“I want to be remembered as a really good climber, someone who for many years was climbing with the best guys, especially at the Tour, Giro and Vuelta.” A quick check through Rafał Majka’s palmarès confirms his wish will be granted, the two-time Tour de France King of the Mountains winner will definitely be remembered how he wants.

After a 15 year career in the WorldTour, Majka is hanging up his wheels at the end of this season, with Il Lombardia – the race he finished third in as a young pup in 2013, his best result in a Monument – his last outing on October 11. Tadej Pogačar is losing one of his key domestiques – ‘a big brother’, is how UAE Team Emirates-XRG insiders have previously commented on the duo’s relationship – and Poland is saying goodbye to one of the three riders (the others being 2014 world champion Michał Kwiatkowski and 2024 Tour de France Femmes winner Kasia Niewiadoma) who have put and kept the country on the cycling map for more than a decade.

“The first thing I’d say to my younger self is that the career goes really fast,” Majka tells Rouleur on the eve of the Tour de Luxembourg, his last ever stage race. 

This article was published by Rouleur in September 2025. You can read the full article here.