Luis Ángel Maté’s last season among the professionals began this week on the AlUla tour. The cyclist, who spent most of his career with Euskaltel-Euskadi and Cofidis, confirmed in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca, his intention to hang up his bike at the end of this year, which will be his 17th in the professional peloton.
“Many years have passed and physically I am no longer the same as before”, he says. “In the end, you see that your friends retire. This year Rojas (José Joaquín) and Luis León (Sanchez), last year Alejandro Valverde… And you understand that your teammates, with whom it all started, are no longer there. Everything ends, that’s life. Furthermore, cycling today has changed a lot.”
New projects in sight
The Spanish cyclist guaranteed, however, that he will continue within the world of cycling even after retirement: “I’m looking forward to starting different projects, all related to sport. I already have a lot of ideas in mind.”