Alessandro Petacchi has announced his retirement from the peloton at the age of 41.
Petacchi who had been riding for Italian team South East, is a former Omega Pharma Quick Step and Lampre rider who has been in the peloton since 1997.
A glittering career saw him record 48 Grand Tour stage victories - 22 in the Giro D'Italia, 20 in the Vuelta a Espana and six in the Tour De France.
However, when, Petacchi was forced off his bike during stage twenty of the Giro D'Italia, he knew it was time to quit and told TuttobiciWeb.it: ". "I'm not well yet, the virus that knocked me on the hills in the Giro have not yet eradicated completely and so it was not appropriate to make such a trip if not then you can to ensure at least an honorable performance.
"So that's it. It is from June 9 that i will no longer climb on a bicycle.
"For a while, I thought: 'I will not go to the Vuelta a Venezuela, because I feel tired and devoid of stimuli. For the first time in my life, I feel nausea, I really want to disconnect mentally. In life there are moments when you feel you need to do things, probably my time has come now.
"I especially want to recover and reflect on what I can do when you grow. I have a couple of interesting proposals, and this is the right time to examine them and make certain decisions. Now I will devote my time to the family, to my baby Alessandro junior and if I have to play sports, because I'm still not sure, I will concentrate on tennis. I want to do something else.
"No, my farewell was at the Giro. that day for me was particularly sad and full of emotions that will always carry in my heart. I repeat, it's okay. I ran a lot, won a lot, now I no longer want to ride without goals. Now just I feel that it's time.
"For being a great sprinter I was also too slow to make certain decisions, but I waited for the moment when I felt within me a signal loud and clear. Now I feel it is right to do what I set out to do. And I do it with no regrets. "