[2] Yates first race for the ACBB was the Grand Prix de Saint-Tropez which he won by riding off the front of the peloton.

[3] Yates had developed a reputation as a strong time trialist and for an incredible turn of speed and power.

[2] He turned professional in 1982 for Peugeot riding alongside Graham Jones, Phil Anderson, Robert Millar and Stephen Roche.

In 1989 he joined the American team, 7-Eleven and took two stages and overall victory in the Tour of Belgium, won the Grand Prix Eddy Merckx and finished second in Gent–Wevelgem.

During stage six of the 1994 Tour de France Yates got into a breakaway and took the overall lead by one second over Gianluca Bortolami.

[7] Following the report in October 2012 from the US Anti-Doping Agency that detailed organised doping in the US Postal/Discovery Channel teams, Yates insisted on BBC Radio 5 Live that he saw nothing suspicious during his six years working alongside Lance Armstrong.

After the team's collapse in 2001, Yates helped set up the Australian iteamNova but left after funds ran out.

However, his race support during the 2012 Tour de France was heavily criticised by Mark Cavendish who described Yates as "cold, uninspiring and miserly in praise.