Servais Knaven to retire in August

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Servais Knaven has announced that he will end his professional racing career on August 15 of this year, his 17th season as a pro cyclist. The 39-year-old will swap his racing bike for a seat in the Milram team car as assistant directeur sportif.

Knaven announced his retirement on Dutch television, saying the Profwielerronde van Etten-Leur would be his last race.

“For me, it was always important that I could decide myself when the end should be. Our manager Gerry van Gerwen left it entirely up to me,” he said.

The Dutch rider did not want to stop after his record-setting 16th Paris-Roubaix. “As my last race I will ride the criterium in Etten-Leur. That is not far away from my home, and many of my fans and friends live in this area,” Knaven continued. He won that race in 2007.

Knaven turned pro in 1994 with TVM. Over the years he has ridden for Farm Frites, Domo, Quick Step, T-Mobile, Columbia and Milram. Knaven, whose full name is Henricus Theordorus Josephus Knaven, won Paris-Roubaix in 2001 and a stage of the Tour de France in 2003.