Katie Archibald, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion on the track, has decided to retire from elite-level competition, British Cycling announced on Tuesday.
In a Q&A published by British Cycling, Archibald revealed that a new passion has allowed her the motivation to take the leap to the "real world" of employment.
After so many years of success and battling against setbacks, Archibald said she was too scared to leave elite cycling until discovering her passion for nursing.
"I just finished my first placement a couple of months ago, and it feels so special being someone people can trust when they need help," Archibald said. "Part of that trust, of course, is knowing that nothing leaves the room unless they choose to share it. For that reason, I'm keen to step back from what little part of the public eye I'm in.
"In the early stages of my [cycling] career, I was sure I would never willingly walk away. I've been born in the right place at the right time with a talent that's let me make a job of something people do for fun - that's wild. I felt that giving this up before it was ripped from my hands would be irrational.
"At some point, though, I realised no one was going to rip it from my hands. I realised the decision would have to be mine, and I've found that truth quite hard to handle.
"The draw of the 'real world' has been pulling me for a while, but I've been too scared to leave the world I know and love and, ultimately, to let go of something I'm good at. Well, it's not a very clean answer, but now is the right time simply because I'm not scared anymore. I can't claim to know why that is, but for some reason, I only have a craving to live the life I've been saving for a rainy day, and no fear that I'll miss the sunshine. It's simply time."
Archibald can look back at a career as a pioneer in women's track cycling - being involved in setting ten team pursuit world records from 4:28.74 to the current mark at 4:02.8 in February, and as the winner with Laura Kenny of the first women's Madison at the Olympic Games in 2021.
"The women's Madison was only let onto the world and Olympic programmes in late 2016, and I feel proud that I'm one of the riders who has pushed that event forwards," Archibald said.
"It also feels good when my peers tell me it's been a privilege to have raced against me. I recognise that feeling, because I've had it myself competing against riders like Kirsten Wild and Laura Kenny, and it makes me feel like I've been doing things the right way."
Now, Archibald is ready to drop the pressure that goes along with being an Olympian: having an "Olympian's body, an Olympian's mindset, an Olympian's willpower".
"Since the 13th of August 2016 [Rio Olympic Games team pursuit final], I've felt self-conscious about having the title but not the other stuff.
"I'm looking forward to finding a new identity, and to inevitably feeling self-conscious when I don't live up to that one either."
Although she will no longer compete at an elite level, Archibald isn't turning her back on cycling altogether.
"I do love writing, though, so I'm continuing my regular column in Rouleur magazine," she said.
