Victor Lafay still seriously considering retirement: "Easier to stop when you’re on top form than when you’re struggling and already forgotten"

Victor Lafay is a very talented however one who is also realistic about his time and outlook on a pro career in cycling. The Frenchman, winner of a stage at the 2023 Tour de France - and man who followed Pogacar and Vingegaard on the previous day, is 50-50 about ending his career and the decision may come after the Tour of Guangxi where he came close to victory today.

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s easier to stop when you’re on top form than when you’re struggling and already forgotten,” the Frenchman told Domestique. “It wouldn’t be bad to go out at the top. If I stop, it will be to do other sporting projects, so it’s better if I’m not physically ruined.”

Lafay is a rider that on paper, still has a lot he can deliver to the cycling world, but it will ultimately be about what he desires to do. The 29-year old does not yet currently have a contract for new season however it is reported that he has offers from several teams.

If he will retire or not is still an undecided topic at the time being. “I wanted to take a decision before coming here, but circumstances have meant it’s taken a bit of time. So I’m really at 50-50.” After a lackluster season and a large break from April to August, the signs were not positive, however his form has been growing quite a lot and at the Tour of Guangxi today, he arrived second at Nongla and an overall win could've potentially changed his mind completely.

“We wanted to play with our numbers, but we lost Aurelien Paret Peintre just before the bottom of the climb, and he was the card we wanted to play, along with me,” the Frenchman said in words to Domestique. “UAE maybe played a bit too much, attacking in all directions. It’s a bit of a shame because I think I had the legs to win.” Tactics ultimately meant that the early attack from Paul Double would go on to succeed, whilst the rest were left fighting for second. And that was Lafay exactly, thriving in the short explosive climb which ordinarily suits his abilities the best.

“I had really put it in my head to give it everything from the left-hand corner. Last year, I saw it wasn’t that steep, so I put it in the small ring in front, and I anticipated the others. I wasn’t sure if someone was still ahead, but I could see a motorbike in front so I guessed there was, and then I saw the Jayco rider".

But Lafay admits that struggled to read the race at that point in time, and ultimately had to settle for runner-up on the day, and most likely the overall classification as a whole. “He must have done a big effort to get a lead like that, so I don’t know if I had the possibility to do better. But if Aurelien hadn’t fallen, he might have been able to ride in the moment where the race was lost…” However with a steep climb being ridden on multiple occasions in the final stage, there is still the opportunity to change things around, and this could ultimately benefit the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale.