Stijn Vandenbergh has announced his retirement as a professional cyclist at the age of 36. He has spent the past four seasons with AG2R La Mondiale in France, ending a 14-year career.

A classics specialist, Vandenberg turned pro in 2007 with the ill-fated Unibet team and spent one year with AG2R before spending three seasons with Katusha. He was part of a strong classic team that included Tom Boonen, Niki Terpstra, Sylvain Chavanel, Zdenek Stival, and Matteo Tolentin. [Career bests for the Belgian team, including 2nd at 2013 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, 3rd at 2016 Baloise Belgium Tour, 2014 Tour of Flanders, E3 Harelbeke, 4th at 2015 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad He achieved his best results and his only professional victory in a stage at the 2016 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana.

Van den Berg told Het Laatste Nieuws (opens in new tab) that he could not find a ride in 2021 and wanted to race in his last spring classic campaign.

"The final deadline is over," he said. "A switch went off in my head. It's over."

The COVID-19 pandemic has put pressure on teams and riders in cycling and is the reason why Vandenberg was unable to sign a new contract with AG2R La Mondiale or any other team. Vandenberg said he is looking forward to seeing his daughter and traveling.

"I'm going to enjoy some free time that I haven't had before. I want to see my daughter more often. I'm with her every two weeks on the weekends, but even that sometimes didn't work out during the season."

"I also want to travel more. Thailand is on my list, and I want to do a mountain bike tour of Morocco. These days I enjoy mountain biking more than road biking.

Vandenberg is the fifth Belgian rider to announce his retirement this off-season, following Jurgen Rollandz, Nicolas Maes, and Serge Pauwels.

Unlike Maes, who is already a directeur sportif of Lot Soudal and has interests in construction and real estate, and Pauwels, who has said he hopes to remain in cycling, Vandenberg does not yet have firm plans for his next career.

"I don't know what I'm going to do next," he said. I need six months to a year to think about it. I've already organized some tours, and I'd like to do them more often. I've already planned a few tours, but I'd like to do them more often, like day trips by car through beautiful nature, following the route in a road book, having breakfast and lunch.

Van den Berg is the third athlete to announce his retirement at AG2R this season, joining Clément Chevrier and Axel Domon. [Greg Van Avermaat, Bob Jungels, and Lilian Carmejane are moving on, while GC men Romain Bardet and Pierre Latour are retiring.

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