Daan Olivier has chosen to leave professional cycling in order to focus on studying for a career outside sports. Olivier and Team Giant-Alpecin have agreed to terminate his contract as of the first of July.

Olivier explained: “I suffered from overtraining in 2013, and since then cycling has slowly become less fun. I started to realize that there is more to life than professional sports. Many sacrifices are needed to live the life of a professional athlete, and these sacrifices are difficult to make if the sport is no longer bringing you joy. I tried to ignore these feelings and regain the joy in cycling, but unfortunately, after my crash in the recent Tour of Catalunya, I realized that I could not continue in this way. I shared my thoughts with the team’s coaches and took some time away from racing to think. I had many discussions with my coaches, teammates, friends and parents, and I concluded that I want to live my life differently and leave professional cycling to begin a new career. 

“I have signed up for a bachelor’s degree program in economics, which starts this September, and I am looking forward to this new challenge. I am confident that all the experience I have gained in cycling and with the team will be of good use in this new phase in my life. I will continue to ride my bike, but from now on as a hobby. 

“I would like to thank my teammates and the team staff for their support. It has been a difficult decision to make, but one that I believe is right for me.”

“We want to thank Daan for his commitment to the team, and we wish him the best for the future and in his career,” said CEO Iwan Spekenbrink. “Part of our philosophy is that we want our athletes to keep challenging themselves, and when we heard from Daan that his challenge was not in professional cycling anymore, we supported his choice. We hope he will find his desired challenge in a new career.”