Cyclist Dekker ends cycling career

Thomas Dekker has ended his professional cycling career at the age of 30, the Dutch rider announced on his personal website.

"I have pondered, I've weighed my thoughts carefully, I oversaw the options and considered them one by one," he stated. "I've listened to my mind and to my heart. Now I have made up my mind. I quit cycling."

Dekker was one the brightest talents in Dutch cycling in his youth and a promising professional at the start of his career. He was signed as a fully-fledged professional by the Dutch Rabobank team in 2005. One year later he won the Tirreno-Adriatico at the age of 21, followed by a triumph in the Tour de Romandie in 2007.

Doping issues made an end to his rise. The international cycling union UCI already stated in July 2008 that the Dutchman had abnormal blood values, which could be a sign of doping use.

In 2009, when riding for Silence-Lotto, it was announced that Dekker had tested positive on EPO in a re-tested blood sample from December 2007, when he was riding for Rabobank. He was handed a two-year ban from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2011 and admitted that he had taken performance-enhancing drugs.

"I've experienced a lot as a cyclist," Dekker said on Friday in his statement. "I've won and I've lost, I fell and stood up again. I learned a lot - mostly about myself. I've seen all sides of the coin: the front and the back, but also the ragged edges on the sides."

"As a young professional, I wanted one thing: winning bicycle races," he added. "And preferably as much as possible. I wanted to win at all costs. That was my strength, and at the same time it was the trap I fell into; it has taken me far and let me sink deep."

Dekker continued his career after his suspension at the Chipotle-Garmin Development Team and one year later he joined the Garmin WorldTour team. This year he was without a contract, but he tried to set a world hour record in Mexico on February 25. He failed, coming short one lap on the record by Australian Rohan Dennis. This attempt turned out to be his final ride as cyclist.

"My last hour as a cyclist, I gave it my all in Mexico, during the attack on the world record," Dekker said. "I wanted to prove I can still ride fast, and also I wanted to know whether I still want to be a cyclist. The answer now, a few weeks after the attack on the record, is clear to me."

"In recent years I have come to realize more and more that there is more in life than winning bike races," He concluded. "I raced for the love for the sport, not because I wanted to win every race on earth. And I have been open about my own past to warn young riders not to make the same mistakes I did." Endi