Three days after he earned the Rouleur Combativity Award on the final stage of the Tour of Britain, securing the accolade with an aggressive ride, Simon Richardson has announced that he will retire from the sport.
The IG Sigma Sport rider has taken the decision at the young age of 29, opting to pursue a change in career rather than remaining in the peloton.
“I’ve been carefully considering my professional future over the last season, and this feels like the perfect moment to end this chapter of my career,” he said. “I’m proud of what I’ve achieved over the last few years and have enjoyed it wholeheartedly, but it is time for a new focus.
“Finishing at the Tour of Britain was a great way to round things off and winning the combativity classification in my final stage felt like a great acknowledgement and a perfect send off.”
A former mountain biker who won the British under 23 championship in 2005 and competed in the Commonwealth Games in the discipline, the moved across to road racing and competed with the
Plowman Craven-Evans Cycles and Rapha Condor teams prior to moving to his current team in 2010.
His biggest international result was winning the FBD Insurance Rás [now the An Post Rás] in 2009.
“I’m certainly going to miss the camaraderie of my team, and the fantastic support of everybody at Team IG Sigma Sport, but I’m excited about the possibilities that the next stage offers me,” he said.
Richardson will remain within cycling, starting work with the Shift Active agency from next month.