With many people trying to tell Greg Henderson that he is too old to ride at WorldTour level (he turns 40 in 2016), the New Zealander says he still enjoys racing and training and will ride professionally as long as he still enjoys those aspects of bike riding.

“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.

Henderson has been a key part of leading Andre Greipel out at Lotto-Soudal over the past five years and he has seen Greipel take some of his biggest wins of his career, as well as winning the occasional race himself. Henderson says he hasn’t ever once considered stopping and says he is still one of the best in the sport at his job, something which is evident if you watch Greipel’s Giro stage win this year.

“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.”

“Stopping never crossed my mind. Never. I never thought about quitting but I needed a rest and then I could set myself a goal to come back to.”

Henderson says that 2016 is looking like it will be his final season as a WorldTour rider, but it may not necessarily be his last year as a pro.

“It’s tough to say as to when I’ll stop. I think it will be the final year racing WorldTour in 2016. I’ll still be involved in cycling, developing and coaching but maybe in the future it will be to a higher degree. For now, I just can’t wait for next year.”