Femke Beuling has confirmed that the 2025 season was her final year in the professional peloton, announcing on Instagram that she will step away from racing and begin a master’s programme in 2026. The 25-year-old Dutch rider, who arrived in cycling after a successful junior and U23 career in speed skating, leaves the sport after three seasons in the elite ranks.
Beuling posted a short message alongside a photo, writing only: “2025 was my last year as a procyclist. 2026 will be my first year as a master student.” It captured the sense of closure she has hinted at since late summer, when she began weighing up her long-term future beyond the bike.
From world junior skating champion to pro cyclist
Before ever pinning on a race number in cycling, Beuling made her name on the ice. She won national junior titles in the sprint disciplines, claimed bronze at the Dutch Allround and Sprint Championships as a B-junior, and in 2019 took gold in the junior 500 m at the World Championships in Baselga di Piné. That same winter, she broke the team sprint world record alongside Jutta Leerdam and Joy Beune.
She earned World Cup starts with Team IKO and showed early promise, but persistent foot instability led her to end her skating career in 2022. Almost immediately, she pivoted to road cycling. Within weeks, she placed sixth at the Dutch Road Championships on the VAM-berg and secured a training camp spot with EF Education-TIBCO-SVB. A WorldTour contract followed in 2023.
A fast rise through the peloton
Beuling adapted to cycling quickly, winning national-level races such as Brussel-Opwijk and Omloop van Herxen before making her Women’s WorldTour debut at the Vuelta Femenina. She spent the first half of 2023 working closely alongside Zoe Bäckstedt at EF Education-TIBCO-SVB before transferring to VolkerWessels, where she raced in both 2024 and 2025.
This season brought a handful of encouraging results, including sixth at Trofee Maarten Wynants, sixth at GP Mazda Schelkens, and a strong seventh at the Midwest Cycling Classic. At the Baloise Ladies Tour, she produced a solid ride on stage two, and her top-ten finish at the Belgian one-day races underlined her consistency across the spring and summer.
A decisive step toward life beyond sport
Her decision to retire comes as VolkerWessels begins a significant restructuring of its women’s team for 2026. Beuling, along with several teammates, departs as the squad shifts toward an entirely Dutch roster for next season. For Beuling, the timing aligns perfectly with her academic ambitions.
The Dutch rider has never shied away from dramatic career changes: from elite-level speed skating to the WorldTour in just twelve months, and now from professional cycling to full-time study. Her announcement, characteristically concise, reflects that clarity.
Looking ahead
As she steps back from the demands of elite sport, Beuling leaves behind an unusually varied athletic career. Few riders reach the WorldTour after first becoming a world junior champion in another discipline, and even fewer manage it in such a compressed timeframe.
Her departure closes a brief but memorable chapter, one defined by ambition, resilience and rapid reinvention. Now, as she shifts toward a future in academia, Beuling does so with the same determination that once carried her from the ice to the peloton.
