CyclistThe next stage: Inside the life of a retired pro cyclistColombian climber Julin Arredondo was never one to do anything by halves: I was mixing drugs with alcohol and women. I took a little bit of everything, but it never filled this deep emptiness I had inside me, he tells Cyclist.As a young rider, Arredondo won a stage of Argentinas Tour de San Luis just two days into his pro career with Trek Factory Racing in 2014 against no less a rider than Nairo Quintana, who had finished on the Tour de France podium the year prior. But a few short years later his life had changed radically. A hip injury saw him fall out of the sport in 2017 and what followed was four years of depression and drug and alcohol misuse.Speaking about his experience publicly for the first time, he tells us, I was looking for what to do in life but found nothing. I was visiting various psychologists but none of them helped. All of my life since I was a kid revolved around the bike and the fact that I couldnt do anything on the bike was so frustrating.The Colombian is doing a lot better now, running a bike shop in the village where he grew up in the Colombian mountains, although he still suffers the effects of his hip injury. But Arredondos story is far from unique.Around five per cent of the WorldTour peloton retires each year. According to Pro Cycling Stats, 47 men and women from the WorldTour retired in 2025, and as of the start of 2026 a further 43 were without a contract. Pro riders leaving the sport often struggle to create a new life outside it, suffering from a range of issues including addiction, depression and serious financial difficulties.Its not a problem unique to cycling either. A 2013 analysis of 126 studies involving 13,511 sportspeople published in the International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology found 16 per cent reported difficulties in transitioning to civilian life. There are indications the percentage in the upper echelons of sport may be even higher. A 2018 Professional Footballers Association study found 54 per cent of ex-pros had experienced difficulties with their mental health or emotional wellbeing.Yet for decades the issues around managing this transition in cycling have gone largely ignored. There are, however, some signs that this is beginning to change, with the riders union Cyclistes Professionnels Associs (CPA) working to address some of these issues, and momentum building elsewhere behind moves to tackle others.End of the roadRetiring riders often suffer a loss of identity. The end of a career doesnt have to be sudden like Arredondos to cause this; a disappointing period of racing can also increase the disconnect felt. Track star Ed Clancy won gold medals at three successive Olympic games, but at his last in Tokyo in 2021, Great Britain crashed out in the first round of the team pursuit.There were no medals, there were no victory ceremonies, there were no B-list celebrity occasions afterwards. And into retirement you go, he says. The stalwart of the British team describes the months post-retirement as a prolonged period of hopelessness. He tried many different jobs both within cycling and outside it.I was just blowing around like a leaf in the wind, Clancy says. I think the fact I was doing so many things isnt like, Wow, that guy was doing well. Its more a case of that guy didnt have a clue what he really wanted.Adam NickelI felt like I had one very finely honed skill in life, and that was to put on a Lycra suit and ride around the track or a town centre very fast. And once I didnt have that anymore, I was like, Well, why am I here?Even Tour de France green jersey winner Marcel Kittel, who retired voluntarily in 2019 after coming to the conclusion that he no longer had the passion to continue as a pro, says he felt a pang of loss when he first saw his former colleagues jetting off to the annual December training camp.I was standing at the train station and saw the train leaving, but I wasnt sitting in it anymore, says Kittel.Dr Michael Liebrenz, a psychiatrist at the University of Bern, Switzerland, has co-authored multiple studies on the mental health of pro cyclists and is working on a study on retirement due for publication later this year. He says he has heard stories like Clancys, Kittels and Arredondos before.Several riders describe retirement as moving from a hyper-structured existence to what one called a dive into the deep, an ordinary life that feels strangely empty. All of this makes retirement less of a gentle transition and more of a psychological rupture, one that too often arrives without warning or adequate support, Liebrenz says.Friends disunitedThe first line of that support is usually a riders social circle. But for pros living a hyper-focused, performance-oriented lifestyle, this often has a major overlap with their teammates, coaches and colleagues and they frequently move on without them.When you retire, you get forgotten so quickly. Its unbelievable, says ex-pro and president of the CPA, Adam Hansen.Arredondo adds, I lost everything after I stopped riding, lost contact with everyone. No one from my career speaks with me. When I was good they did, but when I had difficulties everyone abandoned me. This hurt me, but this is life. When youre up you have friends, but when youre in crisis everything is more complicated.WorldTour riders experience this despite their work environment often being remote training alone or in small groups near their home. For Clancy as a track rider, he was used to a routine that more closely mirrors a regular job, going into the National Cycling Centre velodrome in Manchester several times a week. The change was dramatic.Youre out of touch with them after ten days, he says. I spoke to a therapist about this, and she always lets me speak, but the one time she interrupted me was when I was talking about British Cycling. I was like, British Cycling, they were my family. And then she stopped me mid-flow and said, But they werent, Ed. They never were.That therapy was something Clancy had to organise on his own, as that was another element of support that had ended when he ceased to be a professional. While pros have easy