Team Sky's Senior Sports Director Sean Yates announces retirement from cycling
Team Sky's Senior Sports Director Sean Yates announces his retirement from professional cycling.
Last Updated: 28/10/12 3:20pm
A statement on the Team Sky website from Team Principal Dave Brailsford said: "Sean joined us in our first year and has been with us for three tough but rewarding seasons.
"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."
After Team Sky reaffirmed its position on anti-doping in the wake of the recent Lance Armstrong drugs scandal, the management team started a series of individual interviews with riders, management and support staff.
"Sean has been interviewed and there were no admissions or disclosures that would have required him to leave the team," the Team Sky statement added.
The 52-year-old Yates, the 1992 British champion, joined Team Sky in 2009 and helped Bradley Wiggins claim the Tour de France title for the team this year.
After retiring from full-time riding in 1996 following a career as one of the top domestiques of cycling's modern era, Yates briefly worked with the Linda McCartney team before switching to Discovery in 2005.
There, he helped guide Lance Armstrong, with whom he had forged a successful personal relationship in his riding days, to the last of his seven - now rescinded - Tour de France titles.
He then moved on to Team Sky and was seen as a key figure in Bradley Wiggins' triumph in this year's Tour.
Proud
Yates acknowledges there will be rumours surrounding his exit from Team Sky but insists he is exiting the sport for personal reasons.
In a statement released to the Press Association, the 52-year-old said: "The last three years with Team Sky have been fantastic and a highlight of my long career in cycling.
"I'm proud to have been involved with the team at such an incredible time for the sport.
"I have suffered with my health in recent years and have spent a lot of time away from my home so I feel the time is right to focus on myself and my family.
"I realise the timing of my retirement will lead to speculation given what is currently going on in the sport but I can walk away with my head held high knowing I have done nothing wrong."
