As a new generation of young superstars led by the likes of Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel take over the peloton, many of the old guard have chosen this year as the one to finally bow out of the sport.
Rarely has there been such an illustrious list of names all retiring during the same season, and between them the retirees have been responsible for some of the sport’s most definitive moments over the past decade or so.
We’ve picked six of the riders whose absence will be most sorely missed, and chosen the very best moments of their brilliant careers.
Vincenzo Nibali
Giro d’Italia 2016
Sure, the 2014 Tour de France is by default the biggest of his full-set of Grand Tour victories, but as a patriotic Italian, his Giro titles might have meant more to Nibali. Whereas that yellow jersey was won in a relatively simple, drama-free fashion, the Giro 2016 epitomised everything the Sicilian was about: an irrepressible desire to win, a fighting spirit with his back against the wall, and the gumption to take necessary risks to achieve maximum glory. The 4-43 he overturned from the moment Steven Kruijswijk dramatically crashed on the descent of Colle dell’Agnello during stage 19, to taking the pink jersey the following day at Sant’Anna di Vinadio, remains one of the greatest turnarounds in Grand Tour history.
Vincenzo Nibali at the 2016 Giro d’Italia (Getty Images)
Milan-San Remo 2018
Nibali might have been primarily a climber and Grand Tour specialist, but he could also flourish in the Classics when he wanted to. His home Monuments were inevitably of most interest to him, but whereas the hilly parcours and fast downhills of Il Lombardia (which he won twice) played greatly to his strengths, to win Milan-San Remo required something special. He delivered just that on his 10th attempt in 2018, when he attacked solo over the Poggio, and held off for a victory that was memorable by even his standards.
Alejandro Valverde
World Championships Road Race 2018
With well over a hundred wins to his name over a career spanning two whole decades, it’s difficult to pick just one that can be considered the greatest in Valverde’s career. But the World Championships in 2018 does stand out for various reasons — it came when the Spaniard was already defying his age by still riding at the top level at the grand age of 38, and brought to an end a career of frustrating near misses in which he’d twice won silver and four time times the bronze without ever…