Freire retires

[on3m@n@rmy]

Can't believe we don't have a Freire retirement thread yet. http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/gallery-freire-career-retrospective

Going to miss Oscar. What a great career! He will be missed!

 

[Marcus135]

Such a shame, he could have been competitive for a few seasons to come from the way he rode this season. I will certainly miss watching him in the classics. I really was hoping he would win the worlds so he would stick around for at least another year.

 

[Afrank]

Freire shouldn't be retiring at all, he should stick it out until he wins one more world championships so he can set the record of most wins at worlds.

I think he would have a good chance in Qatar.

 

[DominicDecoco]

Freire shouldn't be retiring at all, he should stick it out until he wins one more world championships so he can set the record of most wins at worlds.

I think he would have a good chance in Qatar.

Really? In 2016?

Thought it was a reasonable call for Oscar. But do we know he's off for good this time..?

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Really? In 2016?

Thought it was a reasonable call for Oscar. But do we know he's off for good this time..?

"For good" is an unknown these days it seems. From what he says it seems at least semi-permanent, which is about all we can say:

"I will not spend much time away from home so that I can enjoy time with my family," said Freire. "I won’t be competing anymore but cycling will always be part of my life. I’m sure I’ll still go to races but only to watch them. Who knows, I might be involved in cycling again in three or four years but now I need a break and not have to think about anything."

So at age 36 now, in 3 or 4 years if he comes back to cycling in an active role it will not likely be as a rider.

 

[shalgo]

There have been threads for previous reports, or rumors, of Freire's retirement:

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=15502

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=16979

 

[Angliru]

Freire shouldn't be retiring at all, he should stick it out until he wins one more world championships so he can set the record of most wins at worlds.

I think he would have a good chance in Qatar.

I think he is still capable of pulling the big wins in MSR, Paris-Tours and the WCRR. His effort in this year's Amstel Gold was one of the highlights of my season inspite of it ultimately not leading to him getting the win. I was on the edge of my seat hoping he had the legs make it to the line. The fact he finished 7th on a WC course as difficult as this years is proof enough for me.
Of course as has been stated in this thread and in the thread asking who would be missed the most between the recently retired Freire, Vino and Moncoutie (where Freire is sadly being shown little love or respect ), he's been retiring for the past 3 years. 2010 was to be his last year and many figured he should have retired in 2009. Well he won MSR and Paris-Tours inspiring him to postpone his retirement another year likely in hope of getting that elusive 4th WCRR win. One of my all-time favorite riders. I wish him much happiness.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

I think Oscar could still pull off some big wins too if he wanted to. Wish he would stick around for more, but maybe his family now is higher priority or he's just burned out.

 

[Afrank]

Really? In 2016?

Thought it was a reasonable call for Oscar. But do we know he's off for good this time..?

Sure, why not, after all if Jens Voigt can still ride and win in his 40's it should be easy for Freire to keep winning into his 40's.

 

[icefire]

Sure, why not, after all if Jens Voigt can still ride and win in his 40's it should be easy for Freire to keep winning into his 40's.

Yeah, he should join the likes of Voigt and Horner at RNST

 

[orangerider]

It's the right call. He's not as fast of a finisher as he used to be. Needed to target lesser races to be viable, which isn't his thing since he started winning big races from the get-go.

 

[53x11 in DC]

Thanks, Oscar. Damn fun to watch.

 

[Zam_Olyas]

Adiós al irrepetible Óscar Freire

http://www.biciciclismo.com/cas/site/noticias-ficha.asp?id=56403