This morning, Geraint Thomas started his final professional race. A huge and highly emotive moment at the end of a momentous career spanning 20 seasons. When he finishes the Tour of Britain Men on Sunday in his home city of Cardiff, there are unlikely to be many dry eyes around the place.
And that, really, is the way it should be. Perhaps more than many careers, being a professional cyclist begins as a dream and becomes an identity, and a way of life. Retirement is, understandably, often a wrench. But not always.
“I’m all fine – I’m feeling great,” he said on the De Grote Plaat podcast. “I’m here to announce that I’m retiring as a WorldTour rider. And that I’m no longer as in love with the world and life as I once was. For me, this is a very normal and logical decision. But I know that many fans, fellow riders, and cycling followers don’t see it that way, so I thought: ‘It’s a good time, a good decision to talk about this openly and for longer than 15 minutes.’
But whereas once riders in their late twenties were bossing the bunch and winning the big events, now they are often just trying to keep up with their younger peers – as Schelling’s example shows.
