CYCLING: Cadel Evans has announced he'll retire from cycling in early 2015 partly due to a poorer-than-expected performance in this year's Giro d'Italia where he finished eighth and because the 37-year-old finds it increasingly hard to leave his family.
Four-time Olympian Evans, who won the world championship road race in 2009 and the Tour de France in 2011, has revealed his last ever event will be his own inaugural Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in early February.
Before that he'll race the Australian championships and Tour Down Under (TDU) in January.
Evans started his career as a cross country cyclist, finishing ninth in the mountain bike race in Atlanta in 1996 on Olympic debut aged just 19. Four years later he finished seventh at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
At the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympics he was a key member of the Australian road teams with a fifth placing in the Beijing time trial and 15th in the road race his best results.
May's Giro, where he targeted the win, made him realise he was no longer performing at the high level he, and his BMC team, expected.
"That showed, at least in the three-week races, that the chance of winning another grand tour is probably past me," Evans told reporters in Ponferrada ahead of the 2014 world championship road race.
"These things are not easy to accept but you have to accept (it).
"Maybe now is a good time to say thank you and I'll watch from the sideline."
He expected to leave the sport without any regrets despite "a lot of second places".
"I gave it everything," he said on Thursday.
"It's 20 years this year that I've been a full-time cyclist so I've had a good go.
"I don't leave with any bitterness or disappointment."
Evans said he was incredibly proud of his consistency over the years. Many believe that's proof he raced clean. Asked if his Tour win was a bright light after years of doping darkness the Australian replied: "I hope so."
"I can only speak about my own credibility.
"I'm proud of the fact that I could perform consistently over the years, from the beginning of the season to the end of the season, give or take a few periods of injury and illness.
"There were other riders who won a lot more than I did, there are other riders who performed impressively on important race days, but I'm proud of the fact that I go away from the sport performing consistently."
Evans said young riders today could "absolutely" be confident it was possible to race clean and win.
The Katherine-born star first rode a BMX aged two and started racing his mountain bike at 14.
He's the youngest rider to ever win a mountain bike world cup and the oldest post-war Tour winner.
Evans nominated his brilliant climb of the Galibier to secure the Tour as "maybe the best day of my life on a bike" along with the Mendrisio world championship victory.
The Strade Bianche stage win in the 2010 Giro, when Evans' rainbow jersey was barely visible beneath the mud, also stood out.
Coming second in the 2008 Tour when injured was his toughest test at the French race while his 5th place in the 2010 Giro, after riding with a 39C fever, was also noteworthy, Evans said.
"Coming back from the bad circumstances probably stand out the most - more than anything."
The veteran will be one of Australia's three protected riders in north-western Spain on Sunday.
After the worlds he plans to finish his European season at the Tour of Lombardy in early October.
But he'll be racing to win with BMC in early 2015.
"I'm going to race them (the Australian nationals and TDU) with everything I've got left and I'm going to prepare as best I can and do everything I can in those races to be as competitive as possible," Evans said.
After he finishes racing the Australian will become a BMC ambassador and mentor young riders on the team.
AAP and AOC
