Carlijn Achtereekte will bring her cycling career to a close at the end of the 2025 season, with the 35-year-old Dutch rider confirming on Instagram she will retire after four years in the professional peloton.
Achtereekte made the unusual transition from long-track speed skating to road cycling in the winter of 2021. Just a few years earlier, she had enjoyed the pinnacle of her skating career, winning Olympic gold in the 3000m at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang. When she switched sports, Jumbo-Visma offered her an immediate spot, and she has since raced in the WorldTour every season.
Her career highlights on the bike include a second place at La Picto-Charentaise in 2023 and podium finishes at the Princess Anna Vasa Tour in 2024, where she was third overall and also third on stage 4. This year she added a fourth place at the Chrono de Gatineau to her record. Alongside those personal results, Achtereekte has ridden Grand Tours such as the Giro d’Italia Women and La Vuelta Femenina, playing a key support role for her teammates. Across four years as a pro cyclist, she only represented Visma | Lease a Bike.
Achtereekte’s announcement closes the book on a unique dual-sport career that took her from Olympic glory on the ice to WorldTour racing on two wheels.
