On my terms, when the time is right for me.
Just over a week ago it was officially announced that I am retiring from Professional cycling.
I am really happy to be retiring from professional cycling with a passion for the sport still with me and a drive and curiosity for the next chapter of my life. My decision has taken some time, I contemplated my thoughts over a couple of months and gave myself varied opportunities to consider different approaches but ultimately arrived at the same mindset, that it is time to hang up my wheels.
I have had a decade long career with five different professional teams from 2012 to 2021, As well as 3 years part of the Australian Institute of Sport squad previous to this. I learnt and grew in each environment and I am grateful for each and every experience, both the good and the bad as they have made me into the person I am today. This really has been a journey physically, mentally and emotionally over the past decade and a few memories that stand out for me are; My first Australian team back in 2007 for the junior worlds in Mexico, I was lucky enough to be teammates with Carlee Taylor. While we have never been teammates in a professional team, I consider her to be one of my best friends and probably the one person who has been on this journey with me from start to finish.
Signing for my first pro team – Rabobank for the 2012 season and achieving my biggest cycling goal – ‘To ride for the best team in the world’. Racing with Rabobank along side some of the worlds best and experiencing being part of the Giro winning team was surreal. In 2013 I had to opportunity to learn more from Giorgia Bronzini and Linda Villumsen and also race my first Elite World Championships for Australia in Italy.
From 2014 to 2016, I rode with Hitec Products. I cannot thank Karl and Tone enough for their support and opportunity over these three seasons, I think this period of my career is where I was most successful as a rider in terms of personal performance and that is probably down to the opportunity to be lead by the best captain in the business, Tatianna Guderzo. Tati is the best team mate I ever rode with hands down, the dynamic she created with the core group of riders at Hitec lead to our team punching well above its’ weight on the results sheet.
In 2017 I moved to WM3 Procycling and began to apply what I had learnt from Tati as team captain, racing once more with Marianne and having the opportunity to race alongside Kasia. In 2018 I moved to FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope, here I believe I found my home. The team manager Stephen Delcourt is driven and opportunist, this mentality is contagious and exciting. I am proud to have ended my career here where I took on the captain’s role, on and off the bike and really enjoyed working with the younger French talent and seeing the squad move to World Tour. I look forward to seeing FDJ continue to step forward under Stephen’s guidance.
The next step for me is going to be in a career of Town Planning, I am super excited to dive into this world. I love the problem solving aspect and the multiple moving parts to this profession and look forward to getting stuck in, but first I’m going to take a breath for a minute and reflect on the past 13 years. I’m going to keep riding, but maybe just a bit slower with a few more photo stops.
Happy Pedalling!
