Swedish rider Emilia Fahlin has announced her retirement from professional cycling, bringing an end to a career that spanned 19 years at the top level of the sport.
Fahlin confirmed her decision in a personal statement shared on Instagram, explaining that ongoing physical struggles over recent seasons were ultimately traced to a medical diagnosis that brought long-sought clarity, but also finality, to her time in the peloton.
“Spent the last 19 years living my hobby full-time. And now the time has come to close that chapter and step off the bike – officially retired,” Fahlin wrote. “It has been an unreal journey filled with memories, challenges, victories, places discovered and people met along the way. Things I will carry with me forever.”
The 37-year-old revealed that specialist examinations abroad led to a diagnosis of iliac artery endofibrosis, a condition involving the narrowing of arteries that restricts blood flow to the legs. The issue is known within endurance sports, but is often difficult to identify and diagnose, particularly in female athletes.
“I didn’t get the fairytale ending that many athletes dream of,” Fahlin explained. “But this fall I finally found the reason why I haven’t been able to reach my competitive level these past few years. It’s been a tough road of hard work, changes, tweaks, hope and stubbornness – but no real reward.”
While the diagnosis brought a sense of relief after years of uncertainty, Fahlin also acknowledged the frustration of discovering the condition so late in her career, when treatment options might have altered the outcome. “At this stage it makes it both a relief knowing, but also a sadness not having discovered the cause earlier,” she said.
Fahlin steps away from the sport as one of Sweden’s most accomplished riders of the modern era. Turning professional in 2007, she spent the early part of her career with the T-Mobile and later Columbia-HTC structures, establishing herself as a powerful all-rounder with a strong sprint and time trial ability. She became Swedish road race champion in 2008 and went on to claim multiple national titles across both road race and time trial disciplines.
Across her career, Fahlin built an impressive palmarès that included stage wins at Gracia Orlová, overall victory at the Czech stage race in 2018, and consistent results in the Women’s WorldTour. She was fourth at the Road World Championships in 2018, finished second overall at the Tour of Norway the same year, and regularly featured in the finales of major one-day races, including the Amstel Gold Race and Open de Suède Vårgårda.
Fahlin was also a mainstay of the Swedish national team for well over a decade, representing her country at World Championships, European Championships and the Olympic Games in London in 2012. In total, she competed in eight editions of the Giro d’Italia, two Tours de France Femmes, and a Vuelta a España, underlining her longevity and resilience in the Grand Tour environment.
Her final seasons were spent with Arkéa-B&B Hotels Women, where she continued to play a valuable role as an experienced road captain and support rider, even as her own physical limitations increasingly shaped her racing calendar. She formally announced her retirement in December 2025, closing the chapter on a professional career that began when women’s cycling was still fighting for visibility and depth.
Despite the abrupt nature of her exit, Fahlin’s statement was marked more by gratitude than regret. “I’m so thankful for every opportunity, and the people who supported me, believed in me, and were there when it mattered the most,” she wrote. “To all my teammates through the years – teaching me, fighting the battles together, laughing and sticking through tears and disappointment – it’s the most beautiful thing about this sport.”
As she steps away from professional racing, Fahlin made clear that cycling will remain a central part of her life, even as she turns her attention toward new challenges beyond the peloton. “Cycling will always have a huge part in my heart,” she concluded.
