2010 Tour de France king of the mountains Anthony Charteau (Europcar) has decided to put an end to his career at the end of this season. The 34-year feels that it is time to have more time for his children and has been frustrated not to be able to find back to the level that allowed him to shine on the biggest scene 3 years ago.

For many years Anthony Charteau was a rather anonymous domestique int teams like Bouygues Telecom, Credit Agricole and Caisse d'Epargne but suddenly he found himself in the spotlight in the 2010 Tour de France when he was right in the centre of the battle for the polka-dot jersey. A gutsy and aggressive showing in the mountains allowed him to step onto the podium in Paris as the king of the mountains in what was generally a very good Tour for his Bouygues Telecom team.

Since then, the 34-year old veteran has been unable to reach similar heights and having been denied a spot on the Tour roster for the second consecutive year, he has decided to put an end to his career when he has finished the Tour de Vendee in October. Frustrated by his lack of results and the huge amount of time spent away from his children, he feels it's time to close an important chapter of his life.

"Honestlly, the idea of retiring from the sport has been in my head since last winter," Charteau told Ouest-France. "I love the sport but I find all the travelling difficult. I feel that I haven't seen my children grow up. The Tour stages leave little room for a rider of my characteristics and I can't find my 2010 level."

Apart from the polka-dot jersey, his biggest triumphs are a stage win in the 2005 Volta a Catalunya, a stage win and the overall victory in the 2007 Tour de Langkawi and a stage win in the 2011 Route du Sud. He still intends to finish off his career with a couple of good results as he plans to ride the Tour de l'Ain, the Tour du Poitou-Charentes, the GP Ouest France and the Tour de Vendee before he finally puts an end to his sporting career.