‘At one point you have to say stop’ – Damiano Caruso hopes for a final Tour de France ride as he confirms plans to retire this year

After a career spanning 18 seasons, Italian veteran Damiano Caruso has confirmed that the 2026 season will be his last.

The Bahrain Victorious rider is currently competing in his ninth and final Giro d’Italia and hopes to finally bow out with one final appearance at the Tour de France later this summer.

Now 38, the rider from Sicily has been one of Italy’s most consistent Grand Tour performers over the last decade. His best result came at the 2021 Giro d’Italia, where he finished 2nd overall behind Egan Bernal (Netcompany-Ineos) and won the final mountain stage on Alpe Motta.

Reports had circulated that Caruso may continue into 2027, with rumours of a bet lodged with Colombian general classification rider Santiago Buitrago that Caruso would add another year to his career if Buitrago finished on the final podium of the 2026 Giro. However, Buitrago failed to finish the second stage of the race after being caught up in a large crash in Bulgaria.

“No, no chance at all,” Caruso responded after being asked by The Cycling Podcast if there was a possibility that he could continue to race next season.

“At one point, you have to say stop. It’s always nice when you can decide the end of the career. This is for sure my last Giro d’Italia. Maybe I will ride also the Tour de France.

“What I can imagine is to retire at the Tour de France after the Champs-Elysées. It will be amazing,” Caruso added.

Bahrain Victorious will head to the Tour de France looking to support General Classification bids for fellow Italian Antonio Tiberi and young Frenchman Lenny Martinez.

Caruso began his career in 2009, racing for Italian team LPR Brakes-Farnese Vini. He went on to compete for Liquigas and BMC before joining Bahrain Victorious in 2019, enjoying his most successful seasons towards the back-end of his career.

Along with his stage win and second place overall at the 2021 Giro, Caruso also won a stage of the Vuelta a España in the same year, and he’s finished in the top five of both the 2023 and 2025 Giros.

‘Living the dream day by day’

Damiano Caruso congratulates teammate and stage 12 winner Alec Segaert (Image credit: Getty Images)

At the 2026 Giro, Caruso has been working as a domestique for current maglia rosa Afonso Eulálio, who claimed pink from a successful breakaway on stage 5. Caruso himself lies in 16th overall after 12 stages.

The team has had an excellent race so far, claiming a stage win through rouleur Alec Segaert on stage 12 after he foiled the…

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‘At one point you have to say stop’ – Damiano Caruso hopes for a final Tour de France ride as he confirms plans to retire this year

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