He’s will turn 40 next year but Greg Henderson (Lotto Soudal) shows no signs of slowing down as he heads towards another season at the WorldTour level as part of Andre Greipel’s lead-out train.
Henderson, who crashed out of the Tour de France in July, spent the second half of the season returning to full fitness before he eventually re-signed with Marc Sergeant’s Lotto-Soudal for another year. Despite his age, and the new generation of riders knocking on the door, the veteran rider had no plans on retiring this season, and is as motivated as ever.
“You know people were saying ‘you’re getting old now so maybe you can’t be signed for two years’ and I understand that. That’s how it was in the old days but that’s not what you get from me. I enjoy the training and I enjoy the racing. I can still do both really well,” Henderson told Cyclingnews on Friday evening from his home in Spain.
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Although he turned professional relatively late, Henderson has built up a vast amount of experience, riding for teams such as Health Net, T-Mobile, Highroad, Team Sky and Lotto-Soudal. He made a name for himself as a successful sprinter but he has redefined his role as one of the most accomplished lead-out men in recent years, having helped teammate Andre Greipel to a long roll call of wins.
What makes Henderson stand out, however, is his desire to remain competitive despite his advancing years. While most riders consider retiring during their early to mid 30s, Henderson has simply brushed such talk to one side. Even this year, when the easier option would have been to walk away after he crashed out the Tour, the New Zealander rallied and came back in the second half of the season.
“Essentially it was a milestone of mine to be racing my bike at 40 years of age. I know that there’s not many people who can do that. I proved this year that I’m still one of the best in the world at my job, I’ve not slowed down and my desire to race has not dropped. I’m super motivated and as far as I’m concerned you can race your bike forever as long as your mental capacity is right there. I love racing my bike and I’m lucky to be able to do it as a job.”
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