Russia’s Alexander Kolobnev has announced his retirement at the age of 35 in a message on his personal website, where he admits ending his career is a painful moment in his life.
The Gazprom-Rusvelo team revealed its roster before the holidays and Kolobnev was no longer part of the team. A professional since 2002, he only won four races but finished second twice in the road race at the World Championships and was second in the 2010 Liege-Bastogne-Liege. He was also Russian national champion on two occasions.
“If you want to have the extra energy to sprint for the finish line, you should train hard, tirelessly, and for a long time, and be focused on the target. It is easy to achieve that at the beginning of your career, but when you are a professional cyclist for more than 16 years the target often runs off," he wrote, adding: "This is the moment.
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“Oleg Tinkov said to me recently in a chance meeting: 'It’s time to prepare yourself for real life, and the sooner you realise it, the more manageable the transition will be'.
“The feeling that you will just be replaced by younger riders could be similar to the feeling that a woman has when she realises she is not as young and attractive as before when she sees young and beautiful ladies passing by. The rupture with sports is comparable with the split from a special person.”
Highs and lows of a long career
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