With the recent announcement that the Euskaltel team will definitively disband at the end of the season, 33-year-old Mikel Astarloza has decided to end his career. The former Tour Down Under winner doesn't want to find a new team after having been part of the Euskaltel team during the final part of his career.

The disbandment of the Euskaltel team has put the future of several of the team's current riders up in the air and now the first rider has decided to throw in the towel. 33-year-old Mikel Astarloza has decided to end his career at the Tour of Beijing later this month.

Like many of his fellow Euskaltel riders, the Basque had hoped to continue his career on the new Fernando Alonso squad but after the announcement of the breakdown of the negotiations between the Euskaltel team and the Formula 1 driver, Astarloza and several other riders find themselves without a team for the 2014 season. That has prompted Astarloza to end his career.

Astarloza started his career in 2002 with Ag2r and took his only professional win one year later when he won the Tour Down Under overall. Prior to the 2007 season, he signed with Euskaltel where he developed into a great stage racer who finished in the top 10 in several big WorldTour races, including the Tour de France.

In 2009, he won a big Alpine stage of the Tour de France. Following the conclusion of the race, it was, however, announced that he had tested positive for EPO in a pre-race test and that win was annulled. He served a two-year suspension before returning with the Basque team at the midpoint of the 2009 season. However, he never returned to his former strength.

Astarloza will ride his final race in the Tour of Beijing which starts on October 11th.