'There are two kinds of ages: the number in your passport and your body age' – Why are cycling's veteran pros refusing to slow down?

Domenico Pozzovivo deserved as many headlines as the Czech Tour winner after finishing third in a 2.Pro stage race at the age of 43. However, it was probably best he not look up to his right while standing on the final podium of the mid-August event, lest he be reminded of his advancing years.

The man on the top step, 20-year-old Andrew August (Netcompany-Ineos), was not even born when the Italian lined up for his first Giro d’Italia in 2005.

Pro cycling is youth-obsessed, and rightly so: finding, fine-tuning and holding on to the next big thing can transform a cycling team’s fortunes. The rise of teenager Paul Seixas might make those racers in their mid-30s feel like it’s time to pick up the pipe and slippers.

However, Pozzovivo is one of the old-timers showing that if you’re good enough, you’re still young enough to earn a place in the sport by merit.

Having bowed out of pro cycling at the end of 2024 as a VF Group-Bardiani racer, the little Italian with the big climbing pedigree returned to the professional scene in mid-April with second-tier Italian squad Solution Team Nippo Rail.

Right now, the numbers that matter are on his results sheet and his power profile, putting out the best figures of his life, not his passport. The pick of Pozzovivo’s seven top-three finishes so far this season include finishing second at the Tour of Hellas and third at the Giro dell’Appenino.

He is not the only one seemingly defying the ageing process after returning from retirement too. 35-year-old Anna van der Breggen came back in 2025 after three years of retirement and got up to speed quickly.

The former Olympic and two-time world champion has already finished second at the Vuelta Femenina and the Giro d’Italia Donne this year, losing the race lead on the final day in both. Still, the Dutchwoman has time on her side to avenge such defeats if her former rival Annemiek van Vleuten is anything to go by. She tasted victory in those prestigious stage races at the age of 40.

Alejandro Valverde is another who turned back the clock, taking the world title at 38 in 2018 and winning WorldTour stages into his early 40s. Sometimes, age, experience and a sense of mental liberation can go a long way.

But what drives veterans to come back or stay in the game, and how are they getting the best out of themselves as the wrinkles add up and their bodies change?

Racing with nothing to lose

Pozzovivo, who jointly holds the record for Giro participations with 18, has pedalled up umpteen Italian mountains, but he must have felt like he was staring up at the Stelvio making his comeback this spring.

Curiosity to see whether he could still compete at the highest level compelled him to return. "I prefer to have something that challenges me, to be focused on something that I have to overcome. It’s good for my state of mind," he told Cyclingnews at his first race, the mid-April Tour of the Alps.

Besides, Pozzovivo didn't stop training after his first retirement, and his power numbers are better than ever. "Last year, I started sharing my Strava data. I had really good values and the best ever from five minutes to 45 minutes than before, in general," he said.

The Italian is not naive about the impact of his age. "I will feel less strong gradually, for sure," he says. "It [my body] is less explosive, and that’s why I train a lot on that side."

"But 18 years ago, we didn’t train as well as we do now and taking care of what we eat was not at such a high level either. In this way, I can compensate a lot for the lack of performance that I’d normally see with this gap of years."

The pressure is also off for Pozzovivo: this unexpected return to action is a free hit, not the be-all-and-end-all it used to be. Bike racing is just one more ball in the air for a father and renaissance man with university degrees in economics and sports science who combines his sport with cycling TV commentary work.

Turning 44 in November, Pozzovivo is the oldest professional in the men’s sport’s top two divisions (which are obliged to pay a minimum wage), although stars of yesteryear Francisco Mancebo, 50, and Óscar Sevilla, 49, are still racing at UCI Continental level.

While almost a decade younger, Anna van der Breggen had a similar change of heart to Pozzivovo. Having won virtually every prestigious race there was to win, she stepped off the bike and into the role of directeur sportif at 31 years old in late 2021, wanting a break.

However, she could not quieten the voice inside wondering whether she could come back even better than before.

In the SD Worx-Protime kit again, it only took three months to get her arms in the air at the Vuelta Femenina, with a downhill attack into the Aragon town of Borja. Victory still felt the same, but her method of pursuing it has changed. Van der Breggen professed afterwards that she "races much more freely" and is "less afraid than before that it [an attack] won’t work."

Her way of racing has adjusted, listening to a body which is no longer as explosive as it used to be. "I can put a pace which is not too fast for me, but hopefully high enough to drop everybody," she told Cyclingnews in January 2026. "But if I am not doing that and the pace is really slow, everybody can follow, and the chance that I will be in the top three is less."

Muscle mass decline is a by-product of ageing, with humans losing up to 8% between the ages of 30 and 40. The number and size of fast-twitch muscle fibres also go down too, lending to a more diesel-like ability.

