Esteban Chaves retires after sixteen years for a life beyond the bike

In a video released by his team, Chaves recalls his early days in Bogotá. “I remember the first time I rode a road bike. It felt like flying, like freedom.” He joined a small local club and raced neighbourhood criteriums where, as he puts it, “everyone beat me.” His father encouraged him anyway. “He told me the goal was to beat myself and enjoy it.”

The path to the WorldTour was improbable. “For a kid born in my neighbourhood in Bogotá, the chance was almost zero.” Once there, he became one of Colombia’s most successful riders of his generation. His results include second overall in the 2016 Giro d’Italia, victory at Il Lombardia the same year, third overall in the Vuelta a España, three Giro stage wins and two Vuelta stage wins.

Cycling has defined him for most of his life. “Cycling has been essential for me. It shaped my character,” he says. But stepping away at thirty five has forced him to face new uncertainties. “You are boxed into being a cyclist and you think you cannot do anything else. Saying it is false, is easy. Living it, is different.”

The turning point came with the birth of his daughter, Lucia. During the Vuelta a España, he found himself thinking less about racing and more about home. “I was pinning my number on the bus and getting photos of my daughter. I only wanted to be there. I felt I was missing everything.”

He says the decision to retire came from that realisation. “It is not because I cannot ride anymore. It is something I felt from the moment my daughter was born. It is the right decision.”

Letting go of cycling’s structure is not simple. “I have always done what had to be done. Now I do not have a marked path, and that gives me fear.” Still, he believes the transition is necessary.

As he considers what lies ahead, he frames the question plainly. “Who am I without my bike? Without the bike, I am Esteban. I am a son, a brother, a husband, a father. I am a human being who wants to be at peace and close to nature. I am a human being who learns.”

His future remains open, but Chaves leaves the sport with a clear conclusion: his career is over, but the next stage has already begun.