Five years ago, Johan Price-Pejtersen looked to be on the verge of a highly successful career as a professional cyclist, but it is now fizzling out at the age of just 27.
The Danish rider claimed the U23 time trial world champion in Bruges in 2021, to go alongside his Danish and European titles. Beating Luke Plapp and Florian Vermeersch in Bruges, he announced himself as a future star and, though he did already have a professional contract with Uno-X, earned a move to the WorldTour with Bahrain Victorious.
After three years with that team, Price-Pejtesen spent the past two years with Alpecin-Premier Tech, but has decided to hang up his wheels at the end of 2026.
"It's an upheaval, but it's also a decision I made quite a long time ago," the 27-year-old said on the Danish Forhjulslir podcast.
"When you've been in cycling for a long time, you gain some experience. I've always said: 'I'll keep going until I don't think it's fun anymore'. Some things sound noble in the moment. The fact is that I continued riding my bike even after I thought it was fun."
As well as losing the passion for the sport, Price-Pejtersen also suggested he encountered physical problems that held him back.
"I had a period of two months where every time I went out to train, I felt like I had eaten something bad for breakfast, like I was going to throw up," he said.
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"It's strange, but also true. I've spent some time thinking about it and getting used to it."
No pro win, controversially
Price-Pejtersen has raced sparingly since making his first and only Grand Tour appearance at this year's Giro d'Italia, where he placed a notable seventh in the time trial.
Since May he has only completed 10 race days, all on Danish soil, winding down his career with a final pro-level appearance at the Tour of Denmark followed by two criterium races.
Price-Pejtersen largely slotted into a domestique role over the years, and while he did achieve some strong results against the clock – including podiums at Tirreno-Adriatico and the Chrono des Nations – he never managed to win a race during his career.
That last fact is mired in dispute and controversy, however, after Price-Pejtersen thought he'd won the Danish national time trial title in 2024 before having the title taken away not once but twice in a bizarre string of events.
He set the fastest time but was soon disqualified for riding on a pavement and despite the Danish Cycling Union (DCU) reinstating him as the winner seven months later, after another five months the UCI ruled that the DCU had no power to do that and reversed the decision once more.
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Patrick is an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish) and a decade’s experience in digital sports media, largely within the world of cycling. He re-joined Cyclingnews as Deputy Editor in February 2026, having previously spent eight years on staff between 2015 and 2023. In between, he was Deputy Editor at GCN and spent 18 months working across the sports portfolio at Future before returning to the cycling press pack. Patrick works across Cyclingnews’ wide-ranging output, assisting the Editor in global content strategy, with a particular focus on shaping CN's news operation.
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