Lizzie Deignan MBE to retire from professional cycling at end of 205 season; Briton was road race world champion in 2015 and claimed silver medal in same event at London 2012 Olympics; Deignan, 35, is first woman to win all three of cycling's major one-day races
Friday 15 November 2024 18:06, UK
Decorated British cyclist Lizzie Deignan MBE will retire at the end of the 2025 season as she "doesn't want to say goodbye to her kids anymore."
Deignan's accolades include winning the road race at the World Championships in the USA in 2015 and earning a silver medal in the same event at the London 2012 Olympics.
She also claimed gold in the road race at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
The 35-year-old mother of two, who has signed a new one-year deal with team Lidl-Trek, said in a video on social media: "I'm going to retire at the end of 2025.
"My kids are… I just don't want to say goodbye to them anymore. [I have] no ego or necessity to retire at the top.
"I'm ready to go full circle and be someone who helps people win bike races again. If I can help the next champions of the sport, then I'm delighted to be a part of that."
Deignan, previously known as Armitstead before marrying professional cyclist Gary Deignan in 2016, was the first to win all three of cycling's major one-day races - Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.
Her victory in the inaugural Paris-Roubaix Femmes in 2021 helped seal her place among the best of her generation after she broke away to win with over 80 kilometres remaining.
Deignan twice won the women's Tour of Britain and the Trofeo Alfredo Binda, while she is a three-time winner of the Grand-Prix de Plouay.
Great Britain performance director Stephen Park said: "Lizzie is one of Britain's most decorated and influential cyclists and will be remembered for a boundary-pushing career of iconic cycling moments.
"Whether it's representing her country at the highest level or performing at the forefront of the women's pro peloton, Lizzie has done it all.
"What stands out most in Lizzie is her impact across the entire women's peloton, and the work she's done to pave the way for many young riders.
"Her iconic performances on the bike and advocacy for women's sport off the bike have inspired many, and she has been cited as the direct inspiration for many of the young women coming up through the GB Cycling Team pathway."