VO2 max, the chief physiological governor of aerobic capacity, also starts to decline slowly from 25 onwards. For men, testosterone drops by approximately one per cent a year from the age of 30; for women, oestrogen levels start to go down during perimenopause.

Yet, for all the slow reductions in physiological markers, the pleasure factor goes the other way. "I enjoy what I am doing now way more," Van der Breggen told Cyclingnews in early 2025 at the dawn of her comeback. "The long rides, the new teammates that we have and how they develop."

Former teammate Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio also postponed her retirement in 2022, realising she was still progressing and had a higher level than ever. Months after reversing her decision to quit, the South African won a stage and the overall of the Tour of Romandie, ending a career-long quest for a WorldTour win.

Acting as a mentor-leader for AG Insurance-Soudal since 2023 has given her motivation and renewed purpose. Noticing stigmas about her age has also strengthened the 40-year-old’s resolve.

"Who I am is not defined by a result," she wrote in a blog post on Rocacorba Collective after finishing fourth in Brabantse Pjil. "That perspective matters more than ever in a sport where, as you get older, the narrative so quickly becomes: you’re past it.

"Too old. Too injured. Not the same anymore. I’ve heard it. I’ve felt it. But I never truly believed it."

Moolman-Pasio is set to stop racing at the end of 2026 to become Team Amani’s general manager. 42-year-old Mavi Garcia – the oldest rider in the men's or women’s WorldTour - is still going strong, set to race into 2027 with UAE Team L’IMAD.

'Just do it now because life is short, man'

Leading ultra-cyclist Leah Goldstein makes Garcia and Moolman-Pasio look like fresh-faced whippersnappers.

The 57-year-old Canadian won the 2021 edition of Race Across America (RAAM) in just over 11 days, the first woman to beat the men. Burning through her jersey in temperatures of up to 55℃ in the 3,000-mile coast-to-coast race, only three solo competitors got to the endpoint. "I don’t know how I finished that race, but I’ll never forget it. I won because I can suffer," Goldstein tells Cyclingnews.

She has inevitably seen her power dip over the years, but a Eureka moment for her endurance capacities came after turning 40.

"I realised I could go forever," she says. "But most importantly, I could function with no sleep. I can push myself beyond my limits, and I’m really good at being comfortable being uncomfortable. Those three things I felt I was gifted at, excelling in ultra-endurance racing as opposed to the shorter stuff."

She started as a roadie who competed in leading European events for the Canadian national team before excelling in ultra-events like the Hoodoo 500 and Trans Am Bike Race.

Goldstein had wanted to challenge herself in 2026 by doing the principally off-road Tour Divide, a self-supported 2,700-mile epic between Canada and Mexico. It was much more technical than she had anticipated, forcing her to walk with her bike for several hours on occasional sections.

"I’ve got zero skill as a mountain biker. I should be dead," she says. "I should get an award for crashing the most times; on average twice a day for three weeks. It was insane, the most difficult thing I’ve ever done and probably the stupidest. I came in second [placed-woman], so I can’t complain." Former WorldTour pro Laurens Ten Dam, 45, was also second in the men’s category.

Goldstein cracked her rib on the second day and tore her rotator cuff 300 kilometres from the finish.

"I lost my balance and tumbled down a cliff," she says, matter-of-factly. "I banged up my knee pretty good. I fell on my left side, I was stopped by a tree and was pinned down by my bike, which weighs close to 55 pounds." It took 30 minutes in the dead of night to crawl back up the trail.

A doctor friend suggested that she quit. No way – not after 19 days of suffering and a maximum of three hours a night of sleep. "That last 300k, I was riding with one arm and thank God it was not too technical," she says. "I knew if I quit that race, I’d regret it for the rest of my life."

As if that wasn’t enough, Goldstein also encountered grizzly and black bears four times during the Tour Divide. One of them scarpered after hearing her bellow the Kiss hit I Was Made for Loving You: "I don’t even know all the words; I was just making it up. It didn’t like it, probably moved to a different state."

Goldstein’s age does not cross her mind. "People bring it up, right? It doesn’t bug me, even with recovery," she says. "I just feel it’s experience. I know myself so well – when to pull back, when to push further, what I can do, what my limits are. Look at my results: I’m still getting faster. How is that?"

"Even in the men's side, a lot of the really good [ultra cycling] guys are in their fifties, even early sixties. It’s more races like the Tour de France where you really have to be that young, because we lose that fast-twitch muscle as we age," she says. "With ultra endurance racing, it's almost more successful as you age because of the experience."

As a property investor, she also has the luxury of having more time to prepare. Her "easiest" ride ahead of the Tour Divide was 20 hours; the longest was 65 hours. "What young person has that time to train? It’s just not realistic; they have to work. You very rarely see 35-year-olds in Race Across America. It’s more suited to somebody who doesn’t have a nine-to-five job."

