Tyler Farrar announces retirement from professional cycling

Tyler Farrar has announced that he is retiring from professional cycling, putting an end to a 12-year career in the sport.

The American rider, whose final race was the GP Montréal on Sunday, said that he was retiring from the sport to "start a new chapter" and was looking forward to not having to eat any more race buffets.

"I don’t think I’ll miss the race buffets too much. There are a few things I’ll miss but not the mass produced pasta," Farrar told The Peloton Brief.

"[I'm looking forwards to] skiing all winter. I think it’s all been amazing, it’s been a great adventure but sometimes it’s time to start a new chapter, and I’m pretty ready for it."

Farrar turned pro with Cofidis in 2006, and enjoyed his most successful period between 2009 and 2011 when he won stages in all three Grand Tours, finished second behind Mark Cavendish in the points classification in the 2010 Vuelta a España.

Most of Farrar's success came while riding for the Garmin team, and the American has struggled for results since joining MTN-Qhubeka (now Dimension Data) in 2015, being unable to win a race since then.