Eleven years after he made his professional debut with the Mapei team, British rider Charly Wegelius has announced that he is to end his time as a pro rider. The 33 year old was regarded for several years as one of the best mountain domestiques in the peloton, dragging the bunch along for his team leaders in races such as the Giro d’Italia. He was a solid 29th in the 2010 edition of the race.
During his career, Wegelius competed with some of the top teams in the sport. He spent three years with Mapei Quick step, two with De Nardi, four with Liquigas-Bianchi and two with Silence-Lotto. His last pro team is United Healthcare, with whom he competed in 2011 and in whose colours he will finish things up on Saturday.
“After 11 years as a professional rider, I've decided it is the right time for me to end my racing career and begin a new phase of my life,” he said in a statement. “My last race will be the Giro di Padania this week in Italy. It's perhaps a strange race to say goodbye to the peloton but I think it is fitting that I end my career in Italy, where I did so much of my racing.”
The Giro di Padania begins tomorrow in Paesana and ends next Saturday.
Reflecting on his career, Wegelius listed finishing ten Grand Tours as one of the main points. He competed two Tours, placing 45th and 59th, seven Giri d’Italia and one edition of the Vuelta.
“During my career I did what I could as a rider, always trying to give my best for my team and my teammates,” he said. “I think my work was appreciated and made a difference, especially in races like the Giro d'Italia.
“One of the my proudest moments in that sense came at the 2006 Giro when I read in Gazzetta dello Sport that Eddy Merckx said his son Axel would have won the previous day's stage to Peschici if he'd had a teammate like me to help him. It was nice to hear such praise from some one like Merckx.
“Of course I've got a few regrets and wish I could have done some things differently but I'm proud of my career. One of the big regrets is that I never won a race. I was part of three team time trial winning teams [Giro d’Italia, Settimana Ciclista Bergamasca and Settimana internazionale di Coppi e Bartali – ed.] but that is not like winning alone. I went very close this year at the Vuelta Asturias on a mountain finish but finished third after Constantino Zaballa passed me in the final kilometre.”
Wegelius’ near misses extend back to his amateur career when, in 1999, he was second in the European championship, second in the Tour of Slovakia and third in the under 23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège. In 2005, the-then Liquigas rider finished second in the mountain time trial at the Vuelta Ciclista a Aragón, clocking a time 20 seconds behind Ruben Plaza. He ended up third overall in the event.
He thanked a number of people, listing Mike and Pat Taylor, coach Ken Matheson and the late Aldo Sassi. “Sadly…the person I'm most indebted to is not here,” he said about the Italian, who ran the Mapei centre and coached riders such as Tour de France champion Cadel Evans. “He was my coach but so much more and I'm proud to have been one of his riders. He was always there for me, even when things were hard and I was despondent and unsure about my future. I'll never forget him.”
Wegelius is still relatively young at 33 years of age, but believes that physically he’s had enough. “I'm going to miss racing but my body knows it is time to call it a day” he said. “I'm looking forward to spending much more time at home in with my wife, Camilla. Fortunately I'll also be staying in the sport and an announcement about that will be made soon. I'm as excited about my new life as I was about turning professional in 2000.”