'Not my own choice' - Guillaume Van Keirsbulck announces retirement

Guillaume Van Keirsbulck has announced his retirement from cycling after being unable to find a new contract for the 2024 season. The 32-year-old calls time on his career after thirteen seasons in the peloton.

The Belgian turned professional with QuickStep in 2011, spending six years with Patrick Lefevere’s team. He later raced for Wanty-Gobert, CCC and Alpecin-Fenix, before spending the 2023 campaign with Bingoal WB.

“After 13 years of being a pro cyclist, it comes to an end,” Van Keirsbulck wrote on Instagram. “Not my own choice but grateful for the past years. I have had a great career, but it is still difficult because I had hoped to race until at least the age of 35.

“I am grateful for all the fans who followed and supported me, the teams and staff for all the opportunities and what they did for me, teammates for the teamwork and also everything we have experienced together, we have seen the world together. I end 2023 with mixed feelings, but I have confidence in the future.”

Van Keirsbulck won six races as a professional, including a tough edition of Le Samyn in 2017. His best season at QuickStep had come in 2014, when he won the overall title at the Three Days of De Panne, adding a stage of the Eneco Tour later that season. His final victory was the Antwerp Port Epic in 2018.

Van Keirsbulck had previously flirted with retirement in the winter of 2020 following the demise of the CCC team, but he eventually secured a place with the Alpecin-Fenix development squad in April 2021. He moved up to the Alpecin-Fenix ProTeam the following before moving on to Bingoal-WB at the start of 2023.