Just two days ahead of his 42 birthday, Fred Rodriguez, one of America’s longest-standing professional cyclists, announced that he will officially retire from the sport at the end of the season. He made the announcement on Tuesday at the opening press conference for the Tour of Alberta in Grande Prairie.
“I’m excited to be here. This is my last major stage race of my career,” Rodriguez told the assembled reporters at the Pomeroy Hotel. “I’ve been doing it at this level since 1992. I have had a long career, I’ve enjoyed it and I am excited to be here to celebrate that. The second stage is my birthday, so there are a lot of great things here for me to celebrate.”
Rodriguez signed his first professional contract with Saturn in 1996 and spent two seasons with the powerful American team before moving up the ranks to Mapei-QuickStep in 1999. He went on to race for Domo-Farm Frites-Latexeco in 2001, followed by one-year contracts with by Vini Caldirola-So.di and Acqua & Sapone. He spent his final three seasons in Europe racing for Davitamon-Lotto from 2005-07.
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His career included international stage wins at the Giro d’Italia, Tour de Langkawi, Tour de Luxembourg, Tour de Suisse, Tour de Rhodes, and numerous second places in races like Milan-San Remo and Gent-Wevelgem, both of which he finished behind Italian sprinter Mario Cipollini in 2002.
Rodriguez had become one of cycling’s national icons through his success abroad but perhaps more so for his wins in the US. He amassed four US road titles (2000, 2001, 2004 and 2013), and successes at top domestic races like the Lancaster Classic, Redlands Bicycle Classic, Philadelphia International Championships, Tour de Georgia, Reading Classic, Grand Prix of San Francisco and the Tour of Elk Grove.
The years that followed Rodriguez’s return to the US from Europe, however, were up and down. He spent two seasons with the controversial American team Rock Racing before being forced into what some had considered retirement at the end of the 2009 season.
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