Former Giro d’Italia winner and double Olympic silver medallist Tom Dumoulin has announced his retirement from cycling with “with immediate effect”.
The Dutch cyclist posted his decision on Twitter, two months after saying he would retire following September’s Road World Championship in Australia.
The 31-year-old won the Giro in 2017 and the world time trial title in the same year.
“The tank is empty,” Dumoulin said on Twitter.
“I [have] decided to quit professional cycling with immediate effect.”
“I still had one project on my wishlist to end my career with a bang – the World Championship in Australia. I wanted to tackle that road to the World Championship the way I tackled the road to the Tokyo Olympics.
“But I notice that I can’t do it anymore. The legs feel heavy and the training sessions are not working out as I hoped, and I also need to do a good performance and have a good feeling at the World Championship.”
Dumoulin, who claimed two time trial Olympic silver medals and finished second in the 2018 Tour de France, added: “Even though the farewell didn’t turn out the way I hoped, I look back on my career with incredible pride.
“I worked hard for it, took a lot of passion and pleasure from it for many years, and delivered brilliant performances.”