The Danish rider has already shown this season that he still has the legs to compete, taking a stage win at Volta a Catalunya and finishing third on Stage 3 of Tour de Suisse.
For Cort, the decision is not about being unable to perform anymore. It is about timing, priorities, and choosing the right moment after more than a decade in the peloton.
“I still feel that I am riding at 100%, but I have been in this for many years, and there is a lot you have to sacrifice to be part of it. You eventually start becoming ready to stop", says Cort to the Uno-x website.
Cort will leave professional cycling with a career few riders ever come close to.
He has won stages in the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, and Vuelta a España — joining an exclusive group of riders with stage victories in all three Grand Tours.
“It is special. It was also a goal at one point. I am proud of that. I took my first professional wins in 2013, so it has been a very long career at the highest level.”
His most memorable cycling experience remains his first Tour de France stage win in 2018.
“I had always watched the Tour de France, for as long as I can remember, even before I started cycling. So to arrive at the final boss and take a stage win in the Tour de France — that was big.”