Conor Dunne has today announced his retirement as a professional cyclist saying that “racing bikes was an adventure I’ll never forget” and that he is looking at putting his energy into a new challenge.
The 27 year-old raced at UCI Continental level for An Post-Chain Reaction in 2014 and 2015 before signing for JLT Condor for the 2016 season. He then moved up to UCI Pro Continental level with Aqua Blue Sport where he raced in 2017 and 2018 and spent the past season with Israel Cycling Academy.
Amongst the highlights of his career were winning the Irish National Road Championships in 2018, the Rutland–Melton International CiCLE Classic in 2016 and a stage of An Post Rás in 2013. In addition, he also added his name to the limited number of Irish riders to complete a Grand Tour, having finished the Vuelta a España in 2017 and the Giro d’Italia this year.
Conor made the following statement announcing his retirement:
“I’ve been pretty quiet on my plans for next year, enjoying some time with my family and taking a break from everything. Next year I’ll be hanging up the race wheels for good. Racing bikes was an adventure I’ll never forget, that I shared with so many incredible people. It’s hard to say goodbye to something that has motivated/driven me for so long but now felt like the right time to put my energy into a new challenge and I’m so excited about what comes next. I’m proud of what I managed within the sport, most of the time I got an absolute kicking but every now and then I managed to win the odd race with myself and I feel I always gave all I had in the process. However it wasn’t the races or results that I’ll look back on (not that I have many results to look back on 😂).. but its the people, places, experiences that will stay with me. Most important of all however, without cycling, I’d have never bumped into the most amazing girl I’ve ever met in my life and for this I’ll be eternally grateful above all else. I’d like to say a massive massive thank you to everyone who helped me along the way, your support meant everything to me.”
