My dears, the moment has come when I hang up my racing shoes and begin a new chapter of my life. It is not easy for me, but I am filled with gratitude for all the years I was allowed to share with you.
After the Olympic Games in London, I made the decision to end my life as a competitive athlete. That choice did not come overnight. It ripened slowly and honestly, in many quiet moments between training sessions, trips and races. Anyone who knows cycling knows that this sport demands more than strength and endurance. It demands your whole life, every meal, every night of sleep, every free hour. I gave all of it gladly, always, and with full conviction.
When I look back now, I do not see only results, rankings and training miles. I see faces. I see my family, who stood behind me in every situation, even when the weather was gloomy and the days were long. I see coaches who patiently helped me bring out the best in myself. I see teammates who became true friends, because on a racing bike you cannot fake anything. And I see you, the spectators along the roadside, whose cheers so often gave me one last push on the pedals.
A Farewell Without Bitterness
The end of a career can sound harsh. To me it sounds more like a calm, clear breath. I am stopping because the right time has come. I am stopping because I am healthy, because I have plans and because I remain curious about what comes next. Sport shaped me like hardly anything else. It gave me discipline and, at the same time, the experience that defeat is not an ending but often the start of a new strength.
I take countless gifts, small and large, from this time. The smell of damp asphalt early in the morning. The familiar click when a shoe locks into the pedal. The moment of silence just before the starting signal, when everything comes together at a single point. These impressions will stay, even if the racing bike leans against the wall more often than it rolls down the road.
My special thanks go to everyone who took on financial, athletic and personal responsibility for me. Without foundations, federations, regional structures and personal supporters, elite sport in this form would simply not be possible. If you would like to learn more about the people and institutions who accompanied my journey, you will find detailed words of thanks on the page Supporters and Partners. If you want to know more about the individual stages, feel free to visit my career page or take a look at the overview of my achievements.
What Remains and What Comes Next
I will stay connected to cycling, only from a different perspective. I will follow races, admire young talent and pass on what I have learned in many conversations. Perhaps you will see me at a community bike day, perhaps watching at a road closure, perhaps in private somewhere among forests and meadows. What changes is the race number. What stays is the love of the bike.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Stay healthy, stay curious, stay brave. And do not forget to simply ride off now and then, with no plan and no goal, just the wind in your face.
Yours, Madeleine