As the 2026 season rumbles on, it’s worth making a note of the riders for whom this is their last hurrah. With a number of big name riders hanging up their cleats this year, from Grand Tour champions to loyal domestiques, be sure to enjoy their exploits while you can.
While a few riders, such as Simon Yates, have already called it a day this year, and others – such as Chris Froome –have drifted into the unknown, we still have a few months of racing left with these legends of the sport.
Nairo Quintana (Movistar)
Nairo Quintana will end his 16-year professional career at the 2026 Vuelta a España. The Colombian announced the news prior to the Volta a Catalunya in March, saying, ‘It is over, and I am going home to my family.’
Catalunya was the scene of Quintana’s breakthrough in the mountains, where he topped the climber’s classification a year after winning the Tour de l’Avenir in 2010. He joined Movistar in 2012 and would spend the majority of his career with the Spanish outfit, winning the Giro d’Italia in 2014 and the Vuelta in 2016.
He moved to ProTeam level in 2020 with Arkéa-Samsic with whom he raced to sixth overall at the 2022 Tour de France, but a positive test for Tramadol (at the time it was only banned by the UCI for medical reasons) would scratch his result from the standings. He was let go from the team and spent a year away from professional cycling, but returned in 2023 with Movistar, though hasn’t had much of an impact since.
- Retirement date: 13th September 2026
Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious)
Basque cyclist Pello Bilbao has been an incredibly consistent rider for Bahrain Victorious. The 36-year-old has twice notched fifth places at the Giro d’Italia (2020, 2022) and finished sixth at the Tour de France in 2023.
One of his most emotional results came in his stage win at the Tour that season. Bilbao won the sprint from the breakaway on Stage 10 and dedicated the victory to his late teammate Gino Mäder, who had died at the Tour de Suisse a month prior.
He looks to be going out on a strong note, having ridden to a set of sixth places at Clásica Jaén, Itzulia Basque Country and at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and fourth at Eschborn-Frankfurt.
Bilbao is currently scheduled to ride the Tour de France, so expect him to feature prominently in breakaways.
- Retirement date: End of 2026
Bauke Mollema (Lidl-Trek)
Dutch rider Bauke Mollema became somewhat of a cult hero over his career, though perhaps less for his racing and more for his distaste for his SRAM groupset at the 2019 Giro.
But the loyal Trek man has had an incredible career spanning over a decade that included brought two Tour stages, a Vuelta stage, and – after Juan Jose Cobo was banned – third overall at the 2011 Vuelta, when he also won the points classification. He also took one-day race victories including the Clásica de San Sebastián and Trofeo Laigueglia, but perhaps his finest day on the bike came at Il Lombardia in 2019, when he 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 racing in Australia, winning both the Australian 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 has no doubt inspired the generation of strong Australian riders we’re seeing coming through now.
Spratt will return to the Giro this year where she could well get another good result with the Colle delle Finestre on the menu.
- Retirement date: End of 2026
Mavi García (UAE Team ADQ)
Mavi García is such a cornerstone of the women’s peloton that, despite her being 42 years of age, it still feels premature to be writing about her retirement.
The Spaniard has been enjoying some of her best results to date in the final years of her career, becoming the oldest stage winner at the Tour de France Femmes and racing to a bronze medal in the World Championships Road Race in 2025, and opening 2026 with a second place at the women’s Tour Down Under. She could well go out with a bang as part of a UAE Team ADQ squad who are having their best season yet.
- Retirement date: End of 2026
Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious)
Italian Damiano Caruso is another who has loved life on home roads, with his palmarès boasting a second place at the Giro in 2021, a fourth place in 2023 and a fifth place in 2025. The 38-year-old, who turned professional back in 2009, also has a Vuelta stage win and GC podiums at 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.
The Italian is currently riding the Giro, supporting his teammate Afonso Eulálio who’s currently holding onto the maglia rosa.
- Retirement date: End of 2026
Luka Mezgec (Jayco-AlUla)
Slovenian rider Luka Mezgec has spent a decade at Jayco-AlUla and will end his career with the Australian outfit this season.
As a leadout man and strong domestique, he has played a big role in others’ successes as well as taking one national title and one Giro stage for himself, and coming second twice at the Tour de France in 2020.
The 37-year-old is currently scheduled to ride the Copenhagent Sprint, Tour de Pologne, ADAC Cyclassics and Renewi Tour, and will likely head to Canada in support of Tadej Pogačar at this year’s World Championships.
- Retirement date: End of 2026
Ion Izagirre (Cofidis)
With a professional career spanning over 15 years, Ion Izagirre is synonymous with breakaways and riding with classic Basque flair. He’s calling time on road racing two years after his older brother Gorka retired in 2024.
Ion has won stages in all three Grand Tours and spent time riding for Euskaltel, Movistar, Bahrain-Merida, Astana and finally Cofidis since 2022.
He is having an excellent 2026 season – the best of anyone on this list – with victory at the Gran Premio Miguel Induraín, seventh overall at Paris-Nice, fourth overall at Itzulia, sixth at Eschborn-Frankfurt and seventh at La Flèche Wallonne, and that’s not mentioning strong stage placing along the way.
Next up for Izagirre is the race formerly known as the Dauphiné – the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes – and the Tour de France. A final Tour stage win is not off the cards.
- 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 decided to delay it by a year.
Cecchini is a three-time national champion on the road, and came close at the European Championships in 2019, finishing second to Amy Pieters. She’s currently racing at the Vuelta a Burgos and has the Giro next up on her schedule.
- Retirement date: End of 2026
Probably retired: Chris Froome
Chris Froome has been 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.
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.
Already retired
Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike)
Simon Yates surprised the cycling world when he announced his retirement on the eve of this season – even more so considering he had been pictured in Visma-Lease a Bike’s 2026 kit over the winter. The reigning Giro d’Italia winner hung 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)
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 in February in Australia with his last race the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.
- Retirement date: 1st February 2026
Anna Dorthe Ysland (Uno-X Mobility)
Norwegian rider Anna Dorthe Ysland retired at just 23 years of age having spent the past four years dealing with the bowel inflammation disease ulcerative colitis. Her last race was the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race at the end of January.
She opened up on Instagram about living with the ‘invisible illness’, saying, ‘My body said stop. I no longer responded to treatment, even with a lot of medication in my system… There have been periods where even leaving the house has been difficult, because I didn’t know if I would have access to a bathroom. So I’ve made a decision that has been both heavy and unreal to accept. I’m stepping away from cycling to prioritise my health and take care of my future.’
Ysland previously took breaks from cycling in 2023 and 2024, then returned in 2025 with a smattering of races on her results sheet. She admitted that racing in Australia felt ‘horrible’ and that elite-level training hours increased symptoms.
- Retirement date: 28th April 2026