Latest news with #LizzieDeignan
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Otley superstar confirms retirement after child announcement
REPORT: PA LIZZIE Deignan has announced her immediate retirement from professional cycling after sharing news that she and husband Phil are expecting their third child. The former world champion, 36, from Otley, had previously said 2025 would be her final season but has now called time on a career in which she recorded 43 professional wins, among them victories at Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Strade Bianche, the Tour of Flanders and the Women's Tour. Deignan took the world title in 2015, a Commonwealth Games gold medal in 2014 and Olympic silver at the London Games in 2012. After Deignan posted an image of a babygrow on social media, her Lidl-Trek team shared news of her retirement. Deignan took a career break in 2018 for the birth of daughter Orla, returning to win a second Women's Tour title in 2019 before her victories at Liege-Bastogne-Liege and La Course by Le Tour de France followed in 2020, and a brilliant solo win in the first Paris-Roubaix Femmes came in 2021. A second career break came in 2022 for the birth of her son Shea but, having previously considered retirement, Deignan said she wanted to race on in a support role for younger team-mates. 'Cycling is totally underestimated as a team sport, right?' Deignan said. 'I grew up in cycling and I've seen this massive shift that I'm so proud to be a part of, but the basics are the same. 'You start as a domestique, you work your way up, you become a leader. Often people say, 'Retire on the top.' But I have no ego or necessity to retire at the top. I'm really happy to go full circle and to have ended my career as somebody that helps other people win bike races again. 'I have this life outside of cycling that gives me so much fulfillment and so much love.' Deignan's last race was the Copenhagen Sprint last month, which came a couple of weeks after she competed in the Tour of Britain Women for the last time. Speaking to the PA news agency ahead of that race, Deignan said she was proud to have been part of an era of unprecedented growth in women's cycling. She said part of what had kept her racing on was the growth of new races that she wanted to be part of, having not had those opportunities earlier in her career. 'I think if I had retired any earlier than now I would have had regrets, definitely, sitting at home watching all these opportunities unfold,' Deignan said. 'I can be really proud and pleased with the last five, six years of my career where I've got to feel truly like a professional, to be respected and to have opportunities equal to the men.'
Independent Singapore
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Independent Singapore
'A new chapter': Former world champion Lizzie Deignan announces retirement from cycling due to pregnancy
Photo: INTERNATIONAL: Britain's former world champion Lizzie Deignan has recently announced her retirement due to the coming of her third child. The 36-year-old athlete, one of the leading and well-known figures in British women's road cycling, had initially intended to complete the current season, but changes needed to happen. Back then, Deignan paused her career twice for childbirth—in 2018 for her daughter Orla and in 2022 for her son Shea. Now, she is set to retire and focus on other aspects of her life. With her retirement, she said: 'I have this life outside of cycling that gives me so much fulfillment and so much love… Often people say, 'Retire on the top,' but I have no ego or necessity to retire at the top. I'm really happy to go full circle and to have ended my career as somebody that helps other people win bike races again.' On social media, the athlete shared the pregnancy to her fans with a caption: 'A new chapter in the Deignan story ❤️.' In another social media post, the UCI remarked: 'An icon of women's cycling retires. 🚴♀️ @l_deignan 🇬🇧 has announced she's expecting her third child, marking her immediate retirement from professional cycling. The 2015 UCI Road World Champion and one of Britain's most decorated and influential riders leaves an incredible mark on the sport. Congrats, Lizzie! 🙌' Netizens expressed their congratulations in the comments section by saying: 'A legend, will miss watching, congratulations on a mega career,' 'An exceptional rider .. champion and sportsman!!.. Congratulations Lizzie!👶🏼,' and 'Congratulations Lizzie ❤️ and thank you 👏.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by UCI (@uci_cycling) Lizzie Deignan's athletic career In her sporting career, Deignan won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Furthermore, her greatest achievement was at the 2015 World Championships, where she won the women's road race by out-sprinting Dutch cyclist Anna van der Breggen to claim the gold medal. She is also an advocate for gender equality in professional cycling, where women's races have historically received less attention than men's. With this news, Deignan told Cycling Weekly: 'I feel like I've carried the torch for quite a long time now, and it's really cool that there is now a group of women ready to take over.' Deignan has achieved 43 professional victories, including winning the first women's Paris-Roubaix in 2021, and other significant races like Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Strade Bianche, and the Tour of Flanders. Notably, her last win was in a team time trial at the start of La Vuelta Femenina in Spain. () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
