Dutch rider Karsten Kroon may prolong his career by a few more seasons after initially saying that he would retire at the end of the year.

The 38 year old, who currently rides for Tinkoff-Saxo, said at the start of the Tour of Beijing that he was ’99 percent sure” that he would retire but that he may ride with the newly established Pro Continental Roompot-Orange team.

“I still have a lot to give. Orange is a really nice project with talented young riders and it could be a lot of fun to race a half-year or a whole year with those guys. I definitely have a lot to give them.”

Should he opt to retire, Kroon will end his 18-year career at the Japan Cup on the 19th of October but feels no remorse about ending his career.

“I have to say it’s not an emotional moment for me – it’s a bit strange. I’ve been slowly saying goodbye to cycling for the past three years,” he said.

“Today I just to make it to the finish. I’ve got a really bad headache from terrible jetlag. For the rest, I just hope to enjoy the country a bit because it’s probably the only time in my life I’m going to be here.”

The biggest moment of the Dutchman’s career came when he won a Tour de France stage in 2002 on Bastille Day while he was a member of the Rabobank squad. He has also finished in the top 10 on numerous occasions in his country’s biggest race, Amstel Gold, including second in 2009.