American Joe Dombrowski announced that he is ending his career as a professional cyclist on Tuesday. The 32-year-old raced for Astana Qazaqstan for the past two seasons but the team did not renew him for 2024.
"After much thought, I would like to announce that I will be hanging up my wheels as a professional cyclist," Dombrowski wrote on Twitter.
"Thank you to everyone who has played their part in the journey. It has been a wild ride."
A winner of the Under-23 Giro d'Italia in 2012, Dombrowski turned professional with Team Sky in 2013 and after two seasons moved to the Cannondale/EF Education First team where he raced for five seasons.
He then spent two years with UAE Team Emirates, winning a stage of the Giro d'Italia in 2021. His best Grand Tour overall finish came in 2019 with 12th in the Giro.
"Eleven years and fourteen Grand Tours later, I count myself lucky to have lived this incredible journey; my dream from a young age," Dombrowski wrote. "As a pro, your daily life is structured in training blocks, training camps, and race days. It's really only since looking at everything retrospectively that I can find the words to contextualize.
"I rode in the top teams, I competed on the world's largest stage, and I had the honor to be a teammate of some of the sport's true legends."
Those legends included Mark Cavendish, Tadej Pogačar, Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas, Chris Froome, and Vincenzo Nibali.
Dombrowski based himself in Nice, France for much of his career, and wrote, "What I couldn't have imagined though, is all the intangibles which came along with that. I learned to live in a foreign country and speak another language. I cultivated friendships with people from all over the globe.
"And cycling gave me insight into how the best in their field get to the top, and the work it takes to stay there. All of these things gave me a unique perspective, and I got an education that money could never buy, adding "I actually did everything I ever dreamed of doing, and even more".
Dombrowski did not specify what his plans for the future entail, but wrote, "I know that part of my success as a cyclist comes from doing what I loved. Cycling also taught me that those that go the farthest in life, often love what they do, and know where they want to go.
"I do feel lucky that during my time as a rider, I developed a number of defined interests. I'm looking forward to exploring everything that interests me and soon enough it will be time to write another set of letters to myself."
