The end of the 2008 professional cycling season saw the retirements of a number of high-profile riders, including winners of cycling's classics, world championships, Olympics and grand tour jerseys. Here, Suite 101 provides the low down on four of biggest names to retire at the end of the 2008 season.
Bobby Julich
American rider Bobby Julich has hung up his lycra shorts at 36 years of age. Julich has been a professional with a number of teams including Credit Agricole, Telekom and latterly Team CSC.
He won a number of high profile races including Paris – Nice, Eneco Tour and the Criterium International as well as placing highly on a number of podiums, most notably the olympic time trial in 2004 where he took the bronze medal as well as third in 1998 Tour de France.
Upon his retirement Julich said, “Being on such a great team for so long, I know what it takes to be at the top level of this sport and realize that mentally I am not able to make the sacrifices that it takes to be there anymore.... to continue to work for Bjarne and the team in some way would be great and I would love it if that opportunity presented itself.”
Julich seems to have got his wish as it has recently been announced that he will now be taking up a management role within the Saxobank Team (formerly CSC).
Paolo Savoldelli
Italian Paolo Savoldelli announced his retirement at the end of the 2008 season after a career that had taken in a variety of top ranked teams and a grand tour victory.
Savoldelli's teams included Saeco and Telekom / T Mobile before he moved to Team Discovery in 2005 where he stayed for two seasons. He then moved on to Astana in 2007 before finishing his career at LPR Brakes.
Savoldelli was a tour specialist and his best results came in races lasting a week or more. He showed his promise in taking overall victory in the Tour of Romandie in 2000. Famed for his daredevil descents off of the high mountains that earned him the nickname the falcon, Savoldelli's best year came in 2005 when he preceeded a stage win in the Tour de France with overall victory in the second biggest race of the year – the Giro d'Italia, the race where by far he enjoyed his greatest success.
Erik Zabel
Zabel's most notable recent contribution to cycling was his admission that he flirted with EPO in the late 1990s. However the rider claimed only to try the drug once as it made him ill and to focus solely on this admission is to ignore a fantastic cycling career.
Zabel has claimed over 190 victories in a long career that has taken just a few teams including Telekom / T Mobile and latterly Milram.
He was a one day sprint specialist tasting victory in a number of classics and grand tour stages. His most noteworthy achievements include:
Milan – San Remo: four victories
Paris – Tours: three victories
Amstel Gold Race: one victory
Tour de France: six green jerseys (point classification winner).
The thirty eight year old was a professional for fifteen years. The peloton has lost a prolific winner and well respected member of the cycling community. Don't be surprised to see him return some day in a management role.
Paolo Bettini
Italian Paolo Bettini has enjoyed a stellar career with the Quick Step team. A one day classic specialist Bettini has claimed stage victories in all three grand tours.
However it is one day races where Bettini really made his name with victories in a large number of races including classics Liege – Bastogne – Liege, Milan – San Remo and the Tour of Lombardy.
With an Olympic gold medal in the road race in 2004 and back to back world championships in 2006 and 2007, Bettini opted to announce his retirement on the eve of the 2008 world championships saying, “I decided to close my career with serenity. Sunday will be the last time I attach a race number on my back and it will be the number one."
Bettini is a true champion of the sport and the world of professional cycling will be a poorer place without him.
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