Talented Spring Classics rider Scott Thwaites is considering an early retirement from professional cycling, revealing he is considering a job opportunity outside of the sport.
The 28-year-old Brit is out of contract with WorldTour team Dimension Data after two seasons with the South African setup and, despite offers from other teams, Thwaites may not return to the professional peloton.
Instead, the Yorkshireman hinted in a recent interview that he may enter an early retirement in order to pursue other opportunities.
Talking to The Yorkshire Post, Thwaites said that while he has been offered a ride at other teams there is also 'a really nice option working with a company I’ve had dealings with in the past.'
Thwaites has not been offered a contract renewal in 2019 by Dimension Data following a season marred by serious injury. A training crash in March saw Thwaites fracture several vertebrae, missing the majority of the Spring Classics and the chance of racing the Tour de France for the second time.
This time on the sidelines prompted Thwaites to consider options away from cycling, adjusting his outlook on both the sport and his own future.
'In the end, I just want to be happy with what I’m doing, especially after the accident. The main aim was being able to function in normal life again, to have a normal life outside, whether I cycle or not,' said Thwaites.
'There’s more to my life than cycling and I didn’t want cycling to take over. I also didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself to come back because my health was worth more than that.'
Thwaites also revealed that despite just three months away from racing the threat of not making a return to WorldTour level was real with doctors often reluctant to 'make promises' regarding his recovery.
However, thanks to successful surgeries and rehabilitation, Thwaites was able to return to racing quicker than expected.
'I think I was always fairly confident, and the surgeons were fairly confident, that I would be able to get back on a bike in some form but whether I’d be able to return to competitive racing at the same level was another question,' said Thwaites.
'But everything went really well and I had such a strong group of people around me. British Cycling helped out with a lot of the rehabilitation and that really helped. In terms of coming back to racing, it was all just a bonus really.'
Thwaites has largely gone under the radar for his steady performances over the last few seasons at both Bora-Argon and Dimension Data, securing swcond at the 2016 Le Samyn and top-20 finishes at Strade Bianche and the Tour of Flanders.