One of Visma's most recognisable riders confirms post-Vuelta retirement after remarkable 17 years with Dutch squad and Tour de France podium
CyclingMonday, 10 August 2026 at 19:00
Steven Kruijswijk has confirmed that he will retire at the end of the 2026 season, bringing his remarkable 17-year association with Team Visma | Lease a Bike to a close.
The 39-year-old revealed on NOS programme De Avondetappe that the upcoming Vuelta a Espana will be the final Grand Tour of his career. Kruijswijk had already indicated earlier this year that retirement was increasingly likely, but has now removed any remaining uncertainty over his future.
“I have one more Grand Tour to come. That will be my last,” Kruijswijk said. “After that, my career as a cyclist is over.”
There could hardly be a more personal setting for that final three-week race. The Vuelta begins in Monaco on 22 August, where Kruijswijk has lived for around a decade, and the opening-stage individual time trial passes close to his home on roads he knows extremely well. It will be his eighth Vuelta and 24th Grand Tour in total.
Kruijswijk prepares to end 17-year Visma journey
Few riders in the current peloton are as closely associated with one organisation as Kruijswijk. He stepped up to the professional ranks with Rabobank in 2010 and remained as the structure evolved through Blanco, Belkin, LottoNL-Jumbo and Jumbo-Visma into the present-day Team Visma | Lease a Bike.
His role changed considerably along the way. Kruijswijk spent much of his prime pursuing his own Grand Tour ambitions, reaching the Tour de France podium in 2019 after finishing third behind Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas.
His most famous near-miss came three years earlier at the Giro d'Italia. Kruijswijk wore the Maglia Rosa for six days and led the race by more than three minutes before crashing into a snowbank on the descent of the Colle dell'Agnello. He eventually finished fourth overall, while another fourth place followed at the 2018 Vuelta.
Kruijswijk in action at the 2019 Tour de France with Geraint Thomas and Emmanuel Buchmann on his wheel
As Visma developed into one of the dominant Grand Tour teams of the following years, Kruijswijk gradually moved into a supporting role. He was part of Jonas Vingegaard's Tour de France squad in 2022 before a crash ended his race, and last year helped Simon Yates towards Giro d'Italia victory.
That experience was one of the reasons Visma extended his contract for one final season. Head of Racing Grischa Niermann highlighted Kruijswijk's ability to fill almost every role within the team when the deal was announced, as well as the value of his experience to younger riders.
Final Grand Tour begins on home roads
Kruijswijk will now head towards the Vuelta knowing there will be no 25th Grand Tour. The Dutchman has competed nine times at the Giro d'Italia, seven times at the Tour de France and will make his eighth Vuelta appearance when the race starts later this month.
Team Visma | Lease a Bike have not yet officially announced their complete Vuelta line-up, but Kruijswijk has made his own place in the story clear. After beginning his professional career with the Dutch organisation in 2010, his final Grand Tour will start almost literally on his doorstep before his 17th and final season comes to an end later in 2026.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- "in the cards"whkman10-08-2026
- she didn't get death threats, and she's not a victim, bunch of crap that the useful idiots will believe. you don't want to be in the media's crosshairs, don't do stupid things like impeding a contender.whkman10-08-2026
- alot of pundits online especially twitter contributing to that. Riders dont deserve that. Alot of hate on twittermiguel10-08-2026
- death threats??? no one should have to deal with this. it was a dicey move, very aggressive perhaps. but wrong? well no one was relegated so it was ok. as Demi said, when she was in yellow, no one waited for her. Maybe Kasia should have taken the inside so the corner couldn’t have been removed by FDJ. I don’t like that she did this, I don’t agree with it. but it is within hard racing to many. death threats, and really any threats, are way out of line.mij10-08-2026
- hiring young guns instead of almost retired ex-stars. the right way to go!Ketterechts10-08-2026
- Poggi has been cloned, she`s called Demi Vollering.
Senna196010-08-2026 - The thing is for a young rider to not get into controversial positions at all. She did impede Kasia and that brings consequences. If Kasia had crashed, it would be even more. Avoid dirty tactics or be prepared to take the social media consequences in your stridesabstractengineer10-08-2026
- > If Kasia had gone straight to FDJ Suez DS instead, there would have been no death threats. You confuse the effect with the cause. If Gery hadn't been unfair, there wouldn't have been any threats. > And the message that you are sending out here, that a young cyclist deserves to have her life threatened for controversial positioning is extraordinary. What??? I'm not supporting any threats to anyone. So go and be an idiot somewhere else.averagecyclist10-08-2026
- Especially since Gery received death threats!onegear2910-08-2026
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