NBC Sports
7 days ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Lizzie Deignan retires from cycling after announcing pregnancy
LONDON — British cyclist Lizzie Deignan, a former world champion who won the 'triple crown' of monuments, is retiring with immediate effect because she is expecting her third child. Deignan, who was the first British athlete to win a medal on home soil at the 2012 London Olympics, previously had announced that she would call it quits at the end of the season. But she brought forward her retirement, her team said. 'The Deignan family is growing,' the Lidl-Trek team said. 'The former world champion, who announced at the end of last year that 2025 would be her final season, has shared the joyful news that she is expecting her third child, a moment that subsequently marks Deignan's immediate retirement from the peloton.' The 36-year-old Deignan competed in her fourth Olympics in Paris last year and was 12th in the road race. She was successful on the track first and then morphed into a one-day race specialist. Deignan won the rainbow jersey at the 2015 world championships, one of her many professional road victories at the biggest races. She's won all three women's monuments: The Tour of Flanders in 2016, Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2020 and the inaugural Paris-Roubaix Femmes in 2021. Deignan put her career on pause in 2018 when she had her first child, and planned to retire earlier but was convinced to carry on by her team. She made a successful comeback in 2019, winning The Women's Tour in her first year back to top-level competition. She missed the 2022 season to welcome her second child before returning for a second time in 2023.
Straits Times
7 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Britain's Lizzie Deignan retires after announcing pregnancy
LONDON - Britain's former world champion Lizzie Deignan has announced her retirement with immediate effect after confirming she is pregnant with her third child. The 36-year-old has been the flag bearer for women's road cycling in Britain since claiming a silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics and had planned to see out the season. Her crowning moment came at the 2015 world championships when she won the women's road race in Richmond, out-sprinting Dutchwoman Anna van der Breggen for gold. "A new chapter in the Deignan story," the Lidl-Trek team rider posted on Instagram, alongside a photo of a babygrow. "I have this life outside of cycling that gives me so much fulfilment and so much love," she said. "Often people say, 'Retire on the top.' But I have no ego or necessity to retire at the top. I'm really happy to go full circle and to have ended my career as somebody that helps other people win bike races again." Deignan enjoyed 43 professional wins, including a stunning victory at the inaugural women's Paris-Roubaix in 2021. Other notable wins included Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Strade Bianche and the Tour of Flanders. She took a career break in 2018 after the birth of daughter Orla, and again in 2022 following the birth of her son Shea. Her final victory came during a team time trial in the opening stage of La Vuelta Femenina in Spain. Deignan, who also won a world title on the track in 2009 as part of Britain's team pursuit squad, has been a fierce advocate for equality in women's professional cycling, long overshadowed by men's racing. "I feel like I've carried the torch for quite a long time now, and it's really cool that there is now a group of women ready to take over," she told Cycling Weekly this year. REUTERS
CNA
7 days ago
- Sport
- CNA
Britain's Lizzie Deignan retires after announcing pregnancy
LONDON :Britain's former world champion Lizzie Deignan has announced her retirement with immediate effect after confirming she is pregnant with her third child. The 36-year-old has been the flag bearer for women's road cycling in Britain since claiming a silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics and had planned to see out the season. Her crowning moment came at the 2015 world championships when she won the women's road race in Richmond, out-sprinting Dutchwoman Anna van der Breggen for gold. "A new chapter in the Deignan story," the Lidl-Trek team rider posted on Instagram, alongside a photo of a babygrow. "I have this life outside of cycling that gives me so much fulfilment and so much love," she said. "Often people say, 'Retire on the top.' But I have no ego or necessity to retire at the top. I'm really happy to go full circle and to have ended my career as somebody that helps other people win bike races again." Deignan enjoyed 43 professional wins, including a stunning victory at the inaugural women's Paris-Roubaix in 2021. Other notable wins included Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Strade Bianche and the Tour of Flanders. She took a career break in 2018 after the birth of daughter Orla, and again in 2022 following the birth of her son Shea. Her final victory came during a team time trial in the opening stage of La Vuelta Femenina in Spain. Deignan, who also won a world title on the track in 2009 as part of Britain's team pursuit squad, has been a fierce advocate for equality in women's professional cycling, long overshadowed by men's racing. "I feel like I've carried the torch for quite a long time now, and it's really cool that there is now a group of women ready to take over," she told Cycling Weekly this year.
