Danish football prodigy wants to follow in Evenepoel's footsteps: 'A new dream and new goals'
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Follow us on GoogleJeppe Corfitzen is set to pursue a professional career as a cyclist. For years, the 21-year-old Dane was considered a prodigious talent on the football pitch, but because of persistent injuries, Corfitzen has decided to end his football career. On the bike, he now hopes to follow in Remco Evenepoel’s footsteps.
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Youngster's injury list became too long
Last Saturday, La Gazzetta dello Sport ran a story about Corfitzen, who made his debut for Lecce at the age of 18 during the 2023–2024 season. He played in the youth ranks in Denmark for FC Copenhagen and Lyngby before moving to Italy in 2022. There, he quickly made a name for himself.
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As a right winger, Corfitzen was one of Lecce’s three top prospects, along with Patrick Dorgu (now with Manchester United) and Medon Berisha (now starters on Lecce’s first team). However, just as the Dane was on the verge of his big breakthrough, injuries continued to plague him.
For a 21-year-old, Corfitzen’s injury history is already too long. He tore his cruciate ligament in 2023, 2024, and 2025, which sidelined him for months each time. If we add up the time he missed using Transfermarkt, we arrive at 1,112 days of injury, which is more than three years.
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After his football career, Corfitzen takes up cycling
On his social media accounts late last week, Corfitzen announced that his soccer career is over. “From the dream of playing professional soccer in Italy to a reality I never could have imagined. It wasn’t the ending I’d dreamed of, but sometimes life takes a different turn than you’d planned.”
"This is just the beginning of a new story," the Dane added. He has, in fact, found a new passion in cycling. "After seven surgeries and a lot of pain, I had to say goodbye to elite football. Now I have a new dream and new goals: to become a professional cyclist one day."
Corfitzen began sharing his training results on social media, as a sort of disguised job application. Can he follow in the footsteps of Evenepoel, who retired from football in 2017 and is now a global star on the bike?
Evenepoel didn't quit football because of injuries, but because he ended up on the bench at Anderlecht and lost his enjoyment of the sport.
He also played for the Dutch club PSV in his youth and is now a multiple world, Olympic, and European cycling champion.
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Clarice WebsterEditor
Clarice has been following cycling her whole life, wroting about Thibaut Pinot (among others) for her university magazine while earning her masters in Journalism. She is passionate about furthering equality in sports coverage, and has taken huge inspiration from pillars of women’s cycling like Beryl Burton, Marianne Vos, and Laura Kenny.
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Latest Comments
- How can he race a mountain-bike event just 15 hours after Lombardia? Does that mean he had to recover on the way there? I’m still figuring out how these races fit together!sprocketspiny12-10-2026
- Winning Lombardia without Pogačar there is still a huge achievement, though the headline makes it sound like Seixas is already chasing him personally. Is there any indication he’s actually considering UAE for 2028?andrewf12-10-2026
- The UAE interest is worth watching, but he’s under contract through 2027 and Decathlon clearly have a major talent to build around. No need to rush the transfer speculation.samanthak12-10-2026
- He’s right to keep Pogačar as the benchmark rather than claiming he’s already there. Second at Strade and Liège, plus fourth on his Tour debut at 19, is an incredible platform.robert6512-10-2026
- Seixas attacking on the Civiglio and then lining up at Roc d’Azur the next day is wild. The win matters, but that appetite to race says a lot about him.julien12-10-2026
- Quel talent — winning Lombardia at 20 is incredible. Bien joué, Paul!pedalpowe2912-10-2026
- I’m trying to understand the age comparison: does “at 20” mean results before turning 21, or literally while they were 20? These records get confusing!samanthak12-10-2026
- Pogačar comparisons are inevitable, but Seixas’ results across the Classics and the Tour are hard to ignore. Can’t wait to see them race head-to-head.raceready712-10-2026
- Winning Lombardia at 20 is huge. The Civiglio attack was perfectly timed, and 48 seconds is a proper statement.breakawaybikerd12-10-2026
- Seixas is an extraordinary talent, but comparing careers at 20 feels premature. The Lombardia win and that Tour fourth place are remarkable on their own.lindae12-10-2026
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