Pello Bilbao announces his retirement from professional cycling at the end of 2026

Basque rider Pello Bilbao has announced, ahead of the final stage of Itzulia Basque Country 2026, that he will retire from professional cycling at the end of the current season. The Bahrain Victorious rider, who turned 36 last February, will leave the sport after an outstanding career packed with major wins.

“I wanted to say it at home, at the race that means the most to me. This will be my last year,” the Basque rider explained, visibly moved by the moment. Bilbao looked back on his journey, highlighting what cycling has given him: “I’ve been lucky to be a professional cyclist as a Basque, with these fans, these races, and opportunities others don’t have, like cycling schools or this environment, which is a real paradise for training. I feel super fortunate to have lived all of this.”

On the race dynamic and his view of the sport, he made clear his competitive fire remains intact: “This is cycling, it’s what I love. The strongest doesn’t always win, and that allows teams with less firepower to spring surprises and flip the script. We like to race that way, enjoy it, and put on a show too.”

Looking to the coming months, Bilbao already knows how he wants to sign off: “There’s a lot of season left. There’s the Tour, which I think is the best way to say goodbye, and I’ll also ride the Clásica [San Sebastian] and the Circuito de Getxo. But right now I’m focused on today, because we can still take a step forward and even fight for the stage.”

Bilbao bows out as one of the most consistent and complete Spanish riders in the international peloton, with a body of results that underlines his longevity. Among his biggest achievements are two stage wins at the Giro d’Italia in 2019, a race where he left a strong mark, and his stage victory at the Tour de France 2023, one of the most special moments of his career given the prestige of the event.

Throughout his career, Bilbao showed an ability to deliver across terrains. He claimed three stage victories at the Tour of the Alps (2018, 2021, and 2022), and he also won at week-long races such as the Critérium du Dauphiné 2018, the Itzulia Basque Country 2022, the Tour Down Under 2023, and the Deutschland Tour 2022. These wins confirm his versatility on mountainous routes and across WorldTour stage races.

He also left his mark in one-day races, winning the Klasika Primavera de Amorebieta in 2014 and delivering strong rides at top-level events. He finished second at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal 2024 and the Donostia San Sebastián Klasikoa 2023, coming close to victory at two of the calendar’s toughest classics. He also made the final podium at the UAE Tour three times (third in 2022, 2024, and 2025), showing notable consistency in the general classification.

His palmarès is rounded out by two stage wins at the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey (2015 and 2016), sealing a long and consistent career in which Pello Bilbao remained competitive across multiple terrains and scenarios in international cycling.