Jan Bakelants says farewell after 14 years has a pro cyclist -" I stop at a time when things were still going well."

Jan Bakelants the 36 year old Belgium, announced his retirement from professional cycling Saturday, while talking to Sporza ,"I am quitting professional cycling. It is now official and it is time to let everyone know, it wasn't an easy decision and the process has grown," he announced.

"I didn't actively look for a team,If something came my way, I would have listened to it. There have been loose contacts, but I never really found myself in the terms. I decided a while ago, but I continued to live like a pro until now. It would be bad to change those habits right away too, but it's time to finish this chapter." he ended about his retirement decision.

Bakelants knew since the Tour that the team wouldn't renew his contract and after achieving a surprising and important stage victory Tour de Wallonie his decision was starting to mature.

Bakelants considered that victory has a "closure of a difficult chapter. After my bad fall in the Tour of Lombardy in 2017, I tried to win for a long time. I have often fruitlessly looked for that. That was my cross I had to carry and was quite heavy. But with this win, I shook that off. There were a lot of emotions involved." he stated.

Bakelants is still unsure about what he will do in his future, but a connection or being part of a team structure is a strong possibility,"It's no secret that the adrenaline of management appeals to me a lot, the broad horizon of managing a team and taking it to the next level, the search for pennies, the contact with the rider and building a career: that appeals to me tremendously.", he said.

Bakelants leaves with 7 wins secured throw out a 14 years career racing at high level where he distinguished himself has a rider to watch out on the hill stages.His best result was the 2nd stage in the 2013 Tour de France edition that lead him to wear the yellow for 1 day.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jan (@jan_bakelants)