Annemiek van Vleuten: "That's also why I stopped cycling, because I could feel that I could not develop myself any more as a cyclist"
Cycling
At 41 years of age and following an unmeasurably successful career as a pro cyclist, how will Annemiek van Vleuten fare after retirement? So far so good, the Dutch rider is happy with the decision and has no regrets,
"So far, it's been better than I expected. I think after the Tour de France Femmes I was a little bit scared about not having a goal ready. I was so goal-driven. It took a bit of time to embrace that I don't have that goal," van Vleuten shared with Cyclingnews. "If I look back to my time as a student, I was really good without all those goals and I feel like going a little bit back to that time. I think for the next year I'm happy not to have it all planned."
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Now van Vleuten can, after 16 seasons in the peloton, take it easy and do cycling her own way. She talks about how she may get into gravel racing - as Alejandro Valverde, in similar circumstances, did - but that so far so good. She provides some more insight as to why she decided to retire in 2023:
"If you're an athlete you need to have goals, otherwise you don't achieve anything. It's also been in my character. I like to develop myself and that's also why I stopped cycling, because I could feel that I could not develop myself any more as a cyclist.
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Because of her position in the cycling world, she will continue to be a big figure regardless of what happens in years to come. However, she is very content with what she achieved. "It was an awesome journey. It gave me a lot. It also cost me something, but in general almost every year I surprised myself."
"The people I met, the countries I visited… There were also some hard times to get back together after disappointments, but there was always something and it was never boring."
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Hopefully it was just a particularly bad year!Lozza05-11-2026
- He has the Twin combo of being vulnerable to germs and prone to crashes on top of not heeding the complaints from his body. Thats just crash and burn career.abstractengineer05-11-2026
- You can't complete a journey without taking next step. He has to do that or start looking for another job. I hope he can get his act together. It's a make or break next season for him. I wish him well.Cyclingsbestfan05-11-2026
- does anyone really think he is taking a next step?mij05-11-2026
- in the team’s defense, Bernal is 29. when he won his first TdF people were talking about him winning a record # of GTs. Where would they be if that crash had never happened. I’m not saying he would compete with Tadej, but he did podium Strade Bianche, and certainly could have won a GT that Tadej wasn’t in.mij05-11-2026
- "c'mon Jonas!"wrsty05-11-2026
- I see I missed a lot during my boycott.Jumpyjohn05-11-2026
- What kind of sauce is on that rice? Ketchup?Kbd05-11-2026
- 18 broken bones. 78 crashes, among 30 rider per year is a lot. so for a rider over 15 seasons, they will break their bones 7-8 times and crash 38 times.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- i dont think he is ready ot win against the top 2 or the 2nd rung of evenepoel, del toro , Almeida. In the third week in the TDF he was very very defensive, no attacks. i think he was exhausted. right now he needs time not the brutal Giro or the intense TDF.abstractengineer04-11-2026
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