PARIS (AP) — Multiple world champion Ellen van Dijk will retire from cycling at the end of the season, saying an increasing worry about dangerous crashes influenced her decision.
The 38-year-old from the Netherlands has won 70 races in all categories during a stellar career. This includes three individual and three team world time trial titles, one world title in the scratch discipline, five European titles and a solo win over 139 kilometers (86 miles) in the Tour of Flanders.
“I’m going to retire as a professional cyclist at the end of the season after 20 years. It’s been a big part of my life, a superlong career that I feel very thankful for,” the Lidl-Trek rider said in comments from her team. “In the last two years I had a lot of nasty crashes and this for sure makes me more scared on the bike in the peloton, and it makes me lose the real love of the road racing.”
With 41 victories in races against the clock, Van Dijk is among the greats in time trials. She is also the former women’s world record holder for the hour, riding a fraction over 49 kilometres (about 30 miles) in 2022 — a record since beaten.
Van Dijk thanked Lidl-Trek for their commitment to women’s cycling.
“It means a lot to me what this team did for women’s cycling,” she said. “Trek always believed in women’s cycling and invested a lot in it and has played a big role in making women’s cycling what it is today.”
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