London 2012 Olympic silver medalist and former road racing world champion Lizzie Deignan has confirmed that 2025 will be her last year in the women's peloton.
“Next year will be my last season,” said Deignan, who has returned to his native Yorkshire after a long spell based in Monaco. “It's been a question I've been asked over and over again over the last few years: 'When are you going to retire?' – and I've been thinking about it.”
However, the 35-year-old mother-of-two admitted that a “bad travel day” at the start of the 2024 season “knocked me over the edge”. “There were moments this year where I was like, 'Enough is enough,'” she admitted.
“I was on a plane coming home from a training camp in January, got diverted to Glasgow airport, had a crazy long night, got home at 5am, woke up at 7am with the kids. .”
Deignan, whose career with current sponsor Riddle Trek is coming to an end, described the realization as a “bit of a moment”. “I asked myself, 'Can I do any more? Do I want to do any more?' And I realized that I didn't. It was, 'Can I do any more?' I thought I was nearing the end of cycling being sustainable and something I wanted to do, not that I'd stop wanting to do it.
“It's easy to blame the kids, but actually it's unfair. I support that because I've worked hard to show that being a professional athlete and a mother is also possible. I want to. It's absolutely possible.
“The reason I'm retiring is because I don't want to do it anymore. It's not because it's impossible, it's too much. Next year will be my 18th season and it takes a long time to dedicate myself to cycling. Everything. All good things have come to an end and I feel my time has come. I feel lucky to be able to walk away still loving the sport and what it has given me. I love everything you do.”
The versatile Deignan plans to remain involved in cycling even after his racing career is over. “I think it would be strange not to do that,” she said.
“Women's cycling is on an upward trajectory and I've been a part of it. I feel like I have some expertise in this area so why not share that with the next generation? That would be crazy.'' Deignan's career has changed over the past few seasons, moving away from team leadership and into a supporting role. “Cycling is a team sport and I think people underestimate how valuable it is to have people in different roles excelling in their roles.
“Racing without personal pressure would be very refreshing. There's enough internal pressure even if you don't win. It's no longer about external recognition or big results, but rather what I can give to this sport. That's what I mean.
Deignan said the 2012 London Games, where she won silver in the women's road race, was “absolutely” the highlight of her long career. “It was a great experience for me both as a person and as an athlete.
“To survive the home games and become the first Olympic medalist.” [of those Games]I felt like it was a really big thing in our country to actually share that with everyone, not just the cyclists, but the people at the corner store, and I felt like I was at the forefront of that. I really felt it. ”
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She also won the Women's World Road Race title in 2015, won gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, won the British Women's Tour twice, and won the inaugural Women's Paris Tour in 2021. It also won a long list of coveted one-day races, including Roubaix.
Deignan's career has paralleled an explosion of interest and investment in women's cycling, and she has long been a vocal advocate for the women's peloton.
“I have never avoided conflict or denounced inequality,” she says.
“That's something I'm going to continue to strive for. We're not there yet, but we're definitely progressing. Being a part of that means more than any result. .”
