colle delle Finestre — the same mountain that spelled heartbreak for him seven years before — to ride clear of his title rivals.
“It is a shame that he is stopping now, but he does so at an absolute high point,” said Grischa Niermann, head of racing at Team Visma-Lease a Bike.
The Giro win acted as redemption for Yates, who wore the pink jersey for 13 days at the Italian Grand Tour in 2018 before he cracked. He also had to withdraw from the race in 2020 and 2022 — because of coronavirus and a knee injury, respectively.
“I am deeply proud of what I have managed to achieve and equally grateful for the lessons that came with it,” Yates said. “While the victories will always stand out, the harder days and setbacks were just as important. They taught me resilience and patience, and made the successes mean even more.”
Another Yates — Simon's twin brother Adam — will keep on racing next season, with the UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
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FILE - Stage winner Britain's Simon Yates celebrates on the podium after the tenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 165.3 kilometers (102.7 miles) with start in Ennezat and finish in Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
FILE - Britain's Simon Yates lifts the trophy after winning the Giro d'Italia cycling race, in Rome, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
Minnesota’s investigations agency said Thursday that the U.S. attorney’s office has prevented it from taking part in the investigation into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer’s fatal shooting of Minneapolis woman Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three.
“The investigation would now be led solely by the FBI, and the BCA would no longer have access to the case materials, scene evidence or investigative interviews necessary to complete a thorough and independent investigation,” Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said in a statement.
It had been decided that the BCA would investigate Good’s shooting death along with the FBI, but the U.S. attorney’s office changed that, according to Evans.
The announcement came as protestors and law enforcement clashed Thursday morning outside a Minneapolis immigration court, with the governor urging restraint and schools canceling classes as a precaution. Asked about the development, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday that Minnesota authorities “don’t have any jurisdiction in this investigation.”
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Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot ’s effort, dubbed The ICE Accountability Project, allows users to upload photos and descriptions of incidents, including the use of chemical agents.
She says it will help identify officers, most of whom wear masks.
“We aim to preserve evidence, to facilitate transparent accountability,” she said.
It’s the latest effort of its kind. Illinois launched a commission last year to document incidents, while California has an online portal to file complaints.
The racial and economic justice organization also is calling for a “full and transparent investigation” into Good’s killing.
“For more than 50 years, law enforcement policy has explicitly prohibited shooting at moving vehicles—a principle established in 1972 and widely recognized as best practiced,” reads a joint statement from National Urban League President Marc Morial and Urban League Twin Cities President Marquita Stephens.
“ICE agents’ decision to ignore this standard represents a dangerous and unacceptable escalation of force, rooted in outdated and reckless tactics,” the statement continued.
In an unrelated news conference in New York, she said that while there would be an investigation into the officer’s use of force, she believed he followed his training and the shooting was justified. She again called the incident “domestic terrorism.”
“This vehicle was used to hit this officer,” Noem said. “It was used as a weapon, and the officer feels as though his life was in jeopardy. It was used to perpetuate a violent act, and this officer took action to protect himself and to protect his fellow law enforcement officers.
Noem also said that law enforcement authorities in Minnesota have not been shut out of the probe into the shooting.
“They don’t have any jurisdiction in this investigation,” she said.
— When can officers fire at a moving vehicle? There is no universal training standard for law enforcement. But most police departments and federal guidance bar shooting at a moving vehicle unless the driver poses an imminent threat of deadly force beyond the car itself.
— Why are shootings at vehicles restricted? Experts say firing at a moving car is one of the riskiest forms of lethal force, increasing the chance of stray gunfire or a loss of vehicle control that can endanger bystanders.
— Are officers expected to move out of the way? Yes. Justice Department policy says deadly force is allowed only when no reasonable alternative exists, including stepping out of the vehicle’s path.
▶ Read more about regulations on using deadly force in these situations
Outraged by Good’s death, Democratic leaders in Congress pledged to conduct strong oversight of what happened in Minneapolis, but stopped short Thursday of immediate calls to defund ICE or impeach Noem.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the killing of Good an “abomination, a disgrace.”
“We all are outraged by what took place in Minneapolis, and we will respond decisively,” said Jeffries of New York. “Blood is clearly on the hands of those individuals within the administration that have been pushing an extreme policy,” he said.
