Dutch rider Kirsten Wild will retire at the end of the 2021 season after a long career on both track and road.

The 38-year-old Serratigit-WNT sprinter was participating in the Simac Ladies Tour, the last road race of her career, when she was involved in a crash at the end of stage 3 and missed the final road sprint. In addition, later that day, Wilde and the Serratigit-WNT riders were forced to withdraw from the race after testing positive for Covid 19 in their team.

"This is not the way I planned it, but on the other hand, it is fitting after the past year and a half of almost no track competitions due to the pandemic," Wild told Cycling Tips on Saturday. 'I myself had COVID and missed the 2020 Fall Spring Classic, and then again this spring. It was a period of time where I really had to fight hard. It is fitting that it now ends with something Corona-related again."

Wild, who has been a professional rider since 2004, admitted that he wasn't happy with the way his road career ended: "The stages on Saturday and Sunday didn't suit me, they didn't fit me, so I thought this end was fine. The moment I put my bike away on Friday was my last, and I wanted to experience that moment more consciously. Cycling has been a part of me for over 20 years. It hit a nerve more than I thought it would."

Wilde added that he would advise his younger self to "enjoy the moment more" in a race

and that he would "never be able to do that again.

Although Wilde has ended her career as a road racer, she still has two more major track events to compete in before she can fully close the curtain on her 17-year career. She will compete at the European and World Championships in the fall, but is somewhat distant about the outcome: "I don't think I have anything to prove anymore," she said. A bronze medal in the Omnium in Tokyo was a fitting end to my athletic career. I always wanted an Olympic medal.