Yesterday morning, Geraint Thomas started his final professional race. A huge and highly emotive moment at the end of a momentous career spanning 20 seasons. When he finishes the Tour of Britain Men on Sunday in his home city of Cardiff, there are unlikely to be many dry eyes around the place.
And that, really, is the way it should be. Perhaps more than many careers, being a professional cyclist begins as a dream and becomes an identity, and a way of life. Retirement is, understandably, often a wrench. But not always.
Take Dutch rider Ide Schelling. He announced this week that he would retire and he makes no bones about it: he can't wait.
What's more, at 27, the XDS-Astana rider is retiring in his prime.
Why? Because he has had enough.
"I'm all fine – I'm feeling great," he said on the De Grote Plaat podcast. "I'm here to announce that I'm retiring as a WorldTour rider. And that I'm no longer as in love with the world and life as I once was. For me, this is a very normal and logical decision. But I know that many fans, fellow riders, and cycling followers don't see it that way, so I thought: 'It's a good time, a good decision to talk about this openly and for longer than 15 minutes.'
The biggest problem, says Schelling, is that the level within the peloton has risen so much that he often feels unable to compete any more.
He told De Grote Plaat: "I'm not so in love with the world anymore. A lot has changed in the peloton since I turned pro in 2020. All those changes have also caused the level to rise so much that I sometimes feel like I can't compete any more."
Schelling, who has won stages in the Tour of Slovenia and Itzulia Basque Country, added: "My engine isn't that big. But you need that big an engine these days to compete in a final. It's fast the whole race, from start to finish.
"I did win that stage in the Tour of the Basque Country [2023] with fresh legs," he said, "but I never finished that race because that last stage was so gruelling."
It's no secret that today's cycling champions are younger than ever. Tadej Pogačar, with his first Tour de France victory aged just 21 is the prime example. But he is not alone. Remco Evenepoel, Tom Pidcock and Isaac del Toro – they have all won major races at the sort of tender years that used to be part of a kind of unwritten pro cycling apprenticeship.
But whereas once riders in their late twenties were bossing the bunch and winning the big events, now they are often just trying to keep up with their younger peers – as Schelling's example shows.
"Racing and being a pro brought me more then I could ever imagine, but times change," wrote Schelling on a social media post announcing his retirement. "I slowly felt more and more disconnected with the life as a pro cyclist and the racing on the highest level. So I've decided to take a step back and explore a new phase in life.
Still to this moment I love riding my bike, training, discovering new places and racing," he added. "I don't know what the future has in place for me yet, but I'm sure I'm ready for a new chapter."
Schelling will officially retire at the end of the season.
