Sixteen months ago, Swedish champion Emma Johansson shared her plans to retire from professional road racing at some point in the months following the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Her retirement comments were part of a broader press release in which she revealed she had inked a two-year deal with Wiggle-High5 Pro Cycling.
On Thursday, the British-registered squad announced a 15-rider line-up for the 2017 season. Johansson was included on this roster.
“When I signed the two-year contract last year, I knew [team owner] Rochelle [Gilmore] wanted to keep working with me in one way or another," Johansson told CyclingNews. "That was the only very clear thing I knew about Rochelle’s objectives. For my part, I knew I wanted to do other things, other types of races – cyclocross races and mountain bike races and other things you can’t do when you’re going for the big goals."
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During Johansson’s final season racing full-time on the road, she finished second to Lizzie Deignan (née Armitstead) at Ronde van Vlaanderen and took her second silver medal at the Olympics Games. She won two stages at Euskal Emakumeen Bira and added two more Swedish national titles to her arsenal for a career total of 15 elite Swedish titles over 12 years.
The 33-year-old also learned the value of all she has to offer beyond personal performances and results.
"I've worked more with my younger teammates this year than I ever have in the past, and I realised how much I enjoy that experience," said Johansson. "Some of the younger girls have come to me for advice, and I like the feeling of giving my experience away."
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