news-engine

← sport

Monument and Grand Tour stage winner Bob Jungels announces retirement

Domestique Cycling · Michiel van Looijengoed; Monument; Grand Tour stage winner Bob Jungels announces retirement · 2026-08-19T06:06:45+00:00 · nguồn gốc

Monument and Grand Tour stage winner Bob Jungels announces retirement The 33-year-old Luxembourger will end his racing career at the close of the 2026 season, bringing down the curtain on a career that included victory at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Grand Tour stage wins. Bob Jungels has announced that he will retire from professional cycling at the end of the 2026 season, bringing a 15 year career in the professional peloton to a close. The Netcompany-Ineos rider confirmed his decision in a personal statement on social media, describing it simply as “time for a new chapter”. After 15 years in the professional ranks, Jungels said he felt ready to step away from racing and turn his attention towards life beyond the peloton. “After 15 years as a professional cyclist, I am officially announcing my retirement from racing at the end of this season,” Jungels wrote. “Reflecting on my career, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the teammates, team staff, family, friends and of course fans who have supported me every kilometre of the way.” It closes a career that has taken Jungels through several of the most recognisable teams of his generation. He started with Leopard-Trek Continental in 2012 before stepping up to RadioShack-Leopard in 2013 and Trek Factory Racing for the following two seasons. A move to Etixx-Quick-Step followed in 2016, beginning a five year spell with the Belgian organisation through its Quick-Step Floors and Deceuninck-Quick-Step identities. After leaving Quick Step, Jungels spent two seasons with AG2R Citroën and another two with Bora-Hansgrohe. He joined Ineos Grenadiers in 2025. The British team became Netcompany-Ineos during the 2026 season following the arrival of its new title partner. Jungels’ biggest days in cycling It was during his years with Quick Step that Jungels produced many of the performances that defined his career. At the 2016 Giro d’Italia, the Luxembourger finished sixth overall and won the white jersey as the race’s best young rider, spending three days in the pink leader’s jersey along the way. Twelve months later he won the young rider classification again, finished eighth overall and took his first Grand Tour stage victory in Bergamo, beating a group containing Nairo Quintana and Thibaut Pinot in the finish of stage 15. His biggest victory arrived in 2018. Jungels attacked on the Côte de la Roche aux Faucons during Liège-Bastogne-Liège and stayed clear all the way to the finish in Ans, taking a solo victory ahead of Michael Woods and Romain Bardet. It remains the defining win of his career and placed his name on the winners’ list of cycling’s oldest Monument. A year later, he added another major Belgian victory at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, finishing ahead of Owain Doull and Niki Terpstra. Jungels would have to wait until 2022 for perhaps the most emotional victory of his career. After a difficult spell that included surgery for iliac artery endofibrosis in 2021, he returned to the Tour de France with AG2R Citroën and produced one of the rides of that edition. On stage 9 from Aigle to Châtel, Jungels attacked from the breakaway and spent roughly 60 kilometres alone at the front before holding off the chasers to claim his first Tour de France stage victory. His palmarès also reflects just how dominant Jungels has been within Luxembourg cycling. He won the national road race championship six times and collected eight elite national time trial titles, the most recent of those coming in 2025. Now, at 33, the focus is beginning to shift away from racing. “Professional cycling has truly shaped who I am today,” Jungels said. “I am grateful for the opportunities and proud of what I have achieved on the world stage.” Jungels also made clear that retirement will not mean slowing down. He plans to take the discipline and experience gained during his cycling career into business, although he has yet to reveal exactly what his next ventures will involve. “I am very excited about what lies ahead,” he wrote. “I look forward to sharing these new ventures with you soon.” Join our WhatsApp service Be first to know. Subscribe to Domestique on WhatsApp for free and stay up to date with all the latest from the world of cycling.