IDL Retro | David van der Poel quietly left cycling. These other lesser-known brothers followed a similar unique path

Quietly, that's the best way to describe David van der Poel's farewell this Tuesday. The 31-year-old brother of world champion Mathieu hung up his bike in Putte-Kapellen - where he still managed to finish second - both literally and figuratively, although he didn't necessarily need all the bells and whistles that come with that. In this edition of IDL Retro, we highlight a few more pairs of brothers amongst whom talent was not evenly distributed.

Let's be clear: David is undoubtedly a good racer. With victories in the Zilvermeercross in Mol, a stage win in the Tour de Alsace, and numerous podium finishes and contributions to significant victories - most recently in the Tour of Turkey with Jasper Philipsen - he certainly made his mark during his career. "I have come to terms with the fact that I'm retiring from professional cycling. The realization will probably only hit me a few days or weeks down the line," he said at his farewell.

He didn't make a big fuss in Kapellen. "That's not who I am or what I want. Ideally, I didn't want too much fanfare around my retirement. The people around me, of course, already knew, but I tried to think about it as little as possible," he stated. His further future plans are still unknown at the moment. "I haven't really thought about it consciously because I didn't want to dwell on it. I will take some time to rest now and let everything sink in."

Throughout his career, Van der Poel has naturally been in the shadow of his younger brother Mathieu quite a bit, which he at one point discussed with RTBF. "Sometimes, when I think about it, I tell myself that it must be very nice to have his legs, his abilities, to be able to race like him. But there's no point in comparing because it won't change the situation. I have to stay focused on myself, try to make the most of my abilities, and satisfy my employer. I know what Mathieu has to do to reach his level, and I know the tough training he has to endure. I couldn't do it," David concluded. And those words will probably ring true for the other brothers mentioned below - even though we're not talking about equals like the Yates brothers, Schleck or Feillu.

Juraj and Peter Sagan

One of the most recent brotherhoods in the peloton is, of course, that between Juraj and Peter Sagan. Juraj followed his brother everywhere but decided to end his career one year earlier than Peter - in 2022. This season, the three-time world champion also followed suit, concluding his career in early October in the Tour de Vendée.

As young boys, the two did everything together. "Not just cycling, but also wakeboarding and windsurfing. And I've danced, played football, did judo or karate, or something like that. And in winter, we went snowboarding and skiing," Peter once said. Later on in life, the two continued this trend at all levels: they climbed Mount Kilimanjaro together, and Juraj was also there to see Peter claim the world titles in the United States, Qatar and Norway.

Dayer and Nairo Quintana

In Colombia, we also have a story of brothers, namely Dayer and Nairo Quintana. After Nairo surprisingly finished second in the 2013 Tour, his younger brother Dayer was brought on board by Movistar for the 2014 season. With that team, he proved that he could compete at the highest level: in 2016, he won the Vuelta a San Juan, ahead of Nairo.

In late 2018, Dayer was released from Movistar, a year before Nairo. When Nairo signed a lucrative contract with Arkéa Samsic in 2020, his brother was included in the team as well. However, accusations of doping and later tramadol use led to both of them being released from the team in late 2022, which Dayer previously commented on. "The French police can conduct as much investigation as they want, but there's nothing to be found," he firmly stated. Meanwhile, Nairo is still searching for a new contract.

Martin and Peter Velits

In Slovakia, they certainly know a thing or two about cycling brothers. Besides the Sagan brothers, there's also the Velits twins, who may not be as well-known to everyone reading this article. Both men worked their way up from Dukla Trencin, Konica Minolta and Wiesenhof to the professional ranks, but they entered those with different credentials: Peter had just won the U23 World Championship in Stuttgart in 2007.

Upon transitioning to the professional ranks, their paths diverged: Peter achieved a podium finish in Clasica San Sebastian and, out of nowhere, secured a second-place finish in the 2010 Vuelta, securing his and Martin's futures for a few more years. Aside from winning the Tour of Oman and performing well in individual time trials, this was his true standout achievement, even though he became a multiple-time world champion with both BMC and Quick Step. Martin, on the other hand, remained with Quick Step as a valued domestique until 2017, retiring one year after his brother.

Prudencio and Miguel Indurain

Perhaps one of the most "painful" stories is that of Prudencio and Miguel Indurain. We all know Miguel as the renowned time trialist and five-time winner of the Tour de France, but cycling enthusiasts will know that his brother Prudencio also participated in the Tour de France - four times.

In 1993, he made his debut alongside his two-time Tour-winning brother, but things didn't go smoothly in the time trial. Prudencio set the slowest time just as his brother Miguel, the world's best time trial specialist, had yet to ride. This put him at risk of missing the time limit. However, due to a puncture suffered by Miguel in the final stages, Prudencio was able to narrowly stay in the Tour. Prudencio would go on to complete that Tour de France and thus ride into Paris alongside his brother Miguel, who was wearing the yellow jersey.

Serse and Fausto Coppi

The name Coppi certainly rings a bell, but few know that the renowned Fausto also had a brother: Serse Coppi. Serse wasn't a great cyclist, but he does have Paris-Roubaix on his list of accomplishments. How did that happen? In a rather curious way: a leading group of three riders was mistakenly directed off-course just before Roubaix, and Serse ended up in the spot for "fourth place". Ultimately, he was one of the two winners, along with the leader André Mahé.

In 1951, both brothers participated in the Tour of Piedmont, where Serse's wheel got caught in tram tracks in the final stages of the race. This caused a severe crash, and although he did not finish the race, Serse was able to return to his hotel. However, his condition rapidly deteriorated in his room due to internal bleeding, and he eventually passed away in the hospital in the arms of his brother Fausto.