Olympic and former world champion Lisa Brennauer to retire this month

Velo News

The peloton is set to lose another big name this year, with Lisa Brennauer deciding to call it a day after this month's European Championships in Munich.

The 34-year-old German rider won the world time trial championships in 2014, took Olympic gold last year in the team pursuit and was also part of the victorious Velocio-SRAM squad which won three world team time trial titles between 2013 and 2015.

Having raced the first Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in recent weeks, the Ceratizit WNT rider believes that the timing is right now to end a 14-year pro career.

"There wasn't one special day where I suddenly thought, 'I want to stop cycling.' Rather I think it's a process I've been going through over the last years, and thinking about my future and other plans I have in life. Now, I am at a point where I feel like the time is right for me.

"Munich is going to be a great event for my final race, being very close to home in Bavaria. So there are a lot of family and friends who can come and see me. I figured it's the perfect race I could wish to finish my career at."

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Brennauer's many success also include overall victories in The Women's Tour, the Holland Ladies Tour, the Thuringen Rundfahrt plus the Challenge by La Vuelta event in 2019 and 2020. She was part of the victorious German mixed relay time trial team in last year's world championships.

She is also a multiple national road race and time trial champion.

"I think that sport has formed me as a person," she said, considering her career and where she is now personally. "You're part of the team and you learn how to work as a team and to achieve goals together. It also teaches you how to get through the downsides of life in general, not only as a cyclist, and how to get back to where you want to be. I think that it has shaped me as a person and I'm very grateful about that.

"There are so many great moments in my career that I can look back on fondly. Of course, my very first victory came as a surprise when I became junior world champion in 2005, although I think that my most emotional victory was last year's Olympic Games where we won the team pursuit. But, there are so many nice moments throughout my career when I look back."

She thanked the Ceratizit WNT team for helping her to rediscover her passion for the sport at a time when she said she was at a crossroads. Her next role will be one with the German army.

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