Wout Poels of Unibet Rose Rockets won't retire after all: 'I tend to perform at my best in those kinds of races'

In recent months, Poels had been increasingly leaning toward continuing his career, especially after he managed to reach a very high level in 2026. After one season with XDS Astana, he took a step back to the ProTour and performed exceptionally well with Bas Tietema’s Unibet Rose Rockets. Among other things, he showed himself to be strong and aggressive in the Giro d’Italia.

In the second half of the season, Poels finished fourth in the Sibiu Tour and seventh in the Arctic Race of Norway, among other results. His season ended on a somewhat sour note due to a hard crash at the European Cycling Championships in Slovenia, where Poels was sidelined as team leader. In any case, it hasn’t dampened his desire to race for one more year.

Poels was a guest at the annual Cycling Gala on Monday evening and confirmed to NOS that he’s adding another year to his career. “The most important thing is that I still really enjoy doing this, so we’re just going to keep going for another year. The Giro d’Italia went really well, and after that I thought to myself: if I’m still at this level, then we can definitely keep going for another year.”

"The approach will be pretty much the same as this year: riding great races, trying to get good results, and just enjoying the racing. It would be really great if we could ride a Grand Tour as a team, and if we do, I’d love to be a part of it. I tend to perform at my best in those kinds of races,” he added.

Will 2027 really be his last season? “This will definitely be my last year; I’ve talked about it with my family, too. I’ll turn 40 next year, and by then I’ll have been a pro for 19 years. That’s a good time to retire.”