 He turned professional in 1999 and rode for Besson Chaussures for two seasons, then Acqua & Sapone and then he moved to Team Telekom which became T-Mobile.After fellow Kazakhstani Alexander Vinokourov left T-Mobile at the end of 2005, Yakovlev went with him to Liberty Seguros-Würth team and then the Astana cycling team.Yakovlev's victories include being the national champion of Kazakhstan in 2000, the 2000 edition of the Tour de l'Ain and a stage in the Tour de Suisse.