Geraint Thomas has announced he will retire from cycling at the end of the season.
The 38-year-old two-time Olympic gold medallist, who won the Tour de France in 2018, will bring the curtain down on his career after 19 years as a professional.
“This year will be my final year racing my bike,” Thomas told his podcast, Geraint Thomas Cycling Club. “It’s weird, it’s always been in the back of my mind, the last four years I thought it’d be my last, but it’s official, this will be my last year.
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“When you say it out loud, it’s like, ‘blimey, in seven to eight months, it’ll be done’. You can’t do it forever; I’m getting a few grey hairs. I don’t want to do one too many. I don’t want to be the guy on the bus who is a bit of a grumpy person.
“I’m still really enjoying riding my bike, and racing, the training and getting fitter, that’s what I’ve loved since I was 12. Going faster and longer, that hasn’t changed or dwindled, as the years go by, but I don’t want to get to the stage where I’m like, ‘I should’ve stopped last year, I don’t want to be here anymore’.
“The main thing is the family, Macs (his son) will be six this year, which is bonkers. I’m glad I kept going this long that he’s enjoyed coming to races and will remember it. When I won the Tour, Macs was born a year later, I thought it’d be cool for him to be around then. Never would’ve thought I’d be on a Grand Tour podium three times after that.
“This is my 19th season, which is a long time, I’ve mixed it up and kept variety, which helps, riding the track to start with. Could you do an extra year? Commonwealth Games next year? They are just on the track though, there’s no road. The timing is right.”
