Robert Gesink said goodbye in the Vuelta. We won’t let that happen quietly. Many people wrote a nice tribute on social media!
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Robert Gesink is no longer a professional cyclist. Yesterday, he rode his last meters in the professional peloton in the final time trial of the Vuelta. After eighteen years at the highest level, it was time to call it a day. The career of the Achterhoeker had its ups and downs – he fell more than he liked, but he always got up again. From leader to domestique. What a career!
We ourselves said goodbye to Gesink with a column, but also celebrities and others said goodbye on Twitter to the man who colored Dutch cycling in the past decade. We made a selection from the beautiful reactions!
Journalist Edwin Winkels posted a nice photo of a shirt that the team had made
At the Vuelta finish on the super-busy Gran Vía in Madrid. The entire Visma-Lease a Bike team with special T-shirts in anticipation of the very last kilometers of Robert Gesink as a professional cyclist. Honoring a legacy. pic.twitter.com/CeMzhJ48My
— edwin stores (@edwinwinkels) September 8, 2024
He also followed Gesink the past three days. Also resulted in a nice quote ⛷️
I followed Robert Gesink the last three days in his final kilometers of 18 years of professional cycling. As I write in @ADnl (tomorrow’s newspaper and online): “He is now starting a life he hardly knows.” Himself: “My son is going to teach me to ski.” pic.twitter.com/8MiCpyJhtB
— edwin stores (@edwinwinkels) September 8, 2024
Visma | Lease a Bike of course made more of itself heard than just a shirt. Nice words!
ðªð¸ #LaVuelta24
ð ð¨ð«ðð¯ðð« off season. The very, very ð¥ðð¬ð dance, after 18 years. ð¥¹
Today we are honoring a ð¥ðð ððð². Enjoy your last ride, dear Robert! â¤ï¸ pic.twitter.com/LPkHEBTJGd
— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) September 8, 2024
With a much more extensive text on Instagram
Thijs Zonneveld also contributed his bit
Today is the last day of Robert Gesink’s cycling career. He won a lot, even more places of honor and had a lot of bad luck, but above all: one of the founders of an incredibly successful decade in Dutch cycling.
— Thijs Zonneveld (@thijszonneveld) September 8, 2024
Well-known cycling twitterer Mihai Simion on his loyalty and the 2009 Vuelta
Robert Gesink just rode his last Grand Tour stage. ð He will be remembered as a great gregario, loyal to the same team for all of his career but I also won’t forget the 2009 Vuelta a Espana which he could have won but unfortunately a crash stopped him…#LaVuelta24 pic.twitter.com/YFxMabkXsA
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) September 8, 2024
(More about the 2009 Vuelta here)
The Vuelta of 2009! After 14 stages Gesink was in 2nd place. A hard fall in the final week caused him to drop to 6th place.
But the 23-year-old Gesink really fought for the final victory! Here in battle with Valverde, Evans, Basso, Sanchez: pic.twitter.com/hdnNC3XueJ— Pieter Vankan (@Pieter_Vanka) September 7, 2024
Pieter also posted a nice thread
At the beginning of his career, you saw Gesink riding around in the youth jersey in almost every stage race. He finished in the top 10 everywhere. Always with the best climbers. It was a matter of time before the big victories would come
— Pieter Vankan (@Pieter_Vanka) September 7, 2024
At the beginning of his career, you saw Gesink riding around in the youth jersey in almost every stage race. He finished in the top 10 everywhere. Always with the best climbers. It was a matter of time before the big victories would come
— Pieter Vankan (@Pieter_Vanka) September 7, 2024
His resilience, however, proved to be incredible. And his love for cycling was unconditional. Gesink always fought back. And always in that toiling, dragging style. He embodied that top cycling is extremely tough. As a pro, you don’t get anything for free
— Pieter Vankan (@Pieter_Vanka) September 7, 2024
Gesink eventually won in Quebec and Montreal, the Tour of California, the Tour of Oman, the grueling Tour of Emilia twice, a stage in the Tour of Belgium, Switzerland and Spain. And he wore the leader’s jersey in Switzerland and the Vuelta.
— Pieter Vankan (@Pieter_Vanka) September 7, 2024
Today, on September 7, 2024, Robert Gesink will ride his last major mountain stage of his career. I hope to see him dragging at the front of the peloton one more time. Walking on the pedals, a grimace on his face and continuing longer than you would think possible.
— Pieter Vankan (@Pieter_Vanka) September 7, 2024
I will stand up in front of the TV in the living room and applaud one more time! Thank you @RGUpdate. And may everything go well for you and your family.
— Pieter Vankan (@Pieter_Vanka) September 7, 2024
Something that probably applies to many people
If I have a cycling idol it is absolutely @RGUpdate. Symbolized the first clean generation after the unmasking of Rabo in the Tour of 2007. Real respect for all those times coming back after setbacks. Today the end of a beautiful career.#Sunk #LaVuelta24
— Stijn Pouwelse (@StijnPouwelse) September 8, 2024
And Cycling Statistics summarizes it again in numbers. Thanks Robert!
ðð³ð±Robert Gesink retires from pro-cycling.
ð¤18 seasons (07>24):ð§¡ð³ð±Rabo-Blanco-Jumbo-Visma
ð188,400 km in 1220 racedays
ð24 GrandTours, 421 stagesð13 wins, 4 ðWT
ðð¨ð¦GPM, ð¨ð¦GPQ, 2x ð®ð¹Emilia
🥇🇪🇸VaE’16 s14ð4th GC ð«ð·TdFâ10
💕LJs: 🇪🇸VaE,🇨ðŸ‡TdS,🇮🇹TA,🇫🇷PN
ð124 top-10s ðWT pic.twitter.com/35DRlh1qIK— Cycling Statistics ð (@StatsOnCycling) September 8, 2024
Besides Robert Gesink, a number of other riders will be retiring from professional cycling after this season. It is a list of names that we have almost automatically mentioned in the same breath as racing in recent years: Thomas De Gendt, Simon Geschke, Rigiberto Urán, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Luke Rowe and Michael Mørkøv (plus probably more riders…), all names that we will not see again next season.
