Martin will feature in the men's elite individual time trial and the mixed team relay, which will be his final competitive road race.
Follow Us
German cyclist Tony Martin has announced that he will hang up his boots at the end of the Road World Championships in Flanders. A veteran of the sport, Martin is all set to feature in the men’s elite individual time trial on the opening day of competition as well as the mixed team relay, which is supposed to be the final competitive road race of his career. The 36-year-old still has a year left on his contract with his team, Jumbo-Visma, but has decided to retire after this week’s Flanders World Championships. Martin has had an exceptional career in the sport, winning the world championship four times. As per a statement released by Jumbo-Visma, Martin had said that he did not want to see out his ongoing one-year contract with the team.
“Today I want to announce that the upcoming time trial and mixed relay World Championships will be the last races in my career. Such a far-reaching decision is of course not easy to make. Cycling has been a large part of my life for a long time, with highs and lows, big successes and losses, crashes and comebacks. What many young riders dream of, I have achieved. In the last few months I have been thinking more about what is to come after cycling,” Martin said in a lengthy statement.
The 36-year-old also mentioned that safety concerns played a big part in his decision-making as a few bad crashes this season had him thinking about whether he was ready to continue with the sport any longer.
“The bad crashes this year have also caused me to question whether I am ready to continue to face the risks that our sport involves. I have decided that I do not want to, especially since race safety has not improved despite the many discussions about courses and barriers. Hopefully, the cycling world will listen to the plans presented by my team and other teams,” he added.
The German mentioned that he wanted to be fair to his friends and family and retire as a professional cyclist. “Therefore I want to be fair to myself, my family, and all my colleagues and end my career as a pro cyclist. I want to say farewell in a fitting manner at the Worlds TT, which I won four times. I have trained hard for it,” Martin said.
Lastly, the 36-year-old wrote a message of gratitude for his current team, Jumbo-Visma. He thanked the team for being part of his career for the last three years and for giving him the opportunity to end his colorful career in the way that he had wished.
“I’d like to thank Team Jumbo-Visma for its support the last three years and the opportunity to end my career in this way, as I have wished. I also want to express my deepest thanks to my family, my friends, my fans, and all my colleagues. Without you, I could not have lived my dream and I will never forget you!” Martin concluded.
