Karsten Kroon (born 29 January 1976) is a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer who most recently rode for , a UCI ProTeam. He retired at the end of the 2014 season. Career Born in Dalen, Kroon showed his talent as an amateur by winning the professional Ronde van Drenthe in 1996. He joined the youth squad in 1997 and won a number of amateur races in two years. In 1999, he moved to the senior squad. His few wins included stage 8, on Bastille Day, of the 2002 Tour de France. Kroon and his teammate, Erik Dekker, finished in a seven-man group, and Kroon won a stage in his first Tour de France with the help of the more experienced Dekker. Kroon led the mountains classification in each of the three Grand Tours, though his lead did not last to the end. On 10 August 2005 he said that, until 2007, he was to ride for Saxo Bank. He wanted more freedom. "I've never said that I want to be leader," he told Cyclingnews.com, "I only want to get chances". In March and April 2006, he was joint team captain in ProTour races. He finished in the top ten of Tirreno–Adriatico and the Tour of Flanders. He helped Fränk Schleck win the Amstel Gold Race by disrupting the chase when Schleck attacked; Kroon finished fourth. Kroon finally finished on the podium, in La Flèche Wallonne, third in front of Schleck. He also came second in the 2009 Amstel Gold Race, just behind Serguei Ivanov. In 2010, Kroon joined , but returned to for the 2012 season. Doping On 24 April 2018, it was reported that Kroon had confessed to doping for "a short period during my career". He added: "I was a professional cyclist in a very difficult time and I have a lot of respect for my colleagues who resisted the temptation to use doping." Major results 1996 1st Ronde van Drenthe 1997 1st Vlaamse Pijl 1st Stage 2 Circuit Franco-Belge 1998 1st Overall Ster der Beloften 1st Stage 2 Vuelta a Navarra 1st Stages 2 & 3 1st Stage 6 Circuit des Mines 1st Stage 2 Vuelta a León 1999 10th Clásica de Almería 2000 4th DAB Classic 7th Dwars door Gendringen Held Mountain jersey for 13 days Giro d'Italia 2001 1st Grand Prix of Aargau Canton 3rd Sparkassen Giro Bochum 9th Brabantse Pijl Held King of