Servais Knaven, who announced his retirement earlier this week, has confirmed that he will be staying with the Milram team as a sports director. His last race will be the Etten-Leur on August 15th, which takes place near his home in The Netherlands. Following the race he will immediately begin working with the team as a director.
"I want to thank Gerry van Gerwen for giving me the chance to work as a directeur sportif for Team Milram directly afer my last race. That will be the start of the next stage of my life," explained Knaven.
Knaven equalled Belgian Raymond Impanis' record of sixteen Paris-Roubaix finishes over the weekend, and has decided to move on to the next phase of his life. His biggest victory was the 2001 edition of "Hell of the North".
"For me, it was always important that I could decide myself when the end should be. Our manager Gerry van Gerwen left it entirely up to me. I want to thank him for that, it gives me a lot of respect for him. But I didn't want to stop right after my last appearance in Paris-Roubaix," he said. "As my last race I will ride the criterium in Etten-Leur. That is not far away from my home and many of my fans and friends live in this area. That will be a great way to say good-bye after 17 years as a pro cyclist."
He will also hope to take the start of the Tour de France one last time. The Dutchman won a stage in the 2003 edition of the race, and this year the Tour starts in Rotterdam on home soil.
"Cycling was and is my life. I have always said that is my goal after I end my career to pass my experience on to the youngsters. That is a great perspective," he added.