As the saying goes, It’s not over till it’s over.

Rather than retire to ride amateur gran fondos as cycling celebrities, veteran professional racers Francisco Mancebo of Spain, 50, and Oscar Sevilla of Colombia, 49, will line up to race in the 2026 pro peloton for yet another season.

“As long as I’m enjoying it and my legs hold up, I’ll keep going,” Mancebo announced.

Mancebo made his professional debut almost 30 years ago with the Spanish Banesto team in 1998 as a young domestique for UCI Road and Time Trial Champion Abraham Olano. He went on to finish fourth and fifth overall at the Tour de France in 2005 and 2004 respectively.

After being implicated in the 2006 Operation Puerto doping scandal he left the top tier of the sport, but did not stop racing. Since then he has raced for lower-level pro teams around the world, most recently in Japan. For 2026 Mancebo has signed on to race with the Chinese Pingtan International Tourism Island Cycling Team filled with riders half as old as the aging veteran.

Oscar Sevilla began his pro cycling career in 1998 racing for the Spanish Kelme – Costa Blanca team. After six seasons and several Top 10 grand tour finishes he too was caught up in the Operation Puerto doping scandal and lost his WorldTour pro contract. Since then Sevilla has raced for a long list of semi-pro teams, primarily back home in Colombia. For 2026 he will join the youngsters at Team Medellin for a ninth season as their “abuelo” or grandfather.

“I’ll keep racing next year,” Sevilla told Spanish sports newspaper Marca. “When it becomes difficult for me to get up and train, I’ll retire. That moment, for now, hasn’t arrived.”

Photo Credit: Instagram/Tour de Kyushu, Instagram/oscarsevilla76

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