Esteban Chaves (EF Education-EasyPost) has announced his retirement from professional cycling, confirming the 2025 Vuelta a España as his final race.
The Colombian revealed the decision on 24 November in a personal video released by EF Pro Cycling, citing a shift in priorities toward family and his foundation work. “The decision is the right one. I am very happy. I am very proud of the sporting career I have had,” he said. “Who am I without my bike? Without the bike, I am Esteban. I am a son, I am a brother, I am a husband, I am a father.”
Chaves’ message framed the announcement as a closing chapter made on his terms, following months of uncertainty around a deal beyond 2025. He emphasised life beyond results, referencing the birth of his daughter, Lucia, and a renewed focus on FUN Chaves, the Colombian foundation he founded in 2016. EF’s statement underlined that personal pivot, noting fatherhood as his proudest milestone and the foundation as his post-racing priority.
The 35-year-old departs with a palmarès that resonates well beyond the numbers. He was the first Colombian to win a Monument at Il Lombardia in 2016, a season in which he also finished second at the Giro d’Italia, wearing pink for a day, and third at the Vuelta. He claimed five Grand Tour stages in all, taking two at the 2015 Vuelta and three at the Giro across 2016, 2018 and 2019. He also won the 2011 Tour de l’Avenir and realised a lifelong ambition by taking the Colombian road title in 2023.
His career was defined as much by resilience as by results. A devastating crash at the 2013 Trofeo Laigueglia left him facing a complex recovery that threatened his future in the sport. In 2018 he was diagnosed with Epstein–Barr virus and chronic sinusitis, yet he returned to win again and remain an admired presence in the WorldTour. At this year’s Vuelta, Chaves rode as a road captain for EF’s younger riders before stepping off on stage 12, with the team citing fatigue.
2016, the super-season and a cultural marker
Chaves’ Lombardia victory and dual Grand Tour podiums in 2016 were a moment for Colombian cycling, combining tactical maturity with his trademark acceleration. The result widened the horizon for the nation’s climbers in one-day racing and confirmed him among the best stage racers of his generation.
Former pro Joseba Beloki publicly thanked Chaves in September for mentoring younger riders, emblematic of the esteem he enjoys within the peloton. No formal post-racing role with EF has been announced, though Chaves has stated he wants to keep contributing as a mentor alongside expanding FUN Chaves.
“I am very happy to close this chapter in the way we are closing it,” he said in the team video, drawing a line under a career that balanced joy, adversity and history-making wins.
