Webb rode a further year as a professional but without success. He opened a bar and had his world champion's rainbow jersey on display; when it became dirty from cigarette smoke, and as depression rose over what could have been, Webb took it down and threw it in the fire. Webb was later employed at a steel works in Ghent, as a crane operator. He never lived in Britain again, saying he was glad to leave as it had too many memories of abuse and poverty.