“We support the removal of violent felons in this country who are here illegally — but that’s not what this administration has been doing,” he added.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said he watched the video and “you felt like your stomach was being punched.”
Schumer said senators are discussing next steps as they consider funding in the annual Homeland Security bill, and he demanded a “full investigation.”
The head of Minnesota’s state investigations agency says the U.S. attorney’s office has cut off its access in the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an ICE agent.
“The investigation would now be led solely by the FBI, and the BCA would no longer have access to the case materials, scene evidence or investigative interviews necessary to complete a thorough and independent investigation,” Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said in a statement.
It had been decided that the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension would investigate Good’s shooting death along with the FBI, but that later was changed by the U.S. Attorney’s office, according to Evans.
The BCA “has reluctantly withdrawn from the investigation,” Evans wrote.
Beyond Minneapolis, citizens also took to the streets or were expected to do so in New York City, Seattle, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Antonio, New Orleans and Chicago.
Protests are also scheduled in smaller cities later this week in Arizona, North Carolina, and New Hampshire.
Renee Nicole Macklin Good was a 37-year-old mother of three who had recently moved to Minnesota.
She was a U.S. citizen born in Colorado and appears to never have been charged with anything involving law enforcement beyond a traffic ticket.
In social media accounts, Macklin Good described herself as a “poet and writer and wife and mom.” She said she was currently “experiencing Minneapolis,” displaying a pride flag emoji on her Instagram account. A profile picture posted to Pinterest shows her smiling and holding a young child against her cheek, along with posts about tattoos, hairstyles and home decorating.
▶ Read more about who Macklin Good was
The fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis on Wednesday has thrust a long-running and deeply contested question back into the national spotlight: When is a law enforcement officer justified in using lethal force against someone in a moving vehicle?
At the center of the debate are policies that for years have limited when officers may fire at vehicles, generally barring gunfire at fleeing cars unless the driver poses an imminent threat of deadly force beyond the vehicle itself. Those restrictions, embraced by many police departments and reflected in federal guidance, were intended to curb what experts long warned was among the most dangerous and unpredictable uses of lethal force.
▶ Read more about why police agencies moved to restrict shootings at moving vehicles
Patrick Riley was one of the people who came out Thursday morning at the federal building to express outrage after the death of Macklin Good on Wednesday.
“We are peacefully demonstrating. We’re trying to let this organization know that they’re not welcome,” said Riley.
Riley questioned why the Trump administration had made the Minneapolis area such a high priority.
“Why this big flood here now? This is our place. This is our country. This is our freedom to to protest,” Riled added.
Police at one point threw devices releasing smoke to break up the crowd, which carried signs and shouted profanities at them.
The crowd was directed farther away from the entrance as the protest reached the two-hour mark on Thursday.
In a post on the Facebook pages of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians tribal council and the tribe’s embassy in Minneapolis, the council said tribal citizens should expect ICE agents to detain and harm them.
“We all need to be careful, and we must assume that ICE will not protect us,” the post stated. “We realize that we will not receive compassionate treatment by anyone associated with the Trump administration.”
In the warning to citizens, the tribal council said it sees the “obvious purpose of ICE is to terrorize Americans who do not agree with the administration’s policies, and actions” and called for “an end to the president’s blatant lies.”
There are about 8,000 Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians citizens in the Twin Cities and surrounding areas, according to the post. The council asked tribal members to document interactions with ICE by contacting the tribe directly. The tribe’s embassy in Minneapolis has also been closed for the rest of the week.
Protesters are carrying signs and chanting, including some signs that say, “ICE Out Now,” “We deserve to be safe in our community,” and “Resist Fascism.”
Chants include “We Keep Us Safe,” “ICE Out Now,” “ICE Go Home,” “Quit Your Job” and “Justice Now!”
Scores of people bundled up in heavy coats gathered as dawn began to break Thursday in a parking lot near the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling. The building houses several federal agencies, including an immigration court.
The crowd was chanting and holding American flags and signs calling on ICE to leave Minnesota.
Protesters confront federal agents outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)
Protesters confront federal agents outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)
A protester receives aid after confronting law enforcement outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)
A bullet hole and blood stains are seen in a crashed vehicle on at the scene of a shooting in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
People gather for a vigil after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a woman earlier in the day, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)
People gather for a vigil after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a woman earlier in the day, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)
Protesters gather outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)
