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news
Tony Martin at 2021 World Championships (Copyright Simon Wilkinson, SWpix.com)“I just didn't feel safe in cycling anymore” – Tony Martin opens up on why he’s retired
Tony Martin has said that his decision to retire from racing is because he “just didn’t feel safe in cycling anymore,” outlining his concerns over rider safety after helping Germany to a surprise gold medal in the mixed team time trial in the UCI Road Cycling World Championships in Bruges today to clinch the fifth rainbow jersey of his career in what is his final race.
His previous four, secured between 2011 and 2016, came in the individual time trial, and the German finished sixth in that event on Sunday as Italy’s Filippo Ganna retained his title.
In a press conference after today’s victory, he spoke of how he had chosen the world championships as the end-point of his career, saying that given the atmosphere he had experienced at the event and his past successes made it a fitting place to hang up his wheels.
But Martin, who still had a year to run on his contract with Jumbo-Visma, went on to give a damning critique of the safety of the sport, which he maintains is now worse than it was a decade ago.
It was a point he made in a statement released via his team on Sunday when he announced that he was retiring, but he expanded upon it today, saying that he wanted to stop racing “before something really serious happens to me.”
He said he had highlighted safety in the statement announcing his retirement because of what he saw as the difficulty of getting officials to listen to riders on the issue.
“I started fighting for this a long time ago and what I can say now is that nothing changed, you see all the bad crashes that happen,” he said.
“There are more now than 10 years ago, it shows that nothing happens, more the opposite way.
“I can just ask the federations to keep an eye on it and work hard on this, it won't influence my career anymore but it will influence all the young riders that have wanted to ride their bike for many years and I hope something will change and we won’t see these massive bad crashes anymore.”
Martin, who abandoned the Tour de France in 2015 while in the yellow jersey after a breaking his collarbone 1 kilometre from the end of Stage 6 – he was shepherded across the line by his then team mates at Etixx-Quick Step, but could not continue – was taken away on a stretcher at this year’s race following a crash on Stage 11.
A key lieutenant for Primoz Roglic at Jumbo-Visma often seen setting the pace at the front of the peloton, he sustained a broken elbow at Paris-Nice in March this year.
“Two times I was lying in the ambulance on the way to the hospital,” he said today, “full of blood and full of pain, at 36, and the dad of two daughters, you start questioning if it’s really worth it, what are you doing here?
“For me, I just didn't feel safe in cycling anymore, to be honest. I'm older, and after a few bad crashes you start thinking [about it] more than the young guys, that’s for sure.
“Racing wasn't really fun for me anymore, always thinking about crashes, avoiding crashes, I think also in the way the riders ride the race, the way they take more risks, the way that finals start way earlier, that changed, and I really realised that racing doesn't make this fun anymore than when I started racing.
“I still have passion for cycling , training, time trialling, giving 100 per cent, but I had no passion anymore for taking risks in the races and that’s why I'll say goodbye now before something really serious happens to me. That’s the main reason,” he added.
Besides his five rainbow jerseys, Martin’s palmares include five stage wins at the Tour de France and two at the Vuelta, 10 German national time trial championships, and overall victories at stage races including Paris-Nice in 2011, as well as the Eneco Tour and, twice, the Volta ao Algarve.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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11 comments
hour record, go go go
I don't think radios help. All DS's shouting to the riders to be at the front in 3kms for a turn, hill, narrow section etc etc.
Radios are often defended as being a safety feature but except in occasional circumstances I'm not so sure.
Modern pro's don't know any other way to race and DS's want the control so they will naturally want to keep radios but I would like to see it tried a bit more without like back in the days of Hinault and before. Road Captain had to be good and if a break went you had to know who was in it. Nowadays DS just tells the riders to ride at a certain pace and know exactly when the break will be caught. (usually
)
Whilst I get Tony Martin's point, and empathise with his feelings, it feels like a is modern bike racing riskier than it was say 10 years ago style debate needs data to back it up, how many crashes/injuries have there been and attributed to what this year ?
For instance one of Tony Martin's trips to the tarmac this year was because of an idiot spectator trying to get 5secs of fame on the tv.
I did wonder that, after all Martin himself had to withdraw from the Tour in 2012 with a broken wrist, had another big Tour crash in 2013 leaving him with concussion and lung contusions and had to abandon in 2015 while in yellow with a broken collarbone. It's a well-known fact that humans tend to become more risk averse with age and with parenthood, it may be that his perceptions have changed more than the actual level of danger.
However, there is no denying that this year was bad for crashes; one interesting theory I did hear on Eurosport commentary was that teams were simply looking for individuals with the best figures in terms of w/kg, VO2 max etc and throwing them into the fray without any real consideration of their handling capacities.
But I remember the Team Sky documentary about the lead upto 2012 TdF, so they must have used footage from 2010 or 2011 race,not sure on that, but there was a whole bit about crashes & to win the race you had to survive the first week physically intact and its visually shown from the DS car and you just keep hearing crash after crash after crash on the race radio and them showing the crashes and picking up riders many having to abandon with broken bones, fixing bikes etc, and they ask why so many crashes and literally Skys answer was C'est la Tour. It was expected due to the volume of riders, who hadnt hit a relaxed rhythm for the race,lots of nervous energy & desire to show what they could do, & easy to touch wheels on often narrow roads equals lots of crashes.
Was this years race that different?
It might feel different, as you say age & experience brings certain responsibilities to the fore in your mind that mean risks are more pronounced for you.
But that's why I'd like to see real data on it to compare, rather than rely wholly on feel.
Having been laid up since the beginning of August recovering from an emergency operation, I have spent a hell of a lot of time watching Eurosport and catching up on all the cycling I have missed. Loads of one day races, tour of Germany, Slovakia etc etc, and I have seen very few crashes. Is it just the Tour where we see massive crashes?
Or do riders risk more, because it is 'The Tour'?
First week always has a lot of tension.
Jittery.
I think if one of the leading and most experienced riders in the world is saying as such, we can probably avoid spending an eternity gathering / interpreting data. to confirm what is looking fairly obvious to many.
I watched the tour this year and on the stage Caleb Ewan crashed out, I remember lamenting to a friend that this was no longer sport. It was ridiculous.
The impression I get from his statement is not that cycle racing has gotten riskier, more that he no longer wants to take the risks. It is more about the point that he is at in his life and his career. To be competive in any kind of race (or in life in general), you need to take risks - sounds like he's achieved what he has wanted to and the benefit no longer outweighs the risks.
I agree with you, and I totally empathise with him on that, it's a very common thing to hear often in motorsport, but you can see people are already trying to use it as Tony Martin says the modern peloton is too risky to ride in.
But I do also recall Sean Kelly's(ex pro rider turned broadcaster) answer to Orlas question after those early crashes at the Tour this year was bike racing more risky now and delivered in his inimitable style his one word answer was...No.
Sean Kelly? His one word answer must have been "Yes, well, no."