Pogacar’s most loyal climbing domestique ends career: Majka (35) quits cycling after 2025

Majka announced on his Twitter/X page that 2025 will be his very last season in the pro peloton. He’s set to ride the Tour of Poland, which begins on August 4, for the last time. It will be his final appearance in the WorldTour race in his home country, where he finished in the top 10 of the general classification five times and was runner-up in 2017. He took the overall win once, in 2014, riding for Tinkoff-Saxo.

He made his professional debut with that team, then known as Team Saxo Bank–Sungard, and stayed for six years. Early on, he proved his worth as Alberto Contador’s key mountain helper, but later earned his own chances. During his time with the Danish-Russian team (which later became simply Tinkoff), he won three Tour de France stages and twice claimed the King of the Mountains jersey. In the 2015 Vuelta a España, he finished third in the general classification.

In 2016, he came close to Olympic gold: he finished third in Rio de Janeiro, just caught in the final kilometer by Greg Van Avermaet and Jakob Fuglsang. That was followed by a four-year stint at BORA–Hansgrohe, where he won two stages in the Vuelta and twice finished in the top ten of a grand tour. After that, Majka’s time as a team leader was over. Following his move to UAE Team Emirates, he fully embraced the role of super-domestique.

And he did so with distinction. The Polish rider became one of Tadej Pogacar’s most reliable mountain lieutenants in many of his Tour de France victories. While some teammates were more unpredictable, the Slovenian could always count on the seasoned warrior Majka. This year, the climber rode the Giro d’Italia, where he nearly helped guide Isaac Del Toro to overall victory. The crafty veteran still had his tricks, but at almost 36 years old (his birthday is in September), Majka has decided it’s time to call it a day.