Lizzie Deignan, the London 2012 silver medallist and former world road race champion, has announced that 2025 will mark her final year in professional cycling. “Next year will be my final season,” Deignan stated, having recently relocated back to her native Yorkshire after a lengthy stint in Monaco. “The question of when I would retire has been posed to me repeatedly over the past few years, and I’ve given it considerable thought.” However, the 35-year-old mother of two revealed that a particularly challenging travel experience at the beginning of the 2024 season was the tipping point. “There was a specific moment this year when I realized, ‘OK, I’ve had enough,’” she confessed. “I was returning home from a training camp in January when my flight was diverted to Glasgow airport, leading to a chaotic night that ended with me getting home at five in the morning and having to be up at seven with the kids.”
Deignan, who will conclude her career with her current sponsor, Lidl-Trek, described this realization as “a significant moment.” “I questioned myself: ‘Can I continue doing this? Do I still want to?’ And I realized, I didn’t. It wasn’t that I never wanted to see a bike again—more that I felt I was reaching the end of it being sustainable and something I still wanted to do. It would be easy to blame my children, but that wouldn’t be fair. I’ve worked hard to demonstrate that it’s possible to be a professional athlete and a mother, and I want to stand by that. It is absolutely possible. The reason I’m retiring is simply that I no longer wish to do it. It’s not because it’s impossible or too much; next year will be my 18th season, and it’s a long time to dedicate oneself to cycling. All good things come to an end, and I feel my time has come. I’m fortunate to be stepping away while still loving the sport and all it has given me.”
Deignan plans to remain involved in cycling post-retirement. “I think it would be foolish not to,” she said. “Women’s cycling is on an upward trajectory, and I’ve been part of that journey. I feel I have expertise in this area and would be crazy not to share it with the next generation.” In recent seasons, Deignan’s role has shifted from team leadership to a supporting position. “Cycling is a team sport, and I think the value of having people excel in different roles is underestimated. Racing without individual pressure will be quite refreshing. I have enough internal pressure without needing to win. It’s not about external validation or big results anymore; it’s more about what I can contribute to the sport.”
Deignan identified London 2012, where she won silver in the women’s road race, as the pinnacle of her career. “It was an incredible experience as a person and an athlete. To experience a home Games, to be the first Olympic medallist of those Games, to share that with everyone, not just cyclists but the person in the corner shop—it felt enormous in our country, and I felt at the forefront of that.” She also won the women’s world road race title in 2015, a gold medal in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and the Women’s Tour of Britain twice, among other prestigious one-day races, including the inaugural women’s Paris-Roubaix in 2021.
Deignan, whose career coincided with a surge in interest and investment in women’s cycling, has been a vocal advocate for the women’s peloton. “I’ve never avoided confrontation or calling out inequality,” she said. “That’s something I will continue to push for. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re certainly on the right path. Being part of that movement means more to me than any individual result.”
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