VN news ticker: Tony Martin to retire after World Championships, Peter Sagan scores at home in Tour of Slovakia
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Tony Martin to retire after world championships
Tony Martin will hang up his wheels later this week.
The German veteran confirmed on Sunday that he will retire after competing in the TT world championships and the mixed relay on Wednesday.
“Today I want to announce that the next World Time Trial and Mixed Relay Championships will be the last races of my career. A decision of this magnitude is of course not easy to take, â€said Martin. “Cycling has been a part of my life for a long time, with ups and downs, big hits and losses, crashes and comebacks. What many young riders dream of, I have achieved.
Martin, 36, was one of the dominant time trials of his generation, winning four world titles from 2011 to 2016. He also won the German national TT title ten times and scored five stages of the Tour de France , including three against the clock. His 17-year professional career has seen him ride with Team HTC, Quick-Step, Katusha and finally Jumbo-Visma.
Martin heads to the world championships on Sunday after a Tour that saw him hit the bridge several times before giving up on stage 11. The German powerhouse cited safety concerns as one factors motivating retirement.
“Over the past few months, I’ve been thinking more about what will come next after cycling. The bad falls this year also made me wonder if I am ready to continue to face the risks that our sport involves, â€he said.
“I decided that I didn’t want to, especially since the safety in the race has not improved despite the many discussions on the courses and the barrier gestures. Hopefully the cycling world will listen to the plans presented by my team and other teams.
“Therefore, I want to be fair to myself, my family and all my colleagues and end my career as a professional cyclist. I want to say goodbye appropriately to Worlds TT, which I have won four times. I trained hard for it.
Peter Sagan scores at home in Tour of Slovakia
Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) won his home race on Sunday in the Tour of Slovakia.
Sagan finished second behind Itamar Einhorn (Israel Start-Up Nation) in the final stage sprint to defend his overnight lead and claim his first stage race victory since the 2015 Tour of California.
?? @Petosagan wins the Tour of Slovakia! ??
: @TourofSlovakia pic.twitter.com/NX7nrYl4es
– BORA – hansgrohe (@BORAhansgrohe) September 19, 2021
Sagan had finished in the top-3 on four of the five stages of the race, but was beaten in the sprint each time and was never able to reach the top step of the podium. He still got to see the positives.
“It’s a special day. This is my very first participation in the Tour of Slovakia, so winning the final makes me very happy, â€said Sagan. “I would have liked to have had a few stage wins but I think the yellow jersey is more important.”
Jannik Steimle (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) and Cees Bol (DSM) completed the final podium in Trnava on Sunday.
Matteo Trentin wins the Matteotti Trophy
Matteo Trentin (UAE-Emirates) set off in the last five kilometers to beat Jhonatan Restrepo (Androni Giocattoli) and Valentin Ferron (TotalEnergies) at the Trofeo Matteotti on Sunday.
It was Trentino’s first victory since winning the same race in 2019, ending a season of near misses. The Italian has finished in the top-5 11 times this year and narrowly missed the podium in the European Championships road race earlier this month.
Trentin will now head to the world championships with confidence as he lines up with a strong Italian road racing team.
“The race was very difficult all day. I wanted to attack on the last lap of the long climb, but Ferron took the first step, so I caught up with him and then we got a grip on ourselves, â€said Trentin. “In the last stretch I attacked again and, when at 5 km I noticed that Ferron was at the limit and Restrepo was coming back to us from behind, I made one last search which brought me to the arrival.
“I’m really happy, it was about time I won a race again.
Yes!!! @MATTEOTRENTIN solos to victory at #TrofeoMatteotti !
Well done Mattéo! ??#UAETeamEmirates #RideTogether pic.twitter.com/ESQucrfDPp
– @ UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) September 19, 2021
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