Ben Hermans has ended his professional cycling career and retired from the sport at 38 years old after not extending his time at Cofidis or finding a new team for the 2025 season.
The Belgian puncheur enjoyed a 16-year career in the pro peloton which saw him take 19 wins, including overall victories at the Tour of Oman and Arctic Race of Norway and one-day wins at De Brabantse Pijl and the Giro dell'Appennino.
Hermans started his career with the Belgian team Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator in 2009, before joining the WorldTour with RadioShack and going on to ride for BMC, Israel-Premier Tech and finally Cofidis. Now that he's hanging up his wheels, he isn't quite sure what will come next.
"It will take some getting used to, especially the first few months," Hermans told Het Belang Van Limburg after announcing his retirement.
"I already have some ideas about what I want to do in the future, but those plans are not really concrete yet. I certainly won't rush into anything."
Cofidis are looking to hang onto their position in the WorldTour next year with a vastly changed roster and staff setup that includes 12 new signings. Hermans was one of five riders from Cofidis' 2024 squad who were left without a team for next season after not extending their contracts, with the futures of Axel Mariault, Alexis Gougeard, Kenny Elissonde and Christophe Noppe still left unknown.
He joins Simon Geschke and Gorka Izagirre as retirees from last season's squad, while Cofidis' average rider age falls from 31 to 27 in 2025.
Despite still seeing himself as one of the strongest in the team, Hermans could see the writing on the wall when it came to his future earlier in the winter and had already accepted that 2024 could be the end of his career.
"I knew from September that I would not get a new contract with Cofidis. But honestly? I had felt that coming," Hermans told WielerFlits. "I knew that I had to look for another team and that this search would not be easy because of my age and demands.
"I can accept ending my career now. Last year I really wasn’t done with it, because I had a bad crash and couldn’t really prove myself at the end of the season. Now I’ve been able to ride my races. If that’s the way it is, that’s the way it is."
Hermans rode his final pro race on October 20 at the Veneto Classic, eight days after racing his 10th Il Lombardia. He competed in 17 Monument Classics throughout his 16 years in the peloton and rode seven Grand Tours, including one appearance at the Tour de France in 2020.
