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.
Pello Bilbao has announced his retirement from professional cycling
Classics and much more
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.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 2visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Sure, little fella.awp02-11-2026
- You'll be the ongoing joke of 2027 with anything you post here!frieders302-11-2026
- Awwww your inside information must be from PogiFanGirl. You two daughters of different mothers?frieders302-11-2026
- Hey PogIFanGirl...wipe that cream from your lips! You're ever loving drooling and whatever you have for Tadej has your brain fried!frieders302-11-2026
- Why should he 'let it go' ! Because you said so? Anytime LA Doper is called out is a win win !frieders302-11-2026
- Geez LeMond...let it go. You're a has been, albeit a former great one. But this is all water under the bridge and just undermines your legacy further.Mshark01-11-2026
- 'The Slovenian has collected four Tour de France titles' ... '[Kieran Wood's] ... 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'. i would say that is pretty inaccurate accurate coverage, kieran wood ... too bad that AI's knowledge often lags several months behind ... but proof reading is certainly part of accurate coverage, isn't it? but fortunately does Kieran Wood place 'strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.' i would say the fifth tdf title is pretty new (and even verified) information, so feel free to update this article.Ketterechts01-11-2026
- You are wrong, they are already working on his new tt position. And yes, Trump does love you 😂👍🏼awp01-11-2026
- The Erola Jons incident was not isolated. She felt she could do that because that's how everyone treats Tadej. Remember when he said "If I say wait 2 mins do you show the middle finger and walk off angry?" about the supposed fan who did exactly that? There's nothing wrong with the nurses and doctors asking him to give autographs... but do the surgery first
Rafionain-Glas01-11-2026 - Perhaps he has what Mark Cavendish had, the Epstein-Barr Virus. It caused him severe and unexplained chronic fatigue. I hope he gets better.
parisbound0001-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment