Lizzie Deignan, former world champion and pioneer of women's professional cycling, has announced her immediate retirement from the sport.
The decision was made as the 36-year-old is pregnant with her third child, due in February 2026. Deignan was due to finish her career at the end of this season, but has now brought her retirement forward.
Over 19 seasons as a pro, the Brit recorded 43 wins, including the UCI Road World Championships, Paris-Roubaix Femmes, the Tour of Flanders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Strade Bianche. Her legacy also counts her as one of the first female professional cyclists to have a child and return to the highest level.
“Often people say, ‘Retire at the top.’ But I have no ego or necessity to retire at the top,” said Deignan.
The Lidl-Trek rider's last victory came at the inaugural Paris-Roubaix Femmes in 2021, where she attacked solo with more than 80km remaining. In recent years, she has taken on a domestique role within her team.
“I’m really happy to go full circle and to have ended my career as somebody that helps other people win bike races again,” she said.
After joining her first UCI team in 2007, Deignan went on to become the number one ranked cyclist in the world.
She took time out of racing in 2018 to give birth to her daughter, Orla, and did the same in 2020, when she and her husband Philip welcomed their second child, a son named Shea.
“I have this life outside of cycling that gives me so much fulfilment and so much love,” Deignan said.
In a press release announcing her retirement, the Brit’s Lidl-Trek team described her as a “consummate leader and mentor”, who has “lead the charge for more exposure on women’s cycling and better compensation for her colleagues”.
Deignan’s last race was the Copenhagen Sprint in June, where she placed 89th. Before that, she rode the Tour of Britain Women, a race she won twice during her career.
“It feels like it’s come full circle. Obviously I started off racing here in the UK, so it’s nice to get one final race here,” she told Cycling Weekly at the Tour of Britain.
Deignan went on to say that professional women’s cycling is “night and day different” today to when she first started.
“I feel like I’ve carried the torch for quite a long time now, and it’s really cool that there is now a group of women ready to take over,” she said.
Deignan's palmarès also counts a silver medal in the road race at the 2012 Olympics, a Commonwealth Games gold medal, and four British national road race titles.
