Veteran of women's peloton, Mavi García says she still has room for improvement: "I think the day I decide to retire will be the one when I think I haven't got anything left to learn"

Mavi García, who will celebrate 41st birthday next January, may be the oldest rider in women's peloton, but end of her career doesn't seem to be anywhere near on the horizon. In fact, the Liv Jayco AlUla rider, who finished 9th at the Giro d'Italia Women this year, still sees room for improvement thanks to her late arrival to the sport.

"In this line of work at least, getting better is a never-ending process," García explains to Cyclingnews. "You're constantly realising things, improving things, finding out about the things you're doing badly, the things you're doing well. So maybe as a result of starting my career late, I never feel like I've got it all figured out. In fact, sometimes I think the day I decide to retire will be the one when I start thinking I haven't got anything left to learn."

"It's not just about simply riding your bike, either. Areas like racecraft and race strategy - you never stop learning and improving. There are always 1,000 things that you can look at and try and improve."

Given that García is still finding her upper ceiling as a racer, she says, "That pushes me on, keeps me motivated, particularly as my endurance level is still as strong as ever at least, and sometimes it's improving. So all it takes is a bit of fine-tuning in the other areas, and I know I can do better."

But for all retirement is just around the corner, and she is clearly not thinking too long and hard about it. "The end of my career is coming, but I don't want to put a date on it, it's not at all certain, particularly as I'm doing so well," is how García puts it.

"I still enjoy riding a bike, I don't do it just to see my name in the race program, or for the money. Training every day doesn't put me off. It's true that some people have an issue with that, but it's something I like, something I did even when I was not a full-time pro and working in other jobs. So I've always thought it was something good to do. Of course, I'm thinking about what I can do in my life beyond professional cycling. But as sport is always going to be part of it, right now things like the question of my age and continuing to race just don't matter."