Emma Pooley to retire from cycling after Commonwealth Games

Emma Pooley has announced that she will retire from professional cycling after the Commonwealth Games road race on Sunday, August 3.

After competing one final time for England on Sunday, the 31-year-old will switch disciplines to triathlon and running. Pooley won the Lausanne Marathon in Switzerland last year, and her time of 2-44-29 was in the top 20 fastest times posted by any British woman that season.

Former time trial world champion and current British time trial champion Pooley recently completed a PhD in geotechnical engineering, and had been considering retirement since 2012, where she was disappointed with her performance in the World Championships.

A strong climber as well as against the clock, Pooley won a host of events throughout her cycling career as well as taking overall honours in some of the sports most prestigious stage races including the Grande Boucle, Tour Languedoc Roussillon, Tour de l’Ardeche, Tour de l’Aude and Giro del Trentino.

British Cycling president Bob Howden paid tribute to Pooley: "Emma has been a tremendous ambassador for cycling both on and off the bike and for women's sport in general, never far from the action wherever she applied her undoubted talents," said Howden.

Emma Pooley's major victories

2014

British time trial national champion

Giro Rosa; stage six

Giro Rosa; stage eight

Giro Rosa; stage nine

Giro Rosa; mountains classification

2013

Tour Languedoc Roussillon; stage three

Tour Languedoc Roussillon; overall

Tour de Feminin – O cenu Ceského Švýcarska; stage three

Tour de Feminin – O cenu Ceského Švýcarska; stage five

2012

Emakumeen Saria

Emakumeen Bira; stage two

Tour de l’Ardeche; stage three

Tour de l’Ardeche; stage six

Tour de l’Ardeche; overall

2011

Trofeo Alfredo Binda

Iurreta-Emakumeen Bira, stage 3a ITT

Giro Donne; stage eight

Thuringen Rundfahrt; stage four

Thuringen Rundfahrt; mountains classification

Tour de l’Ardeche; stage three

Tour de l’Ardeche; overall

2010

Tour de l’Aude; stage seven

Tour de l’Aude; overall

La Fleche Wallonne Feminine

Grand Prix Suisse (TT)

Grand Prix Elsy Jacobs

Giro del Trentino; stage one

Giro del Trentino; overall

National champion, road race

Giro Donne; mountains classification

World Champion: Women’s time trial

2009

Montreal World Cup

GP de Plouay-Bretagne World Cup

GP Costa Etrusca

Grande Boucle; stage one

Grande Boucle; stage three

Grande Boucle; overall

Tour de Berne; climbers’ classification

Tour de l’Ardèche; mountains classification

Tour de l’Ardèche; sprint classification

National time trial champion

2008

Trofeo Alfredo Binda

Olympic Games time trial, silver medal

Emma Pooley takes final Giro Rosa stage as Marianne Vos wins overall

Britain’s Emma Pooley wins her third stage and the mountains classification

Emma Pooley wins women's British time trial title

Emma Pooley earns right to wear national champ's jersey, Katie Archibald second, Sarah Storey third in Wales

Emma Pooley attacks her way through Women's Tour stage four

Lotto-Belisol rider picked up the day's combativity award for her efforts.

Big interview: Emma Pooley

After taking a step back from the top tier of the sport to finish a PhD, Britain’s Emma Pooley is