Netcompany INEOS sees one of its former monument winners retire - "Professional cycling has truly shaped who I am today"
Cycling
Bob Jungels has officially confirmed that he will call time on his legendary career, and will retire from professional cycling at the end of the 2026 season. The INEOS stalwart will finish his career as a Tour de France and Giro d'Italia stage winner, as well as a stellar Liege-Bastogne-Liege victory in 2018.
The 33-years-old brings the curtain down on a career underscored by 27 victories, including 15 elite Luxembourg titles - nine in the time trial and six in the road race. He won a stage at the 2022 Tour and 2018 Giro and raced with marquee teams such as Quickstep and BORA during his career.
Now at INEOS for the past two seasons, his exit marks another blow for the British team as Andrew August and Victor Langelotti have officially left, while several others are rumoured to be leaving the setup.
For Jungels, he looks back on a storied career. He spent a number of days in the Giro's pink jersey on his way to sixth place in 2016. He won the white jersey for best young rider in the race in 2016 and 2017.
Liege victory and Tour de France resurgence
In Liege the following year, he won the Ardennes monument with a solo victory ahead of Romain Bardet and Michael Woods. In 2019, he took a major Belgian win at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, this time finishing ahead of Owain Doull and Niki Terpstra.
After a difficult spell that included surgery for iliac artery endofibrosis in 2021, perhaps one of his biggest victories came the following year as he took a 60 kilometer solo breakaway victory at the Tour de France.
“After 15 years as a professional cyclist, I am officially announcing my retirement from racing at the end of this season,” Jungels said in a statement.
Bob Jungels
Jungels reflects on career
“Reflecting on my career, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the teammates, team staff, family, friends and of course fans who have supported me every kilometre of the way.”
Looking back, Jungels is proud of his achievements at WorldTour as he hinted that he could remain in the world of cycling after his retirement. However, he did not provide any further details on what those ventures may be.
“Professional cycling has truly shaped who I am today,” Jungels said. “I am grateful for the opportunities and proud of what I have achieved on the world stage.”
“I am very excited about what lies ahead. I look forward to sharing these new ventures with you soon.”
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- Raise thine hand if the money you have made for retirement slips away on poor investments.Most of us will outlive our financial comforts because we don't have the financial acumen to ensure a comfortable lifelong retirement and that is a statistical fact not my opinion.Many millionaires have pissed their money away or had it taken away by so called conniving "financial advisors".The world of wealth is a dangerous place that most of us will never experience nor appreciate.
Brucegel15-11-2026 - You are interested in Pogi for one reason only, you feel like you are somehow related because you share some vague geographical identity. Other than that you have very little interest in cycling as all your posts show, if it can’t be connected to Pogi you have nothing to post. That said, recent activity here shows we are attracting quite a crowd from his region.Jumpyjohn15-11-2026
- From knowing past cycling stars with shops I can only say, think it through. Not only is it mundane after a while but it really doesn’t take you out of the limelight, in the end you’ll be trying to stay away from the place yourself whilst all your fans keep coming for you.Jumpyjohn15-11-2026
- Careful investment? I think he can live very comfortably with zero investments, what does he need more? The world would do well if more people set a target for how much they need or would make them “happy” and then stop worrying about perpetually having to make more.Jumpyjohn15-11-2026
- Yes, Roglic could theoretically have beaten Sepp. Jonas must have had complete confidence that he could come back and win the Vuelta another year. Visma had not allowed Roglic to ride the Tour that year, so his future did not look so bright, despite his narrow Giro win..Hills3315-11-2026
- So far, a good series about riders before my time, even if the text feels AI generated like so much on this site. About the rider, he seems like one of many who are active fan favorites but don’t survive in the stories of cycling, a few decades later - I didn’t really know anything about him and this was a good read, thank you!RidesHills15-11-2026
- A calm, honest documentary, a bit of hagiography but mostly not too much. When he talks about a coffee shop, it aligns with several things in his world - he might want calm, but he does (more than a little bit) have someone near him (his fiancee) who makes sure that things happen the way he expects. Many atheletes have retired only to find out just how much others were taking care of their lives for them. If they work out (I'm old, things happen), I am sure it will take a renegotiation, which is a good thing. I truly enjoyed watching it, seeing him, seeing her, seeing the whole system built around him.RidesHills15-11-2026
- You do? My mother grew up around Bleiburg (Pliberk), across the border in Austria . My grandparents lived close to the train station in Bleiburg, and I spent a lot of the 70s and 80s there. The "Jugo" train of my youth went to Dravograd or Maribor, exotic places (behind the wall) at the time. What a moment that was, the 10 days war of '91 - times sure have changed.RidesHills15-11-2026
- I hope he rides a bitmij15-11-2026
- Greatest athlete this world has ever produced ! LOL ... you definitely are a comdian ! Cycling is so sprecialized and you think he's the greatest athlete ever ! Still laughing !frieders315-11-2026
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