Kobe Goossens, former rider for Intermarché-Wanty, has been forced to say goodbye to the world of cycling. Kobe is not a famous name nor does he represent the career of an extraordinary athlete, but he is yet another victim of the economic crisis in cycling. Kobe Goossens is only 29 years old: born in Leuven, Flanders, he has dreamed since childhood of becoming a cyclist and racing in classics and grand tours.

Goossens will no longer be a cyclist, because he is one of many children of the cycling economic crisis: from being an athlete, he will become a real estate agent. There have been team mergers and teams that have closed, and on the other side, there are teams that have increased their capital by acquiring important riders. Those who closed did so because, financially speaking, they could not provide the necessary economic guarantees to the International Cycling Union, and mergers were born to still have a future, albeit with compromises. The Leuven rider was a victim of the merger between his former team, Intermarché-Wanty, and the Lotto team, as he did not fit into the plans of the new formation, Lotto-Intermarché. Goossens became a professional with the Lotto team (then Lotto Soudal) first in the development squad (2018-2019) and then with the senior team (2020-2021). With his climbing characteristics, he then moved to Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert in 2022, where he spent the last four seasons.

It was with the Walloon team that he secured his two professional victories at the beginning of the 2023 season, winning the Trofeo Andratx-Mirador D'es Colomer and the Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana in Spain, one after the other. In 2024, he finished sixth at Eschborn-Frankfurt.

This year, Goossens raced for only 19 days after having health problems during Paris-Nice. After March, he only raced in the Heist Arrow on June 7th, which was his last race.

During his career, Kobe Goossens participated in all three Grand Tours: twice in the Tour de France, once in the Giro d'Italia, and three times in the Vuelta a España. He finished sixth in a Giro stage in 2021 and tenth in a Vuelta stage in 2023.

Kobe Goossens, with much regret, shared his farewell to racing on social media. "2025 marked the end of my competitive career. The end of a chapter, the end of a childhood dream. 2026 will be the beginning of a new chapter".

What is happening in the WorldTour is clear to everyone: in 2025, Intermarché-Wanty had registered 28 riders, as did Lotto, for a total of 56 athletes. To this must be added another 28 riders from the French Arkea, which decided to close the team. This brings the total to 84 athletes from just three teams - not counting the Devo - and in 2026 only one formation has seen the light of day, providing work for 30 riders. Of course, many have found work in other teams, but many riders, mechanics, masseurs, and staff members have found themselves without a salary. At the moment - between WorldTour and ProTeam - there are over 50 riders without a contract, to which are added men like Kobe Goossens who, not having received calls, have decided to retire in search of a new job.