Wednesday 11 November 2015 12:25, UK
Fabian Cancellara has announced he will retire at the end of the 2016 season.
Cancellara has been a professional since 2001, when he joined Mapei-Quick Step after a glittering junior career that saw him twice crowned world time-trial champion.
The 34-year-old has continued to be one of the world's leading riders against the clock since, winning the senior time-trial title on four occasions and claiming gold at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
He also developed into a classics specialist, winning three editions of Paris-Roubaix, E3 Harelbeke and the Tour of Flanders, two Strade Bianche titles and Milan-San Remo in 2008.
Cancellara won eight stages of the Tour de France and wore the yellow jersey in six different years for 29 stages, most recently in 2015 when his race was ended by a serious crash on stage three, less than 24 hours after he had moved into the lead.
Cancellara made his announcement at the Swiss Cycling Awards, saying: "2016 will be my last season, it is the right time. Now I am ready for something else. Cycling is not my whole life, it is just part of my life."
