Rui Costa has announced his retirement from pro cycling. The Portuguese rider has spent the last two seasons of his career with EF Education-EasyPost, and has closed down a career that began 18 years ago in the professional peloton. Behind him lays a World title in 2013, three stages at the Tour de France and plenty other World Tour wins from a rider that has shaped modern Portuguese cycling.
“Cycling made me so happy! The time has come for me to retire. To enjoy the company of my loved ones, to be present in the small, great moments, and to calmly experience what was so often postponed,” Costa announced in an Instagram post. “I was blessed to live my dream, to win, to fall and get back up, and to always have my guardian angel with me at every turn of the road”.
Costa turned professional in 2007 with the Benfica team, and moved to Caisse d’Espagne (now known as Movistar) in 2009 where he stayed until 2013 and achieved the most success in his career. He’s been a constant in the World Tour ever since and also raced in Lampre-Merida for three years, UAE Team Emirates for six years, had one season at Intermarché – Wanty and concluded his journey in pro cycling now with the American team.
“I thank all the teams that were part of this journey and the Portuguese National Team — it was an immense pride to carry our flag to the four corners of the world. Thank you Paulista Cycling Federation. Thank you ASC Guilhabreu. Thank you Santa Maria da Feira. Thank you Benfica. Thank you Caisse D’Épargne. Thank you Movistar. Thank you Lampre-Merida. Thank you UAE Team Emirates. Thank you Intermarché. Thank you EF”.
This was a complicated year for the Portuguese who didn’t participate in any Grand Tour and had a few health issues. On several occasions in the second half of the season he came close to taking victories, but his last pro win – and only with EF – was at the Portuguese national championships in 2024. “To everyone who believed, cheered, helped, and was with me — from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Today I close a chapter. But the passion for two wheels… that will never end”.
Rui Costa’s final win as a pro was at the 2024 national championships. @Sirotti
A career full of success
Costa is a rider best known for his world championships victory in Florence back in 2013, where he outpowered and outsmarted none other than Joaquim Rodríguez, Alejandro Valverde and Vincenzo Nibali on what was a very long and rainy day. Costa was a specialist any time the weather was bad, something which made him a special figure in the peloton, who would often take advantage of the days where his rivals would usually struggle more.
Costa won a stage at the 2011 Tour de France and then two more in the 2013 edition, and gathered a reputation as a strong climber and also classics specialist. With this ability, he manage to win the Tour de Suisse on three consecutive occasions from 2012 to 2014, confirming his ability to also win stage-races, although he never successfully made the transition to Grand Tours – something he attempted after his world title and time spent in Lampre.
Often termed a smart rider, he managed to capture high-level victories for well over a decade at the top of the sport, as far back as 2011 where he also won the GP de Montréal and as late as 2023 where he won a stage at the Vuelta a España – a year where he won several other races and also finished fourth at Strade Bianche. He looked a new man with Intermarché back in 2023 but had a one-year deal only with the team, and ever since he joined EF the results hadn’t been the same.
Nevertheless, Costa ends with career with an impressive record of 33 victories, of which 16 were at World Tour level (or World Championships). He has raced 18 Grand Tours and 34 monuments in his career – where, aside from his wins, he has also gotten podium results at Il Lombardia and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.