Meyer ends her pro cycling career

Vivienne Meyer (Colnago-Südtirol) announced her retirement from professional mountain biking. Her last official competition was the UCI Cross Country Mountain Bike World Championships in Saalfelden, Austria, where she finished 15th in the U23 category.

Meyer competed in various race circuits for the last 12 years and participated in six world championships. She joined Colnago-Südtirol in 2009.

In 2008, she claimed all junior national cycling titles including road, cyclo-cross, and mountain bike. She also finished seventh in the 2011 U23 world championships in Champery, Switzerland, and had numerous top 10 results in the U23 category at World Cups the past few years.

Nonetheless, finding a balance between her sporting career and her education has been a challenge for her over the past two seasons, and she cited this as the reason for her retirement.  She will now put her main focus toward her studies in psychomotor therapy with the aim of being able to help children in the near future.

In her retirement announcement, Meyer said, "I do not want to focus on a cycling career with a high school education only. Mountain biking was always important in my life, but there were other things as well which counted in my life. Mountain biking was not only a sport for me, but a school for life also.

"Now I am at the point where my performance is not the most important anymore. I want to take care of other people and spent more time with my family and friends. My experiences made, as an elite mountain biker will always be part of me, but now it is time to start a new area in my life."

Her team thanked Meyer for her performances and achievements and said it regretted her loss, but understood and respected her decision.

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