Chantal van den Broek-Blaak announces pregnancy and early retirement

Former world champion Chantal van den Broek-Blaak has announced that she is expecting a second child, and has decided to end her professional cycling career.

The 35-year-old, the current Dutch road champion, was due to retire at the end of the season, having renewed her contract with SD Worx-Protime last October. She has now moved her retirement forward, effective immediately, due to a “wonderful surprise”.

“There is no more beautiful reason to say goodbye,” Van den Broek Blaak wrote on Instagram. “I had imagined my last season differently, give it one final push in the national jersey. But more than anything, I feel super happy and grateful for what’s ahead.”

Across her 17-year career, Van den Broek-Blaak’s crowning moment came when she won the UCI World Championships in Bergen, Norway in 2017 with a solo attack. Her palmarès also counts victories at the Tour of Flanders, Strade Bianche, Amstel Gold Race, Gent-Wevelgem and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, making her one of the most successful cyclists of all time.

In May 2023, the Dutchwoman gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Noa. She returned to the peloton at the start of last season, but said it was “not an easy year - especially mentally”.

“I had to get used to the role of motherhood combined with top-level sport,” she said in a statement shared by SD Worx-Protime. “I rode good races, but the stability was missing. Of course, capturing the Dutch title was a nice highlight, which showed that I could still compete for prizes at the highest level.

“I am now 35 years old and wanted to shine another year. At the training camp in December, I was already pedalling good values at the tests. I finally had the same feeling on the bike as before my pregnancy and was eager to show the red, white and blue.

“In early January, we found out that I was pregnant again. It felt strange at first, but I soon realised how lucky I am to have got pregnant again so easily. This is what life is really all about.”

Van den Broek-Blaak’s team manager, Erwin Janssen, paid tribute to the Dutchwoman’s career, saying that she was one of the “culture carriers” within SD Worx-Protime.

“We are very happy for Chantal that she is expecting her second child. We were still looking forward to a great final year for her on the bike, but the happiness of pregnancy is the most wonderful thing for her,” Janssen said.

“We look back with pride at all we have achieved with Chantal in those ten years with the team. She has been one of the best cyclists in the world for many years.”