Niki Terpstra announces retirement from pro road racing
Niki Terpstra announces retirement from pro road racing
Niki Terpstra is calling an end to an illustrious pro road career, he announced via social media on Tuesday.
The 38-year-old won both the Tour of Flanders (2018) and Paris-Roubaix (2014) and was a consistent presence at the front of the biggest classics for more than a decade. He made the decision to retire despite “options to continue,” he said, teasing his followers with a promise to continue racing in some form.
Terpstra recently returned from a trip to the US, where he took on the Leadboat Challenge, racing the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race and Steamboat Gravel on successive days.
After a stint in the Continental and Pro Continental ranks starting in 2003, Terpstra made his WorldTour (then called ProTour) debut with Milram in 2008. He spent three years with the German program before moving to Patrick Lefevere’s Quickstep squad, where he raced under various title sponsors until 2020. He found his greatest successes with that team, riding alongside the likes of Tom Boonen on his way to Roubaix and Flanders victories, as well as wins at E3 Harelbeke, Le Samyn, and the Eneco Tour. He spent his last two year with DirectEnergies.
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