Former World Champion Chantal van den Broek-Blaak has called time on her 17-year pro career. The SD Worx-Protime racer is expecting her second child and although she had wanted to continue racing for another season, a team press release on Tuesday said that the pregnancy means she is retiring earlier than initially expected.
Van den Broek-Blaak is calling time on a notable career, which includes the World Championships victory in 2017, the Tour of Flanders in 2020 and Strade Bianche in 2021. Other key triumphs were the Amstel Gold Race, Gent-Wevelgem, and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad with her last pro win of a total of 27 in the Dutch National Championships last year.
"It took some switching, but there is no better reason to quit top-level sport," Van den Broek-Blaak, 35, said in the press release, in which she added that although she had returned to racing in 2024 after the birth of her first child in May 2023, "it was not an easy year, especially mentally."
"I had to get used to the role of motherhood combined with top-level sport. I rode good races, but the stability was missing. Of course, capturing the Dutch title was a nice highlight, which showed that I could still compete for prizes at the highest level."
Although she planned to have 2025 as her farewell season, "In early January, we found out that I was pregnant again. It felt strange at first, but I soon realised how lucky I am to have got pregnant again so easily. This is what life is really all about.
"With the 2024 season, in which I again became Dutch champion on the road, I was finally able to say goodbye to active cycling in a very nice way."
Erwin Janssen, the SD Worx - Protime team manager, added "We are very happy for Chantal that she is expecting her second child. We were still looking forward to a great final year for her on the bike, but the happiness of pregnancy is the most wonderful thing for her."
"We look back with pride at all we have achieved with Chantal in those ten years with the team. She has been one of the best cyclists in the world for many years, with the 2017 world title as the absolute highlight, of course."
