Graeme Brown has decided to end his cycling career. The Australian has announced that his sixteen-year pro career has come to an end after the Tour of Hainan.

In an interview with Cycling Tips, Brown looked back on his cycling career. Unsurprisingly, his Olympic titles at the Athens Olympics in 2004 (team pursuit and madison) and the world title in the team pursuit at the Worlds in Copenhagen in 2003 are the highlights.

Brown spent several years in the Netherlands in the Rabobank team. The 37-year old rider rode for the squad between 2006 and 2014 and so spent no less than nine seasons in Dutch service, in particular as a lieutenant in the sprints for Oscar Freire and later Theo Bos. Since 2015, he has worn the jersey of Drapac.

He has taken eighteen professional victories, including World Tour stage victories in the Tour of Poland and the Tour Down Under.

The biggest disappointment in his cycling career is the fact that he never did the Tour de France. 

“I would have liked to have ridden the Tour de France,” he admitted. “Because it’s the biggest race in the world, but also because when anyone asks what you do, and you tell them you are a bike racer, the first thing they ask is if you have ever raced the Tour.

“I always have to say, ‘No, I’ve raced every other race but not that one’ and they still look at you with a blank stare.”

Brown started the Giro d'Italia eight times and the Vuelta a Espana once.