🎥 Lombardy record-holder Mollema's farewell to racing: 'I’ve been looking forward to retiring'

For Mollema, the Tour of Lombardy is the most special race there is.

The 39-year-old from Groningen has ridden the Race of the Falling Leaves no fewer than eighteen times, making him the record holder. In 2019, he claimed his most memorable victory there, crossing the finish line solo in Como. This year, he’ll be reminiscing on those roads for a while.

Beforehand, Mollema spoke about his final race, which he had, of course, chosen himself. “This is the farewell race of my dreams. For years, I’ve had it in my head that this should be my farewell. I didn’t want to take any risks in the races over the past few days. Imagine if you crashed and had to miss Lombardy.”

After a professional career spanning nineteen seasons, it’s almost over. “It’s been a good run. Especially in the last few months, I’ve been looking forward to retiring. Physically, I do have a few minor aches and pains; things aren’t going great. Maybe it’s my age. My body is starting to rebel. Cycling is getting tougher and tougher, especially at the highest level, and to compete at the front, you have to make sacrifices. At some point, you just don’t want that anymore. Then you just want to lead a normal life.”

For Pello Bilbao, Lombardy is also the final stop. The Basque rider has won two stages in the Giro d'Italia and one in the Tour de France, among other achievements, and finished fourth in the 2020 Giro d'Italia. His compatriot and fellow Basque, Ion Izagirre, is also bidding farewell: he recently broke his wrist but was determined to compete at all costs and will therefore start the race wearing a brace.

Rudy Molard is also retiring. The Frenchman from Groupama-FDJ was a pro for fifteen years, won a stage at Paris-Nice, and wore the red jersey for four days at the 2018 Vuelta a España. Odd Christian Eiking is retiring from Unibet Rose Rockets. The Norwegian also wore the red jersey for a long time in Spain, in 2021. At the age of 31, he’s decided it’s time to call it quits. The five riders were given a beautiful send-off in Bergamo.