Despite his impressive attempt to beat the Hour Record, Thomas Dekker has decided to retire from professional cycling. The Dutchman has done his utmost to find a new team but as his search has been unsuccessful, he has decided to quit.

Dekker has had a turbulent career. He was regarded as one of the biggest talents of his generation and won both the Tour de Romandie and Tirreno-Adriatico at a young age while wearing the Rabobank colours. Having joined the Lotto team for the 2008 season, he tested positive for EPO when one of his samples from 2007 was retested.

Dekker made a return with the Garmin feeder team which was then known as Chipotle, and earned himself a contract with the WorldTour team. He was part of the roster until the end of the 2014 where he was one of the victims of the merger with the Cannondale team.

Having been unable to find a new team, he decided to focus on his Hour Record attempt and did an impressive ride as he missed the mark by around 250m. However, his search for a new team has been unsuccssful and today he has issued the following statement:

Statement by Thomas Dekker:

For weeks I've been thinking about it. I have pondered, I've weighed my thoughts carefully, I oversaw the options and considered them one by one. I've listened to my mind and to my heart. Now I have made up my mind.

I quit cycling.

I've experienced a lot as a cyclist. I've won and I've lost, I fell and stood up again. I learned a lot - mostly about myself. I've seen all sides of the coin: the front and the back, but also the ragged edges on the sides.

As a young professional, I wanted one thing: winning bicycle races. And preferably as much as possible. I wanted to win at all costs. That was my strength, and at the same time it was the trap I fell into; it has taken me far and let me sink deep.

In recent years I have come to realize more and more that there is more in life than winning bike races. I raced for the love for the sport, not because I wanted to win every race on earth. And I have been open about my own past to warn young riders not to make the same mistakes I did.

My last hour as a cyclist I gave it my all in Mexico, during the attack on the world record. I wanted to prove I can still ride fast, and also I wanted to know whether I still want to be a cyclist. The answer now, a few weeks after the attack on the record, is clear to me.

My whole life up to now was dominated by cycling – but I do not want to depend on my form, my equipment, my team, anyone or anything any longer. My cycling career was beautiful, ugly, intense and edifying.

I'm ready for a new step. Without my bike.
 

Thomas Dekker