The 2007 U23 World Road Race champion Peter Velits (BMC Racing) has announced that he is retiring as a professional cyclist after a nine-year career.
Slovakian Velits turned pro the year after his Worlds victory along with his two brother Martin, when they signed for Milram. He would go on to race with Team HTC-Columbia and Omega Pharma-Quick Step before signing for BMC Racing Team in 2014.
In 2010, Velits won a stage of the Vuelta a Espana, before finishing 2nd overall behind Vincenzo Nibali, becoming the first Slovakian cyclist to finish on the podium of a Grand Tour.
The 31 year-old was also a member of the winning team at the UCI TTT World Championships on three consecutive years (2012-2014). In addition, he won the Tour of Oman overall in 2012 as well as taking victories in the Grand Prix de Fourmies / La Voix du Nord (2007) and the Grand Prix du Canton d’Argovie / GP Gippingen (2009).
“For two years, I wasn’t feeling well,” he told Sport magazine. “After an operation last spring on an artery in my leg, I could not get back a specific level and did not get the results I was looking for.”
