Lauren Tamayo (UnitedHealthcare) crossed the finish line at the US Criterium Championships with a one-arm salute after pushing a late-race breakaway and then securing the victory in Greenville, South Carolina. With the stars-and-stripes jersey still fresh on her back, she made a surprise announcement that she would be retiring after a nearly 20-year career in women’s cycling.
“I had been thinking about retirement for a while, and I knew coming into the season that this would be my last,” Tamayo told Cyclingnews days later as she boarded a flight to the Joe Martin Stage Race from her hometown of Asheville, North Carolina.
“I’m 32, and I know that that isn’t that old, but I’ve been racing for 20 years, and professionally for 15. I’ve done track and road Worlds, and all the major races in Europe, gone to the Olympics and won a medal - I’ve achieved just about everything that I can imagine in my career.
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“I’m at that point in life where I’m ready to do something else, take on new challenges, and not have cycling consume my life anymore.”
Tamayo grew up just outside of Allentown, Pennsylvania, and found her roots in bike racing at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome (now called the Valley Preferred Cycling Center) in nearby Trexlertown. As a youth rider, she mixed track and road racing, which gave her valuable skills when she finally made the transition to a professional road team at 18 years old.
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