Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Liberty-Würth) announced yesterday that he will retire from elite competition at the end of the season. The 31 year-old Spanish rider has worn both the golden jersey in the Vuelta a España and the maillot jaune at the Tour de France, and spoke with Spain's TVE after today's stage in Burgos.
When asked for the reason behind his decision, he said: "I'm going home. I got my ideas very clear. They [older riders who don't think of retirement such as Roberto Laiseka, who is 36] have a career; I had a different kind of career. I think my period is over and this is it."
Added Gonzalez de Galdeano: "It's a bit of everything. I always fought for big goals and when my mind told me these goals started becoming difficult, I decided to abandon all this." Also asked if his decision was irrevocable, he replied: "Every decision must go to the end and this is my way of being."
Gonzalez de Galdeano's other successes include winning the Tour of Germany and the Spanish time trial championship in 2002, winning a bronze medal at the World Time Trial Championships that same year, winning the fastest stage ever in the Vuelta in 2001, and finishing second and fourth overall in the Vuelta in 1999 and 2003.
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