Tony Martin announces retirement from professional cycling

Tony Martin has announced he will retire from professional cycling after the Road World Championships in Flanders.

The German is set to compete in the men's elite individual time trial on the opening day of competition as well as the mixed team relay, which will be his final competitive road race.

"Today I want to announce that the upcoming time trial and mixed relay World Championships will be the last races in my career," Martin said in a statement.

"Such a far-reaching decision is of course not easy to make. Cycling has been a large part of life for a long time – with highs and lows, big successes and losses, crashes and comebacks. What many young riders dream of, I have achieved. In the last few months I have been thinking more of what is to come after cycling."

>>> Chris Anker Sørensen killed in crash at Flanders World Championships

The 36-year-old says concerns over safety have also played a part, his opinion being that it has not improved despite repeated discussions over parcours and barriers.

"The bad crashes this year have also caused me to question whether I am ready to continue to face the risks that our sport involves. I have decided that I do not want to, especially since race safety has not improved despite the many discussions about courses and barriers. I hope the cycling world will listen to the plans presented by my and other teams," he said.

"Therefore I want to be fair to myself, my family and all my colleagues and end my career as a pro cyclist. I want to say farewell in a fitting manner at the Worlds time trial, which I won four times. I have trained hard for it."

Martin has been a pro since signing for Team High Road in 2008, going on to race for Deceuninck - Quick-Step and Katusha before spending the final three years of his career at Jumbo-Visma, where he did have the option of riding the final year of his current contract in 2022, but has made the decision to hang it up a year early.

"I thank my team Jumbo-Visma for their support the last three years and the opportunity to end my career in this way, as I have wished.

"I also want to express my deepest thanks to my family, my friends, my fans and all colleagues. Without you I could not have lived my dream and I will never forget that!"