Rebecca Henderson announces her retirement from XCO and aims for a new challenge on the road

Rebecca Henderson has announced that she will end her professional career in XCO mountain biking when the 2026 season concludes. The Australian, one of the most important riders in her country and a regular on the World Cup circuit for over a decade, will thus close a career in which she has achieved three elite World Cup victories, 13 national titles, and four Olympic appearances. However, Henderson does not want to leave cycling and openly acknowledges that she would like to try her luck on the road.

Rebecca Henderson will leave professional XCO at the end of 2026

"It just feels like the right time." With these words, Rebecca Henderson has explained a decision that has been maturing for some time and marks the end of a nearly two-decade-long chapter linked to mountain bike competition.

The Australian explains that to continue as a professional, she needed three conditions to be met: to keep enjoying racing, to feel that she was still progressing as a cyclist, and to have a paid position within a team.

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Although the last of these did not seem to be a problem, she acknowledges that the easy thing would have been to sign another two-year contract, but the other two have tipped the balance.

"The easy thing to do would have been to sign another two-year contract, keep riding my bike, because I'm good at it," explains Henderson. However, she admits that some aspects of life on the World Cup circuit have begun to feel repetitive.

As an example, she cites Nové Město, where she competed in her first World Cup in 2011 and where she has since participated in every edition held. Henderson believes that she could still continue to improve as a mountain bike racer, but she feels that margin is getting smaller and that she needs to face new challenges.

A challenging 2025 season also weighed in the process

The decision comes after two particularly demanding seasons. Henderson acknowledges that 2025 was a very complicated year and that, precisely for that reason, she faced the winter working harder than ever. Her hope was that by maintaining that effort and with a bit more luck, the pieces would fall into place in 2026.

Part of that challenging season was marked by injuries. Henderson began 2025 by proclaiming herself the champion of Australia in XCO and XCC, but she did so after suffering a fall that caused her a fracture in her right shoulder and problems with her left thumb. The situation reached the point of forcing her to withdraw from the first World Cup events in Brazil. 

In 2026, the situation has not changed as she expected. The Australian claims to have recorded some of her best performance numbers, but these have not translated into the competitive level or results she was looking for.

Above all, she acknowledges that she no longer feels the same degree of enjoyment as before, something decisive in deciding that the time has come to close this chapter.

Val di Sole will close the circle

Henderson will not leave competition immediately. Her intention is to finish the 2026 season and she still has three World Cup events ahead, in addition to the World Championship.

Precisely the World Championship will have a special significance. It will take place in Val di Sole from August 26 to 30, the same venue where Henderson participated in her first World Championship.

"To do my last mountain bike World Championships at the same place where I started – there were three World Championships that I've been to in Val di Sole and I was at them all – is kind of nice. It's an amazing place," she acknowledges.

After that, she will continue with the last three World Cups of her career, starting with Les Gets, in France, from August 20 to 23.

This will mark the end of a professional career that began in 2013 and in which Henderson has participated in four consecutive Olympic Games. The Australian acknowledges that for years she has been particularly critical of her Olympic results, but now she begins to value differently what it means to have qualified four times in a row.

Her palmarès also includes three elite World Cup victories and 13 national titles, figures that position her as the most decorated Australian XCO cyclist.

From mountain biking to the road: Henderson is already thinking about a new challenge

The retirement announced by Henderson affects professional XCO, but it may not mean the end of her career as a cyclist. In fact, the Australian acknowledges that there is a challenge she has long wanted to tackle: competing on the road.

"The prospect of racing on the road has always been something I've really wanted to try. It's a challenge that really appeals to me," she explains.

Henderson claims that she now spends more time training on her road bike than on her mountain bike and that she particularly enjoys this discipline. She would not be starting completely from scratch either, as she has competed several times in the Australian National Road Championships.

Even so, she is aware that the change would involve a huge learning process, especially in the tactical aspect.

She has even discussed it with Puck Pieterse. Henderson recalls that when the Dutchwoman began competing in mountain biking, they established a good relationship and she acted somewhat as a mentor. Now she jokes that the roles could be reversed if she finally makes the leap to the road.

The idea of starting practically from scratch is precisely one of the things that attracts Henderson the most. After so many years being a recognizable figure within XCO, she finds it stimulating to enter a different environment where she would have to discover what her place could be.

And there is a goal that is already appearing in her thoughts. After the recent Tour de France Femmes, Henderson recounted that during a four-hour training session in the rain and with about six degrees, she imagined what those passing by in cars might think: "What do you think you're doing? Training for the Tour de France?". Her mental response was simple: "Perhaps."

"To do some of these big races on TV would be a dream," she acknowledges.

For now, there is no announcement about a possible road team or a calendar for 2027. The only confirmed thing is that Rebecca Henderson will end her professional career in XCO at the conclusion of this season. After 20 years around mountain bike racing, the Australian seems ready to change the scenery without stepping away from the bike.