Due to being diagnosed with chronic fatigue, Thomas Löfkvist decided to hang up his wheels after 2014 season comes to en end.

The 30-year old Swede informed his current team, IAM Cycling, that he won’t consider continuing his career as professional cyclist beyond the 2014 season and explicitly explained reasons of his relatively early retirement.

“When I signed my first contract as a professional cyclist for the 2004 season with Française des Jeux, I thought I’d be happy if I could have such a wonderful job for ten years. Here we are. I’m glad to announce my retirement at the end of this year.

“My decision came after I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue this summer,” he said. “I had to pull out of Tirreno-Adriatico because of an infection and I have only felt tired after that. I realized that I was not just having a bad day or a bad week. I was left with no energy. There was no way I could take part in the Tour de France or the Vuelta a España and be useful to the team. My last season has been a roller coaster with more downs than ups. My body is saying stop.

“Some people will say than I’ve over trained for my whole career,” Löfkvist continued. “What is sure is that I’ve never been under-trained. I’ve always been very serious with my cycling. Early on, my dedication to the sport has helped me deliver a lot of good results. Later on, I possibly would have achieved more if I had trained a bit less.”

“I’ve enjoyed winning the Strade Bianche, but my most memorable moment is when I got the pink jersey at the Giro d’Italia in 2009”, he said. “It was taken away from me by riders like Danilo Di Luca and Denis Menchov who I don’t envy at all for what they have achieved. I’ve chosen my teams for their ethics and I’m proud of that.”

“To win the Circuit de la Sarthe on a courageous mood for FDJ just a couple of days after I turned 20 is something I’ll never forget. I want to thank Serge Beucherie for my time at IAM Cycling. I’ve been enormously surprised by how much support I got from his staff and I feel bad that I can’t repay them with any more result. I’ve had my best years with Columbia-HTC. This was the best group of guys I’ve worked with. The team’s spirit was excellent.”

“I’m not sad to call it a career”, Löfkvist concluded. “It’s just time to move on. I’ve got ideas and projects in and out of cycling, in and out of Sweden. I also want to look after my two kids. I leave the sport with a lot of good memories. It’s been an amazing part of my life.”

During those ten years, Löfkvist won Strade Bianche (2009), Tour Mediteraneen (2013) and a stage at the Criterium International (2007).