Larry Walbus will run his last race in the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale at Lombardia on Saturday, but the American hopes to continue racing in 2025.

“It's my last race of the year and my last race on the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, but I hope it won't be my last race as a professional,” Warbus told Cycling News.

“If Lombardia is the last race of my career, I will be really sad. But I want to move forward with the feeling that this won't be my last race. I want to continue racing. I love this sport and I love racing my bike.”

The 34-year-old American rider has been a professional rider based in Europe since 2013, competing for BMC, IAM Cycling, Aqua Blue, and AG2R for six seasons. His U.S. national road title and stage wins at the Tour de Suisse (both in 2017) are among his career successes, but his talent comes above all as a loyal and dedicated domestique.

“I think I had a really good season this year and played an important role for Ben O'Connor and the team in many races,” Walbus explained. [Ben was fourth in Tirreno-Adriatico and fourth in the Giro d'Italia. He was always consistent and good both during and outside of the race. This is an important element of being an experienced domestique.

“Unfortunately, these days in the sport, results, points, and young riders are more important. If Ben had stayed with the team, things might have been different, but the team is ready for a change.”

Decathlon AG2R recently announced its new strategy for the future, confirming that four talented riders will step up from the development team. Junior road world champion Paul Seixas will also step up to the World Tour level.

Ben O'Connor will move to Jayco Alura in 2025, while Johannes Staune Mittet, Callum Scottson, and Stefan Bissegger will join the new team. Benoit Kosnefrois, Sam Bennett, Victor Lafaye, and Felix Gall will continue as team leaders.

In an impressive campaign, Decathlon AG2R won 30 races in 2024 and finished sixth in the UCI team standings.

“With Decathlon on board, the team is moving in a cool direction. Unfortunately, there was no room for me.

“I may have been a victim of the team's success, but it happens.”

Warbus has been praised not only for his work as a domestique, but also for his vision and opinions on the sport. He works for Eurosport during the Tour de France and is a regular guest on the cycling podcast.

He has several “plans” for 2025 and is keen to race at the World Tour level in 2025, although he is also considering staff roles and adventures as a gravel privateer.

“I would rather stay in the peloton for my legs than for media presence or recognition.

“On the plane to the Canadian race, I wrote out the pros and cons of being a pro cyclist and the options of doing gravel or becoming a team staff member. But in the end, I knew I still wanted to be a pro cyclist

“I don't know yet in what form, but I want to continue being a pro rider at the highest possible level if I can. That's my motivation. That's my motivation. [33] [34] “I'm still getting better every year. I can see that I'm improving. I haven't lost my motivation. I hope people see what I can bring to the team.”