Ide Schelling is at pains to point out, repeatedly, that this is not a sad retirement story. He does not hate cycling. He does not despise what WorldTour cycling has become. He is not bitter that he no longer feels able to compete for top honours. He is still having fun as a professional cyclist and will always be a cyclist. But he has realised that there is more to life than being a WorldTour cyclist. Aged 27, the Dutchman is hanging up his professional racing wheels, and instead choosing to explore his other passions and interests, of which there are many.
“I really love building things,” Schelling tells Rouleur, just as he prepares for his last few races as a pro bike rider, a career which began in 2020 with Bora-hansgrohe and has included three wins and a stint in the Tour de France’s polka dot jersey. “My dad [Onno] has been a furniture maker his whole working life, and I was in his workshop from a young age, making things with my own hands.” Over the years, the younger Schelling has built quite a catalogue of designs.
“I like to think I am a little bit creative, and I’ve enjoyed making bikes, designing bikes, painting them, and rebuilding them from the ground up from second hand parts,” the XDS Astana rider says. “Making something nice out of something cheap. When people look at something and say, ‘Oh fuck, what is that?’ I see potential in it. And then when I’m finished people say, ‘Ah, that’s a cool bike, or a lovely apartment.”
Bricks and mortar: that’s Schelling’s biggest interest. “I love rebuilding homes, buying an apartment and flipping them over. I see myself doing more of that in the future,” he says. In 2021, Schelling took on and completed his first property makeover. “I knew I was going to renew my contract with Bora and be on more than the minimum wage of €52,000 which I’d been on for the previous two years, so I went on Idealista [a property searching platform in Spain] and saw a small place in Girona on the river and by the city centre. It had been for sale for a while but was still available as it required a lot of work. I saw the potential in it.” Within a week he had bought it. “I fully designed everything from the floor to the ceiling, with the help of my family and girlfriend. We were there for over a month, renovating the entire place, having a great time, and making it a home. It was a great experience.”
Schelling and family take a small break from renovating the apartment in Girona. Image: Ide Schelling.
This autumn, Schelling – who has been riding for Astana for the past two seasons after spending four years with Bora – will take on an even bigger renovation: all being well, the sale will go through on a 17th century masia, a rural farmhouse just a few kilometres from the centre of Girona. He has big plans. “There’s huge land that comes with it and when you step inside it, you feel like you’re in an old castle. It’s got so much soul,” he says. A big smile forms. “I don’t want to say that I want to grow 100% of my own food – I have to be realistic – but I’d love to get in touch with nature more and learn new things. My YouTube and Instagram algorithm is full of that stuff. I’m so keen to get started on it.” His father is relocating to Spain, too. “He’s bringing his workshop with him and moving it into a big garage on site. He’s in a similar situation to me: he still loves what he does, can continue working, but he’s not happy with his job anymore. He can be my furniture maker teacher and art teacher – I get to learn from him again, just like I did when I was a kid.”
The future evidently excites Schelling, but to take a step back: why is he retiring? Come the end of this season, he’d have ridden more than 70 race days; he’s clearly still got the legs to ride in the sport’s biggest events. “I still love cycling, but the WorldTour has changed a bit too much for me,” he says. The constant travelling is the biggest bugbear. “As a rider you travel a shitload and see a lot of the world, but what do you actually see? You see the wheel in front of you, the bus, and the hotel room. It’s not like you’re travelling and speaking to locals and seeing the small worlds of a country.” When the time comes and he and his girlfriend begin a family, neither does he want to be a mostly absent father. “I’ve always respected riders who see their sons and daughters grow up via the phone, but I always knew that wasn’t for me. I want to be there with them more than 100 days a year.”
Schelling was the leader of the Tour de France's mountains classification in the opening few stages of the 2021 race. Image: Alex Broadway/SWPix.com.
But again, Schelling wants to get one message across: he still loves cycling. “I’m having fun up until this day – it was just I couldn’t see myself doing this for another five to 10 years. I’m still enjoying racing my bike, being in the WorldTour, and I’ve really loved my last years as a pro rider, but I knew deep down if I continued like this, with more stress coming into the sport, I wasn’t going to be as happy as if I was doing something different.”
When he allows himself to reflect on his chapter as a professional bike rider, he smiles again. He’s full of gratitude for the experiences he’s had, for the way his six years in the WorldTour have panned out. “To be honest with you, it’s been great from start to finish – I can’t lie,” he says. “I’ve had my setbacks of course, but when you look at other riders, I’ve come to the realisation that I’ve been quite lucky with how my career has gone.” He will end his career at six-day Tour of Holland later this month, with the prologue taking place in his home city of The Hague. “There’ll be a corner full of my fans, friends and family, a big party to celebrate what I’ve accomplished over the years,” he says. “I’m fully motivated for this race, am actually in good shape, and if I could end it on a high that would be amazing.”
When he races his last kilometre, there’ll be a lot of emotion, possibly tears. But Schelling isn’t ditching his bikes. “I’ll be training 15 hours a week instead of 25 hours, and riding without obligation, without too much pressure. I’ll be discovering ways of how to do that while still riding a bike.” Bikepacking trips, adventure riding, gravel events, and even smaller road races are likely. He may even turn his hand to bike reviews.
“Testing bikes really interests me. If a brand comes to me and says, ‘Hey, Ide, can you test this bike in a race and write about it’, I’d love to do that. I want to still race without it costing me tons of money. I would love for cycling to be a hobby that makes me a bit of money as well, just how it has been for the last few years. It’s been a hobby that has served me well, and I would like that to continue.”
There is no better way to conclude than Schelling’s words of advice to others who have been satisfied and rewarded by their life choices thus far, but who are now wanting to explore different avenues. “If your mind is open to change and you’ve got the freedom to do it, then go for it.” Schelling, the cyclist who likes to build and design, is about to become the builder and designer who likes to cycle. “I’m really excited for it,” he smiles.
Cover image: Zac Williams/SWPix.com.
