The 2026 season has only just begun and already we’ve seen some big names step away from the sport, and there are several more fan favourites, serial winners and cycling legends calling it quits at the end of the season.
We’ve rounded up those who have decided to end their professional cycling careers this year, from Grand Tour champions to loyal domestiques. Enjoy them while you can.
Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike)
Simon Yates surprised the cycling world when he announced his retirement on the eve of the season. Even more so when he had been pictured in Visma-Lease a Bike’s 2026 kit over the winter. The reigning Giro d’Italia winner hangs up his cleats at 33 years of age, saying he had been thinking about it for a long time.
- Retirement date: 7th January 2026
Simon Clarke (NSN Cycling Team)
Simon Clarke enjoyed a 17-year professional career riding for the likes of Jayco-AlUla, EF Education-EasyPost and Israel-Premier Tech. In that time, he was a valued team member who helped others to their own successes but still found chances to win stages across all three Grand Tours, including an iconic Tour de France cobble stage in 2022. He retired this month in Australia with his last race the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.
- Retirement date: 1st February 2026
Bauke Mollema (Lidl-Trek)
Dutch rider Bauke Mollema became part of the furniture at Lidl-Trek, his career spanning over a decade in a partnership with the squad that brought two Tour stages and one-day race victories including the Clásica de San Sebastián and Trofeo Laigueglia. Though perhaps his finest day on the bike came at Il Lombardia in 2019, where Mollema launched a solo attack on the penultimate climb to take a memorable Monument victory.
- Retirement date: End of 2026
Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek)
Amanda Spratt is stepping away from cycling having spent almost her entire career with Jayco-AlUla, though she finished it off with a four-year stint at Lidl-Trek. ‘Spratty’ has always thrived on home roads in Australia, winning both the National Championships road race and the Women’s Tour Down Under three times. She won a silver medal for Australia at the World Championships in 2018, has several GC podiums to her name at the Giro d’Italia, and has been a key road captain throughout the years. Her presence will be missed but she’s no doubt inspired the generation of strong Australian riders we’re seeing coming through now.
- Retirement date: End of 2026
Mavi García (UAE Team ADQ)
Mavi García is such a cornerstone of the women’s peloton that, despite her 42 years of age, it still feels weird writing about her retirement. The Spaniard has been enjoying some of her best results to date as her career draws to a close, becoming the oldest stage winner at the Tour de France Femmes in 2025, racing to a bronze medal in the World Championships road race and opening 2026 with a second place at the women’s Tour Down Under. She could go out with a bang.
- Retirement date: End of 2026
Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious)
Damiano Caruso is another who has loved life on home roads, boasting a second place at the Giro in 2021, a fourth place in 2023 and a fifth place in 2025 for Bahrain Victorious. The 38-year-old, who turned professional back in 2009, also has a Vuelta stage win and GC podiums and Tirreno-Adriatico, the Tour de Suisse and the Tour de Romandie to his name.
Caruso was handed a one-year back-dated suspension for a doping infraction that occurred prior to him turning professional, which voided all his results from October 2010 to October 2011.
- Retirement date: End of 2026
Luka Mezgec (Jayco-AlUla)
Slovenian rider Luka Mezgec has spent a decade calling Jayco-AlUla home and will end his career with the Australian outfit. As a leadout man and strong domestique, he had played a big role in others’ successes as well as taking one national title and one Giro stage for himself.
- Retirement date: End of 2026
Ion Izagirre (Cofidis)
With a professional career spanning over 15 years, Ion Izagirre is synonymous with breakaways and classic Basque flair. He has raced to victory in stages in all three Grand Tours and spent time riding for Euskaltel, Movistar, Bahrain-Merida, Astana and finally Cofidis since 2022. His older brother Gorka retired at the end of 2024.
- Retirement date: End of 2026
Elena Cecchini (SD Worx-Protime)
Italian track and road racer Elena Cecchini will also retire in 2026. The 33-year-old signed for SD Worx-Protime in 2021 and has developed into a key road captain for the squad. She originally planned to retire at the end of 2025 but has decided to delay it by a year.
- Retirement date: End of 2026
Probably retired: Chris Froome
Chris Froome has been keeping quiet on retirement plans. He was out of contract at Israel-Premier Tech at the end of 2025 and NSN Cycling didn’t sign him up for the new era of the squad, but Froome has yet to make an official announcement on his future yet.
Froome is one of the most successful Grand Tour riders of all time, winning all three three-week races including the Tour de France four times, becoming one of the defining riders of the 2010s for Team Sky. However he has not been the same after a horrible crash in 2019, struggling throughout his time at Israel-Premier Tech. He had another nasty crash in 2025, which will make it even tougher to get back into the WorldTour at 40 years old.
