Road World Championships 2021 - Jumbo-Visma time trial specialist Tony Martin announces retirement from cycling

Tony Martin has announced his retirement from professional cycling, with his final ride to be the mixed relay at this week’s Road World Championships.

The German made his name as a time trial specialist, winning the world championship on four occasions.

Martin has been part of the Jumbo-Visma squad since 2019, providing excellent support to the likes of Primoz Roglic and Tom Dumoulin.

“I’d like to thank Team Jumbo-Visma for its support the last three years and the opportunity to end my career in this way, as I have wished,” Martin said.

Martin won Paris-Nice in 2011, along with five stages of the Tour de France, and he says he made his decision due to concerns about safety in the sport.

“Today I want to announce that the upcoming time trial and mixed relay World Championships will be the last races in my career. Such a far-reaching decision is of course not easy to make. Cycling has been a large part of my 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,” Martin said.

“In the last few months I have been thinking more about what is to come after cycling. The bad crashes this year have also caused me to question whether I am ready to continue to face the risks that our sport involve. I have decided that I do not want to, especially since race safety has not improved despite the many discussions about courses and barriers. Hopefully the cycling world will listen to the plans presented by my team and other teams.’”

Martin was one of many riders involved in a crash at this year’s Tour de France when a spectator stepped into the road with a sign, and he later abandoned the race on account of his injuries.

The 36-year-old finished sixth behind Filippo Ganna in Sunday’s World Championship time trial.

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