Jos van Emden: cultural icon, purist, no-nonsense and above all, the powerhouse of Jumbo-Visma.

By the end of 2023, quite a few cyclists will be hanging up their bikes. From a Dutch perspective, this mainly concerns Annemiek van Vleuten and Jos van Emden, two pioneers in the Dutch cycling world. In this 'Retired' tribute, IDLProCycling.com pays homage to the Jumbo-Visma speedster, who can look back on a wonderful career!

With a snazzy video on Instagram, Van Emden announced his retirement three months ago, completely in line with his character. "After 38 years, of which 16 as a professional cyclist, my boyhood dream comes to an end, and I will stop cycling after this season. It has been a fantastic time which makes it feel like I am only now closing off my youth. I would like to thank everyone who has supported and helped me from an early age and into my senior years as an athlete. Jos."

Through the channels of his team Jumbo-Visma, Van Emden already looked back on his fulfilling career. "All these years, I have been living my childhood dream. I am very proud of everything I have achieved and happy with the life I have been able to lead so far. For me, it has been a great adventure that I have enjoyed every day."

"During my career, the sport, this team, and I as a rider have evolved tremendously. I have really enjoyed being able to work in my sport in such a professional manner. At the same time, I never lost the joy of cycling: the love for the sport, the bike, and the adventure have always been paramount. For me, it now feels like I am closing off my youth at the age of 38," said Van Emden.

The Dutchman was born on February 18, 1985, in Schiedam, where he began cycling in his youth. After a year with Jo Piels, he joined the continental branch of Rabobank in 2006, on a team with the likes of Robert Gesink and Lars Boom. That year, Van Emden rode several good results, but his real breakthrough came in 2007 when he won the 1.1-ranked Münsterland Giro.

Van Emden immediately golden in first major tour

In mid-2008, the Dutchman was added to the pro branch of the banking team, where he immediately made his debut in a grand tour: the Giro d'Italia. This would be a memorable edition for Van Emden and the entire Rabobank team, as during the race, the team had to give all they had to bring stoic leader Denis Menchov's pink jersey to Rome. Van Emden was one of the workhorses, but his heart, too, probably skipped a beat during Menchov's time trial fall on the final day.

It would be the first of Van Emden's eleven Giro participations, which also showed him the other side of the coin in the Italian tour that year. In the eighth stage to Bergamo, he was descending when he suddenly saw a Rabobank bike against the guardrail. It belonged to his Spanish teammate Pedro Horillo, who lay much lower in the ravine. Horillo was rescued from the ravine by emergency workers and was kept in a coma for several days but miraculously survived.

After his second Giro in 2010, Van Emden made a name for himself at the professional level as a time trialist. In June, he won the prologue of the Delta Tour Zeeland, the Ster Elektrotoer, and, as the icing on the cake, the Dutch National Time Trial Championship. In the following years, he claimed several more victories in races that were dear to him, such as the Delta Tour, Eneco Tour, and Münsterland Giro. Van Emden was also often present at distant trips to races like the Tour Down Under, Tour of Beijing, and many other competitions. As an enthusiast, but certainly as a top athlete. He could enjoy the border posts and birds in Limburg just as much.

2017 Giro time trial as the absolute highlight for Van Emden

In 2015, Van Emden booked his first victory at WorldTour level by winning the time trial of the Eneco Tour, after already achieving good results in his first Tour-opening time trial (fifth) and Tour of California time trial (second) that year. This proved to be a good breeding ground for the years 2016 and 2017, which were perhaps the best years in the career of the time trialist in terms of results.

One day stands out absolutely: May 28, 2017, the day when Tom Dumoulin and Van Emden themselves made history. Dumoulin won the Tour of Italy by beating all his competitors in the final time trial, while buddy Van Emden completed the celebration by achieving the biggest win of his career. It lead to a great spectacle on the final podium in Milan. A few weeks later, Van Emden also started his second Tour, but that proved to be too much of a good thing. The Giro, that was his tour: in 2014, he even proposed to his girlfriend during the race.

In the years following the Giro, Van Emden was unable to achieve any success of that magnitude, though he often came agonizingly close in races such as the Tirreno-Adriatico, the Critérium du Dauphiné, and the Eneco Tour. Meanwhile, he gradually became one of the so-called cultural icons within Jumbo-Visma: men who, after a long tenure, were able to pass on their experience to the younger, but very talented, generation on the team.

Meanwhile, Van Emden also took on the role of guardian for that generation, as he repeatedly spoke out for a safer cycling sport. The Dutchman himself had been involved in several serious crashes - including the Giro of 2021 - and wanted to prevent younger riders from being sidelined in the same way, although towards the end of his career Van Emden increasingly realized that sometimes he was a lone voice in the wilderness.

In terms of performance, doubts began to creep in now and then. We spoke to Van Emden after the European Championships in Germany, where he reflected on those doubts. "Maybe I should just conclude that I'm not that good at this job anymore. It's not bad either, but I had hoped for more. Time trialing is becoming such specialized work, you see that I'm now missing the connection there."

However, as a true warrior, Van Emden managed to come back stronger the following year, with the Dutch national championship title as a shining example of his resilience. The national championship, held in Nunspeet, nearly brought his cycling journey full circle. The day before the World Championships in Scotland, Van Emden revealed his plan to retire at the end of 2023. "Age catches up with you, and the younger riders keep getting better. I had expressed my gratitude to the KNWU," Van Emden explained in Stirling. "However, becoming the Dutch champion changed things. Koos still wanted me on the team, and it's an honor to represent the Netherlands, so I decided to join."

"Cultural icon" Van Emden remains with Jumbo-Visma

"I never expected to shock the world and I had hoped to maybe crack the top ten on a good day, but it wasn't in the cards. Still, I have no regrets; enduring that pain one last time was quite memorable," he commented after the World Championships. A month and a half later, Van Emden's next chapter was unveiled: he would transition to a team director role for Jumbo-Visma's women's squad.

This move ensures that Van Emden's wealth of experience remains within the Jumbo-Visma fold. "Jos has been an invaluable asset from his very first day on the team, becoming one of the key pillars of our culture. We both have a deep-rooted passion for cycling, having cycled for the same club where our love for the sport was nurtured from a young age. His presence as a rider will be sorely missed too, as he continues to deliver top-tier performances," said Richard Plugge, the general manager, upon announcing Van Emden's pending retirement.

In mid-October, Van Emden brought down the curtain on his illustrious career at Paris-Tours. Celebrating his remarkable journey, he toasted with a well-deserved beer. We, the community of cycling enthusiasts, owe you our thanks, Jos!