Van Bon retires as one of the "contaminated generation"

By Susan Westemeyer

Leon Van Bon of Team Rabobank is retiring – involuntarily. "I would like to have ridden for another year, but my contract with Rabobank has not been extended." The 35 year-old has a simple explanation for it. "I belong to the contaminated generation," he told the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant.

Van Bon turned pro in 1994 with Team WordPerfect and rode for Novell before joining Rabobank in 1996. In 2001 he went to Mercury, and in 2002 joined Domo-Farm Frites. He returned to Rabobank this season. He has won two national road titles, two stages in the Tour de France, and one in the Vuelta, as well as several other races and one-day races.

He plans to stay involved with cycling, working as a sports photographer.