Goldstein staves off some ill effects of the ageing process by doing yoga since the age of 40 and using the exercise ball: "It’s more important to do core work. Yoga keeps you flexible. I roll my eyes and hate every minute of it, but it prevents injury, makes you more agile, a better rider."

Ultra-cycling is not a multi-million-dollar sport, but her longevity and past connections have helped to secure bike, sunglasses and wheel backers, including KHS and Vision.

Goldstein will not be slowing down any time soon. She is "obsessed" with cracking 10 days for RAAM, an arduous physical, logistical and financial undertaking. She estimates the cost of a nine-person crew, several vehicles, transport around the U.S., gas prices and accommodation to be $60,000.

A small price to pay for getting the most from her time on Earth. "We’re so conditioned to be comfortable, and we’re so afraid of failure … before you know it, you’re 75 years old, and you say ‘I wish I had done A, B, C, and D.’ Just do it now because life is short, man."

Feeling more human and leaning on experience

Given the repetitive and draining nature of cycling, it would be easy not to expect love for the sport to be a veteran’s biggest fuel, but that is what is keeping Rein Taaramäe going.

The 39-year-old Estonian has been racing in Asia with Japan-registered UCI Continental team Kinan Racing Team in 2025 and 2026. A stage winner at the Giro and Vuelta, racing for the likes of Cofidis, Katusha and Intermarché, he still enjoys the process.

"I feel like I’ve studied all my life to be a good cyclist and can’t just stop right now," he says. "I always wanted to be a cyclist, and I still want to do cycling so it's a mistake if I stop now … Stopping just because of age doesn't make sense. I’m happy, and I like to think that my life goal is to be happy."

Taaramäe thinks it could have been possible to carry on in the WorldTour. "But I felt in the last year [2024] that it’s quite boring. I did all the races more than 10 times. Doing one more Giro or Vuelta is not that exciting. I wanted to have some new races, a little bit of a different system."

He got that all right: his first team meeting with Kinan Racing Team in December 2024 had five people sleeping in a room in a Japanese house they cleaned before departing, akin to his old training camps with the Estonian national team. "It was quite a big change, but I really enjoyed it," he says.

There are differences galore: in Japan, they compete on circuits and race radios are not used. His team does not have a bus, a nutritionist or VeloViewer. Taaarmäe no longer has a coach and says his salary is about ten times smaller. "For me, it’s perfect because I don’t seek this kind of numbers and professional things. I just enjoy cycling and this life," he says.

"I’ve not seen a big change in performance," he adds, alluding to his age. "All my numbers are the same as when I was 23 or 24: threshold, climbing, TT."

On the lower-level Asia Tour, there are no altitude camps, fewer events and shorter races (the mean distance of his 28 road stages this season is 116km), which has finally allowed his body to catch a breath.

"When I was younger, I was often really exhausted: there were periods I was really good and others I was totally gone," Taaramäe reflects.

"But now, the body is so strong I can maintain a really good shape all season. It’s much easier because I don’t get such a big fatigue and burnout like before…I can feel much more human all year than before."

"But the biggest enemy of age – I think about Pogačar and Seixas, those guys in the future – is that all bodies change a lot. And they’re going to start to see the changes when they’re 30 or a few years older. The things that worked really well before don’t work anymore; you need to find a way to manage everything, like body weight, training."

Taaramäe weighs six kilos more than when he was 20, despite not changing his fundamental routine. "Nowadays, it’s so complicated because you need to starve yourself. I never did that when I was younger," he says.

A white jersey wearer in the Tour de France 15 years ago, Taarmäe can still mix it with his fastest rivals. In January, he crossed the line first on stage two of the 2.2-rated Tour of Sharjah after a 52-kilometre solo breakaway.

Acknowledging he was not the strongest in the race, he relied on "pure experience" and fearlessness. After moving into a well-represented break, he reckoned his rivals would argue over chasing responsibilities if he got a gap.

Taaramäe used the day’s uphill intermediate sprint as a ruse, doing it at 70% effort before launching a full-on attack. "I opened up the gap and behind there was a little bit of confusion," he says. He took 30 seconds quickly; his rivals didn't cooperate, and he ended up winning the race overall too.

There will be no stopping for the 39-year-old just yet. "I think there are two kinds of ages: the number in your passport and your body age; it’s genetic and how healthy you are," he says. "I think I can go on to 45. It’s all about the mental [side]; I don’t have a real limit. But it’s also hard to see me going until 50!"

He might even earn a finder’s fee for extending a few careers. "Some WorldTour riders still write to me on Instagram: ‘Rein, can you find me a team in Asia? I stopped last year, but I miss it so much, I’d like to do it like you’."

Whatever results come along now are all a happy bonus for Taaramäe. "I think cycling is a good addiction," he says. "Time goes so fast. When I was young, I thought I’d be done at 30 because it’s so hard.

"I never forgot that this is just a game and everybody is living their dream. Enjoy it and do it while you can."