Shane Archbold: Track and road cyclist, sprinter with a mullet, and soon to be team leader for Primoz Roglic

It's time for a new episode from the 'These Cyclists Have Retired' series! This time, we're covering the career of Shane Archbold, the Kiwi who decided to retire his racing bike at 34. However, the 'man with the mullet' isn't entirely stepping away from cycling...

Originally a track cyclist, Archbold specialized in various track disciplines. He competed in the Omnium at the 2012 Olympics, but without success. Two years later at the Commonwealth Games, he fared better: 'Novie' won gold in the Scratch race. A few days later, he and his New Zealand teammates bagged a bronze medal in the Team Pursuit.

Archbold combines track cycling with road cycling

In 2012, Archbold was primarily a track cyclist, but he began to develop an itch for road racing. As a teenager, he had already gained some experience in road races, but these were sidelined by his track ambitions. In 2012, he joined Marco Polo Cycling Donckers Koffie, a Continental team from Ethiopia. This was the first real employer for Archbold, a pure sprinter, as he had raced on the road sporadically between 2008 and 2011 without a contract. Marco Polo Cycling Donckers Koffie competed in the UCI Africa Tour, but was disbanded at the end of the year, leading Archbold to quickly seek a new team.

His new team was An Post - Chain Reaction, a Continental team with a Belgian license at the time. There, Archbold joined up with the likes of Aaron Gate and Sam Bennett, who would later have a successful career. In 2013, Archbold won a stage in An Post Ras, a 2.2 race in Ireland. He didn't clinch any more victories that year, but he sprinted to a commendable seventh place in the opening stage of the Tour of Britain. In 2014, Archbold had another solid season, again without wins, but with numerous places of honor: from twelfth in Rund um Köln (won by Bennett) to second in stage three of the Tour de l'Oise (won by Magnus Cort). He also performed well in the Tour of Britain, peaking with a second-place finish in stage five.

Ralph Denk gives Archbold confidence, Kiwi makes grand tour debut in 2016 (Tour de France)

Archbold's strong sprints (and perhaps his eighties-style haircut) brought him increasingly into the spotlight. The rider from Timaru - a port city in the south of New Zealand - emerged as a more than decent sprinter, attracting the attention of more pro teams. As a result, in 2015, he moved up a level. Bora - Argon 18, now known as BORA-hansgrohe, signed the rider from Oceania: 'The Flying Mullet' officially became a pro cyclist, although the German team was still a ProTour team at the time. Nervous or not, Archbold performed well with Bora - Argon 18, securing several impressive places, like a third place in a stage of the Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde and third in the GP d'Isbergues.

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In 2016, things were a bit less smooth for Archbold, who made his debut in a Grand Tour. He appeared in the Tour de France but had to withdraw just before the start of stage eighteen, with Paris in sight. The reason? A broken pelvis due to an early crash in stage seventeen. A lengthy rehabilitation followed, and it took a while before Archbold was back in action for BORA-hansgrohe - now a WorldTour team under Ralph Denk's leadership. He returned on September 13, 2017, in the Coppa Agostini. Just a few weeks later, it was announced that Archbold would move to Aqua Blue Sport, a ProTour team, in 2018.

Archbold scores first pro victory in Czech Tour, moves to Patrick Lefevere's team, and returns to his old home

Early 2018 was challenging for Archbold, who, to add insult to injury, found himself without a team in August: Aqua Blue Sport had been disbanded. It was during this period that Archbold decided to rejoin his fellow countryman and friend Gate on the track. Meanwhile, he represented EvoPro Racing (a Continental team) in road races, though this was short-lived. On April 10, he returned to his old team: BORA-hansgrohe, where he repaid their trust with a stage win in the Czech Tour in August. In the Vuelta a España, he rode his second Grand Tour. And with 'success': Archbold reached the finish line in Madrid.

Patrick Lefevere saw potential in Archbold, who joined the ranks of Deceuninck-Quick-Step on January 1, 2020. In February, he won the title at the New Zealand Championship, but the following months were less successful. From early March to the end of July, he didn't race at all, although he was back in action in September during the Tour of Slovakia. There, Archbold achieved several close finishes. In 2021, he continued to ride for Lefevere's team, with only some positive outliers in the Coppi e Bartali.

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Roglic in good company at BORA-hansgrohe: Archbold becomes team manager

In 2022, Archbold made his final return to his original team, marking his last stint as a professional cyclist. Despite his signature long hair and spirited presence, the next two years proved to be less successful. This led Archbold to the decision to retire from professional cycling. However, he wasn't ready to leave the sport entirely. Recently, news emerged that Archbold would become the team manager at BORA-hansgrohe, the team that had always believed in his potential. In his new position, he aims to guide riders like Primoz Roglic towards more grand tour victories.

"I'm very happy that the team has given me the opportunity to continue with the squad in this new role as a team leader. It will be great working with the new generation. In this way, I can pass on my experience and knowledge to the future generation of BORA-hansgrohe. My focus will be on helping the riders to fully realize their capabilities," he expressed following his appointment as team manager. We extend our best wishes to Shane in this next chapter of his cycling journey!