"The past seasons tasted like a dessert" - Thijs Zonneveld retires for the second time, but will he back to make it a hat trick?

Thijs Zonneveld has officially announced his retirement from professional cycling, marking the end of his professional journey on two wheels. This is not the first time Zonneveld has said goodbye to the peloton; the 42-year-old initially retired in 2007 at the age of 27.

"But where seventeen years ago I threw my bike in a corner in disgust, the feeling is completely different this time," Zonneveld wrote in his AD column. "The past seasons tasted like a dessert that was much tastier than I had dared to hope for beforehand."

Zonneveld returned to professional cycling in 2023, signing with BEAT Cycling, a third-division professional team. He had clear goals for his comeback, "When I signed a contract with BEAT Cycling, a team in the third professional division, two years ago, I had three goals.

“Catch up on the fun I had forgotten to experience in a previous cycling life, see what could still be achieved in sports as an old fart, and experience for myself as a journalist how the sport has changed in recent decades."

Reflecting on his two years back in the peloton, Zonneveld acknowledged the challenges and sacrifices involved, "It took a lot of time, energy and sacrifices over the past two years - also from my family. But it was a privilege to be able to live for my sport well past the age of forty."

As he bids farewell to professional cycling once more, Zonneveld expressed gratitude to his fellow competitors, "So to all those riders I raced with and against: thanks for letting grandpa come along," he concluded.

The cyclist turned journalist has written many books over the years, including This is our time (2008) and Always on the race: cycling stories from the corona year (2021). The Dutchman will certainly be missed in the professional peloton.