access to doctors and psychologists, usually when their pro contract ends on 31st December, this falls away. According to Liebrenz, this professional support is sorely missed by recently retired pros.Roughly half of the riders we interviewed spoke of depressive symptoms at some point during or after their careers, and very few had access to any structured mental health support once they left their teams. Related Posts I felt I was playing a character: Bradley Wiggins profile The next stage: Fabian Cancellara profile Pride and passion: Marc Madiot profile Famous and pennilessArredondo credits his current partner and returning to riding with getting him back to a place of better mental health. However, by that point the Colombian had also used up what little savings hed accrued in his short career.History is littered with famous and successful riders who retired penniless, says Giles Pidcock, co-founder of financial planning firm Fensham Howes and father of Tour de France stage winner and Olympic gold medallist Tom Pidcock. He points to three-time Tour green jersey winner Freddy Maertens, who suffered huge financial troubles for years after his racing career in the 1970s, and more recently Bradley Wiggins, who was declared bankrupt in 2024.The answer to not entering retirement with little to show for your riding career is, perhaps unsurprisingly, early planning.What we find useful is to build a financial model of their career, says Giles Pidcock, who advises several current WorldTour pros. Knowing their income, outgoings and making a few assumptions about their longevity, Pidcock builds a picture of their financial situation on retirement, giving riders greater certainty.Adam NickelThen theyll win a big race and they say, Oh, can I buy a Porsche now? And I say, Well, you can, but if you take 100,000 out of your planning then that means that when you end your career youll have 170,000 less, because youre not going to get growth on it. And your cars probably going to be worth 50,000 by then, so its up to you.Having said that, Pidcock adds that todays young riders are generally more aware of the risks of poor financial planning than previous generations, and agents are better at protecting their riders too.Even without planning, some financial support is available to retiring riders, who can access the UCI Transition Fund, which is paid for by race organisers. The CPA, which manages the fund, is mindful that this isnt enough, though, and in 2025 trialled its first Hire The Pro event, introducing riders to prospective employers within the cycling industry at the Eurobike trade show in Germany.The session was run in conjunction with cycling industry recruitment firm Bicitalent, and CEO Daniel Glaubitz says, Most of the pros dont really have a clear idea what they are good at and what they want to do. They also dont really know what the job world offers. So even if they know what theyre good at, they dont really know if theres a job existing for that profile.Glaubitz says he hopes to expand the programme to have more formal internships and entry-level jobs to deliver more comprehensive support into work. He maintains a WhatsApp community of riders and ex-riders that serves as an informal post-riding career support network too. However, the natural home for such a thing would be the sports governing body, the UCI, but when Cyclist asked what plans the UCI had for enhancing support, it directed us back to the Transition Fund.Finding fulfilling work is not just about money, its a major part of forming a post-racing identity too. Clancy, who now works to promote mens mental health with charity Movember, credits his role as active lives commissioner for South Yorkshire as instrumental in improving the low mood, insomnia and aimlessness he suffered after retiring.Liebrenz believes tackling these mental health issues needs a multi-layered approach: The first step is to recognise that preparing for life after sport shouldnt begin when the last contract expires. It has to be part of an athletes development from the very start. Education around financial planning, career options and mental wellbeing should be built into that process, he adds.A comprehensive solution is still some way off but a growing body of evidence and ongoing dialogue with the sports governing bodies will hopefully mean that in coming years instances of ex-pros seeking the rush of racing at the bottom of a bottle will become a thing of the past.Changing directionSome ex-pros have found a new life away from the bikeAxel DomontStalwart of French team AG2R-La Mondiale for his seven-year career, he now makes wine in Frances Savoie region. Many of his wines have cycling-appropriate names such as Kilometre 0 and Flamme Rouge.Tyler FarrarIn 2020 the American sprinter and Tour de France stage winner packed up his apartment in Ghent, Belgium, and returned to the States to train as a firefighter in Kirkland, Washington.Alfons Fons De WolfAfter winning the Giro di Lombardia in 1980, Milan-San Remo in 1981 and a stage of the Tour de France in 1984, Belgian Fons de Wolf retired in 1990 and later became a funeral director working for his family firm.Eric HeidenTransitions are nothing new for multiple Olympic gold medal-winning American speed skater Eric Heiden, who later raced on the road with 7-Eleven at the 1986 Tour de France. He is now an orthopaedic surgeon, specialising in sports medicine.Kristian HouseThe 2009 British National Champion eventually returned to Texas, where he grew up, and first worked as a para-legal before becoming an archery coach, focussing on teaching kids from disadvantaged backgrounds.Linus GerdemannThe German won a stage of the 2007 Tour de France and wore yellow for two days. He retired in 2016 and set up an Asian restaurant called Nama in Mallorca, where guests have included former teammate Lance Armstrong.Beat BreuIn 1982 packed crowds on Alpe dHuez witnessed Beat Breu win his second stage of the Tour de France. The Swiss climber clearly had a taste for spectacle as in retirement he went on to run a series of four circuses all of which folded.The post The next stage: Inside the life of a retired pro cyclist appeared first on Cyclist.