Kroon says likely to stop after 2014 season

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Karsten Kroon is about ready to call it quits after 18 years in the peloton. “When I think about it now, I cannot imagine that I will ride next year,” the Tinkoff-Saxo rider said on the Dutch television show De Avondetappe on Friday evening.

Kroon turned pro with Rabobank in 1997, riding with the team for eight years, before spending four years with Team CSC. The Dutchman rode for BMC in 2010 and 2011 before joining Team Saxo Bank, now known as Tinkoff-Saxo.

The 38-year-old can look back on a number of wins in his career, including a stage win at the Tour de France in 2002. He won Rund um den Henninger Turm in 2004 and 2008, and was second in the Amstel Gold Race in 2009.

“Cycling is my life. It has made me. It has brought me everything I have. I absolutely love the sport, but I realize also that it is over at a given moment. Then you need to stop,” he said.

Kroon, who is not riding any Grand Tours this year, still has a full race calendar for the remainder of the season. His next race is the Eneco Tour in August, “and I will also ride in China and Japan. I’m still very busy.”