"Cycling is so beautiful. I never had any trouble training" - Niki Terpstra about the new chapter in his life as gravel racer

Paris-Tours was Niki Terpstra's last road race last year. After his terrible fall on a dike, the Dutchman never again reached the level with which he won the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. But he is far from done with cycling. He was immediately successful in the gravel circuit at the beginning of August.

In peace and quiet, but also a few hundred meters lower on the climb of the Côte Saint-Roche, you can find Terpstra's camper van, alone. "I don't have to climb as much when I return from training and after the race," the Dutchman explains his choice in an interview for RIDE magazine.

The cycling enthusiast in Terpstra has not disappeared. During his career as a professional cyclist, it was noticeable how much he enjoyed cycling. Now that he has retired for almost a year, his love for cycling lives on in him. "Yes, racing is a great sport. So beautiful. Cycling at all. I never had any trouble training, I still don't."

"I like cycling. Although I used to enjoy competitions a hundred times more than training. In recent years I noticed that I no longer had much interest in racing, but I continued to cherish my love for training. When that realization dawned on me, I quickly made the decision to stop."