It was not supposed to end this way, but zdenškěTybar is a rider who has made a smooth transition from winning this Gecicro Cross world title long enough to know that men rarely choose the way out, to chasing a classic victory more than 10 years ago. There is no grand send-off for the company. Except for the late, slow reprieve, his last race as a pro rider on the road will be thousands of miles from home on a tour of Guangxi. So it goes.

"It's not easy to end your career in China, far from your family," Stiver told Cyclingnews in the North Sea on Friday. "But on the other hand, I'm trying not to think too much about it. I'm just racing here and doing what I have to do. I would still like to do some cyclocross races this winter, but on the road, I think it is."

Stival's affability has been a calling card since he first came to Belgium as a young man and began hitting home riders in their game on a muddy field in Flanders, and his compatriot Zdenk Baccarat backed the quick-step team in 2011. After starting to work, he eventually joined them on the road.

Even though the past three years devastated by injuries and illness have not been kind, Ertybar's perma-smile remained as it was when he spoke to Cyclingnews throughout his ill-fated season with Jayco-Alula, who was interrupted by double iliac artery surgery.

Jayco's signing of Caleb Ewan this week means the 2024 roster is complete, but with his former QuickStep team shelving the proposal to merge with Jumbo-Visma,

"Unfortunately, I didn't re-sign because our team had no place," Stiver said. It was. "And in the circumstances of the past few weeks with such uncertainty about the team, I think this is probably my last race. Of course, my manager was still talking to the team, but after all the surgeries, after my performance and my age, no one is really interested.

Stibal's last victory came in the 2020 Vuelta a San Juan, when he had a canny victory at the Vilichem Motor Racing Circuit. After landing Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and E3Harelbeke the previous year, he was preparing for another spring at the core of QuickStep's cobbled Classics team, but when the pro-cycling was interrupted during the COVID-19 lockdown, that momentum

when the race resumed, Stiver was plagued by bad luck and again hit the head of steam. I had a hard time building it. His 2021 classic campaign ended with heart arrhythmia surgery. Every time he feels around the corner, COVID-19 infection acts as an obstacle. Madly, he was infected with the virus for the 8th time on May 4, just when his career was on the line.

Most cruelly, the latest bout of COVID-19 occurred after Etiver finally discovered and improved the biggest obstacle to his fitness in recent years. After that, he was diagnosed with iliac artery internal fibrosis, and he underwent surgery on both legs in late May 4.

"The spring season was as bad as it could be, but at least I knew why then. I think I've had problems with the iliac artery in the last three years, because it's also when my performance started to drop in stages," Stibal said. "I didn't know why it was happening because it wasn't that I wasn't motivated," he said. Now at least I know why. Last year, I was basically racing on one leg.

"Then you think to yourself, "Why didn't we check it before?""But the problem is that I always had some problems in that period. After having heart surgery, I had COVID 4 times, so there was always an explanation as to why I wasn't in top shape, and in the meantime there was still a good race and a moment when I thought shape was coming. "

In 2022, last season in Stiver's quick step, he was able to get over his training load without undue problems, only to find himself left behind after being pinned to a race number. Perusing the power data after each race, he was at a loss to understand why he had been dropped. The late diagnosis this past spring was kind of a relief, but it also left him with a choice. He immediately chose not to lay his arms down.

"I had surgery on both legs because I decided I didn't want to stop my career on such a low," said Stival, who would spend 4 months of racing sidelined during his recovery period, returning to the Norwegian Arctic Race. He entered the final stages of the season fully aware that he is racing to save his career and that COVID-19 infection after the Renewi tour will only increase his sense of hopelessness.

"I had to force things a little bit, I had to keep training afterwards," Stiver said. "But as much as I tried, it got worse because I didn't have time to recover. I did three or four hours and felt like I finished the Tour de France the next day. It didn't really work."

Stival is scheduled to line up for several cyclocross events this winter, but does not expect to return to that circuit full-time. "Without a real team, it's really tough in cyclocross and I don't like to do things on the way," Stibal said.

On the road, Stibal's success will include the stage of the Tour de France with the podium at Strad Bianche, Omroup Het Neusblad, E3 Hallelbeke, Paris-Roubaix. But the 37-year-old, who was asked to pick a highlight from his career, is not on the line from his own Palmares, but his 10-year-old companion in a quick step This week will be carefully draped down in southern China, but the memories from the thunderous afternoon on the cobblestone are tolerable.

"It's something that remains locked in memory – a great group of people that I can work with," Shtival said. "That's something I can never forget.”