Scott Davies retires at the age of 26 after struggling with injury
The Welsh rider has been in the WorldTour for four seasons but has struggled to recover from a hip injury
Scott Davies has announced he will be retiring from professional cycling at the age of 26.
The Welsh rider said the decision was one he had hoped "wouldn't come so soon," however, referred to his career as a journey he'll be "forever grateful for."
The decision comes following surgery and rehab for a hip injury that halted his 2021 season, culminating in Davies' decision to retire.
Davies is currently on the books of Bahrain Victorious and has been with the team for two years, after two seasons with the now named Qhubeka-NextHash who he joined from Team Wiggins.
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In a statement posted to his social media feeds, Davies said: "After a challenging 18 months with injury, surgery, and rehab, I've had to come to the difficult decision to retire early from professional cycling at the end of the year. A decision I'd hoped wouldn't come so soon, but one that comes at the end of a journey that I'll be forever grateful for.
"My 11-year-old self would have never believed that my passion for cycling would one day become my profession. I am incredibly lucky to have been able to race all over the world and to have met some fantastic people along the way. I have gained experiences and lessons that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
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"Life as a professional cyclist has taught me the value of discipline, resilience, commitment, attention to detail and trusting in yourself.
"Thank you to everyone who believed in me, supported me, and gave me the opportunities to succeed. To all of my former teammates and colleagues, it's been a pleasure to work with you all.
"I'm sincerely grateful to all the teams I've been a part of, to Welsh Cycling & Sport Wales who have supported me throughout my career, and in particular to all of those who have been a part of my rehab process this year. I owe a special thank you to my friends and family who have supported me through the highs and lows of professional sport. Last but not least, to my parents and longest supporters, Aled and Tina.
"It's now time for me to reflect before deciding on what my next challenges and opportunities will be."
pic.twitter.com/j9WvzMK6uTDecember 16, 2021
Whilst Davies didn't manage to achieve a pro victory, he did ride some of the world's biggest races including a Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, also taking the under 23 national time trial title.
The hip injury reared its head at the Vuelta, where he finished in 111th place. This meant he needed surgery and he didn't race again until the Bretagne Classic on August 29, which he did not finish, likewise at the national championships, his final race.
Davies was a very talented U23 rider, having collected impressive results against now well-established stars of the sport, not to mention a fourth overall in the U23 Giro along the way.
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Hi, I'm one of Cycling Weekly's content writers for the web team responsible for writing stories on racing, tech, updating evergreen pages as well as the weekly email newsletter. Proud Yorkshireman from the UK's answer to Flanders, Calderdale, go check out the cobbled climbs!
I started watching cycling back in 2010, before all the hype around London 2012 and Bradley Wiggins at the Tour de France. In fact, it was Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck's battle in the fog up the Tourmalet on stage 17 of the Tour de France.
It took me a few more years to get into the journalism side of things, but I had a good idea I wanted to get into cycling journalism by the end of year nine at school and started doing voluntary work soon after. This got me a chance to go to the London Six Days, Tour de Yorkshire and the Tour of Britain to name a few before eventually joining Eurosport's online team while I was at uni, where I studied journalism. Eurosport gave me the opportunity to work at the world championships in Harrogate back in the awful weather.
After various bar jobs, I managed to get my way into Cycling Weekly in late February of 2020 where I mostly write about racing and everything around that as it's what I specialise in but don't be surprised to see my name on other news stories.
When not writing stories for the site, I don't really switch off my cycling side as I watch every race that is televised as well as being a rider myself and a regular user of the game Pro Cycling Manager. Maybe too regular.
My bike is a well used Specialized Tarmac SL4 when out on my local roads back in West Yorkshire as well as in northern Hampshire with the hills and mountains being my preferred terrain.
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