OFFICIAL: INEOS lose Tour stage and monument winner - Bob Jungels announces retirement from cycling at end of 2026 season
CyclingWednesday, 19 August 2026 at 10:43
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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- Die for your country? What nonsense Raf! I understand that that is a quote from Wilfred Owens anti war poem but you have used it out of context here.Cyclingsbestfan19-08-2026
- seems like he has no plans to retire early. that probably ends all the potential burnout rumors after last year‘s tdf.Ketterechts19-08-2026
- What kind of argument is that?????? He went as deep for the Tour last year and still contemplated doing the Vuelta before Worlds He’s never skipped MSR for having gone deep a previous year. Please provide some back up to this claim, also about the criticism aside from some irrelevant posters like us.Jumpyjohn19-08-2026
- And yet, some people go out of their way to put him down. Don’t need to remind of some of the comments before he came out of his dry patch.Jumpyjohn19-08-2026
- Oh boy, don’t push that finger too precisely.Jumpyjohn19-08-2026
- It doesn’t matter, there are people like that in both worlds. Funny how nobody mentioned Tadej, who put « family » loyalty over country. Imagine (would be) soldiers would do the same, well, some did, were called traitors BUT they did change the course of history by prematurely ending stupid wars and practically NOBODY 20-30y later dares criticisethem the way their leaders back then did. You should represent your country, for whatever, IF you believe it’s for the RIGHT reasons and the balance of reasons for/against is ok for you PERSONALLY. Jonas is no different to Tadej in that respect, both have their reasons. Besides, as today again shows very well, NEVER confuse country and (temporary) leaders no matter how much people try to pressure you with guilt. In that respect, Belgium’s federation and all its demands on riders is a very interesting case to review.Jumpyjohn19-08-2026
- Can’t disagree there, no matter how much I appreciate Prim. At some point you have to make way for new generations, in fact, you should be helping not hindering.Jumpyjohn19-08-2026
- There was a lot of criticism for Pog for putting loyalty to his partner first on that occasion (and probably missing out on a huge boost to his international profile, Olympic glory etc. ) But the previous year he had gone so deep at the Glasgow Worlds that he had to be assisted off the podium, and he road that Worlds time trial while obviously still exhausted. So he is not a good point of comparison, if you insist on comparing.Hills3319-08-2026
- It is impossible to dislike WVAmij19-08-2026
- Orange County CA guy - let's go!mij19-08-2026
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