Gerrans says time to retire

AUSTRALIAN cycling star Simon Gerrans is going out when he believes the time is right, befitting his hard-earned reputation as the most meticulous of planners.

The 38-year-old from the Victorian town of Mansfield has announced he will end his racing career at the end of this season. In an open letter published by the BMC team, Gerrans said his passion for the sport was not what it used to be.

“I am really happy to be able to walk away on my own terms and feel that the end of this season is the right time to transition to a new phase in my life,” he said.

Gerrans will bow out as one of Australian cycling’s all-time greats, his achievements stacking up against those of Cadel Evans, Anna Meares, Phil Anderson, Robbie McEwen and Kathy Watt.

“The process of meticulously preparing for my objectives and working hard in training is what I loved about being a professional cyclist,” Gerrans said.

“What made the biggest victories of my career the most rewarding was knowing that I perfected the preparation. During the best years of my racing career, those times when I got my preparation just right, I was competitive in the biggest races, against the best cyclists in the world.”

Gerrans was the first Australian to win Milan-San Remo in 2012, and won Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2014. Indeed, 2014 was the pinnacle of his career, a near-perfect season where he also won the Australian road title, Adelaide’s Tour Down Under plus two major one-day races in Canada.