Robbie Hunter’s hopes of riding in 10 Tours de France will not be realised after he confirmed yesterday that Sunday’s final stage of the Tour of Britain will be his last as a professional.
Hunter had tweeted on Sunday night after the first stage of the Tour of Britain, “Guess it’s time to hang up the wheels. Sixteen years in Europe not a bad run.. now new things to look forward to. I’d happily race another year to do my 10th TDF and I know I got the legs but guess teams don’t think so.”
Yesterday, before he started the second stage of the Tour of Britain, Hunter said that, barring any late contract negotiations, he would not have a 17th season in Europe as a rider. Hunter said he and Garmin-Sharp had agreed to an extension of his current two-year contract, but that the team changed their minds.
“I’m disappointed, but that’s the way things can go in cycling, I suppose,” said Hunter, who turned 36 this year. “With teams closing, there’s a lot of cutting back. I still think I have a lot to offer after 16 years racing in Europe at this level. Age doesn’t mean as much as it once did in cycling. I know I still have the legs to ride for another couple of seasons at least. There are more and more riders going strong in their late 30s and even early 40s.”
Chris Horner, the American who won the Vuelta a Espana in Madrid on Sunday at the age of 41, is the oldest rider ever to win a Grand Tour. He is hoping for a two-year extension with Team Radioshack, who will become Team Trek next year. Jens Voigt, his German teammate, turns 42 today and will remain with the team for one more year. Hunter has been the most successful South African road rider, winning stages in all three Grand Tours, including, memorably, at the Tour de France in 2007. He was the first African rider to win a stage at the biggest race in cycling, and, indeed, to ride at the Tour de France.
Hunter started his professional career with Lampre-Daikin in 1999, before spells on Mapei-Quick Step, Rabobank, Phonak, Barloworld, Garmin-Transitions, Team RadioShack and Garmin-Sharp again. He was the South African champion in 2012. He was responsible for Barloworld signing 2013 Tour de France champion Chris Froome in 2008 and has played an influential role in the career of Daryl Impey, who became the first African to wear the yellow jersey at the Tour this year.
The news of Hunter’s retirement has been received with shock and no little dismay by many South African and international cycling fans. “Feels like just the other day you came to Europe,” tweeted Brent Copeland, the South African who helped Hunter when he first went to Europe.
On Sunday, as Hunter was contemplating his future, MTN-Qhubeka took third in the first stage of the Tour of Britain through Gerald Ciolek, while Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg (Argos Shimano), the young South African star, took eighth on the last stage of the Vuelta a Espana in Madrid. Janse van Rensburg is viewed as the next big thing to emerge from South Africa.
Hunter said he would consider his options for next year, with one of those staying at Garmin-Sharp as a team director. Hunter splits his time between South Africa and his home in Switzerland. He will return home at the end of this month and was looking forward to riding in the sun and the heat. “I won’t be missing weather like we had on the first stage (of the Tour of Britain),” said Hunter. “My new motto is that the bike comes out when the sun comes out.” - The Star