Koen de Kort has introduced his formal retirement from professional racing just after a very long and distinguished career in which he created a name as a single of the most respected and experienced highway captains in the WorldTour.
The news comes two months right after de Kort suffered a lifetime-changing accident in which he dropped 3 fingers in a non-biking incident.
The 38-year-previous will get up the shared function of Group Assist Supervisor with Glen Leven at Trek-Segafredo, when Matt Shriver heads back to the United States to get the job done on other initiatives at Trek.
De Kort turned experienced in 2005 with Liberty Seguros acquiring graduated by means of the Rabobank advancement group. He gained a memorable stage into Chauvigny at the Tour de l’Avenir in 2005 but his job was finest defined as a Classics rider and trusted domestique at Skil Shimano and afterwards Trek-Segafredo exactly where he labored together with riders these as Jasper Stuyven, Edward Theuns, Mads Pedersen and John Degenkolb.
This year was currently likely to be de Kort’s remaining year in the pro ranks, with a transfer into management previously in the performs. The mid-season accident may perhaps have finished his profession by a few months but the Dutchman, even with the disappointment of the nature of his retirement is totally looking ahead to the challenge ahead as he moves into a new section of his life.
“For me it’s hard to go away cycling at the rear of in this way for certain,” de Kort reported in an announcement from the Trek-Segafredo team on Monday.
“I’d significantly prefer to retire at a great race and have my mates and household there, and have a get together and that’s it for skilled cycling and transfer on to the upcoming a person. Now it really is just ending with a significant downer, which is not the way that you want to conclusion. But I am 38 a long time aged, so it really is been a good career for sure. And I believe I can be proud of what I have realized and what I’ve finished.
“The Dutch national championships being my last race was a bit of a shock. But on the other hand, I’m also on the lookout forward to what’s coming and what is actually up coming. I’m super thrilled that I will be continuing with the workforce in a little bit of a distinct function, as Staff Assistance Manager with Trek-Segafredo.
Prolonged-expression mechanic Glen Leven will move into the similar role as de Kort on the workforce and the Dutchman thinks that their knowledge will help the group strengthen.
“I think that we are in a best location for the reason that of Glen’s track record as an awesome mechanic, a single of the best that I’ve ever worked with. He’s knowledgeable with the mechanical aspect of it – the frames and the components. I assume my aspect of it, [I have experience] as a qualified athlete, the place I know definitely perfectly what we need to have, and I think I can also converse pretty nicely to associates and to riders. I think it can be a terrific phase in the right course for the staff and for Trek-Segafredo to have two people today fill this function.”
“This is for positive something that I genuinely required to do, it’s the occupation that I truly wished, and I tried out genuinely difficult to get, way ahead of my incident even took place. It is also why I examined sport administration when I did, for a part like this. I like that aspect of it, I like the conversation portion, and especially when I located out that there was a probability for me to get this function, I was tremendous thrilled to definitely get into it. I consider specially the connection in between Trek as a firm and the Factory Racing Workforce, as Trek-Segafredo is, that’s really tremendous intriguing. I like the company facet of it as a great deal as I do the racing facet, so I believe it is a fantastic combination of matters for me to leap into.”
“Now I am below, and able to start following these a hard second and lifestyle altering accident. That offers me a large amount of confidence and a large amount of have faith in that my future is going to be bright nonetheless.”
While de Kort and Leven will operate in tandem, the shift also sees Matt Shriver just take a stage back right before shifting back to the United States where he will work on new assignments for Trek.
Shriver has been instrumental in the team’s advancement in excess of a quantity of decades, and has labored carefully with both the men’s and women’s set-ups at Trek-Segafredo.
“I will certainly skip the camaraderie. I’ll miss the workforce, and I’ll miss all the persons. The Trek family, the team household — due to the fact definitely I devote a ton of time with them. And we are all from diverse cultures, but we still link by way of biking, by our passion,” Shriver stated.
The transition time period will start out in September and final right up until November, at which point Shriver will transfer back again to the US.
“Now, I am hunting even additional at what Matt is executing, and how Matt is carrying out it. I have been doing the job intently with him for the previous a person and a 50 percent many years, so I have seen a very little little bit what he is carrying out. And we will start off the changeover in August, when we will shadow Matt even much more. And from there I guess it will go stage by phase, hand by hand, to get into the part,” mentioned Leven.
“1 of the most important things is obtaining two inspired fellas that are coming into this position with tons of encounter,” Shriver stated.
“We’ve expanded a lot. And now you have twice the knowledge to be in a position to help Trek, regardless of whether it really is the men or the ladies. It really is a big move for the team.”