Bike star calls it quits
“I won’t cry for the Olympics forever”
Austria's mountain bike sport is losing a figurehead in Gregor Raggl. The 32-year-old from Roppen is hanging up his bike after missing out on qualifying for the Olympics: "Los Angeles 2028 is simply too far away. I've long since decided that 2024 will be my last season."
"Never stop dreaming. If someone had told me 20 years ago that I would one day be able to pursue my greatest passion as a career, I wouldn't have believed it!" - Raggl announced his retirement with an emotional post on social media at the World Cup in Les Gets, France.
"It just wasn't meant to be"
The Games in Paris would have been the last big goal for the 32-year-old Roppener, but after Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2020, the cross-country rider has now narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Olympics for the third time: "It just wasn't meant to be, but I won't bemoan it forever."
It was a great time, in which I also earned good money with my passion.
Gregor Raggl
The father of two young daughters is rather proud of his career with top 20 places in the World Cup and European and World Championships: "It was never enough for the very, very top. But it was a great time in which I also earned good money with my passion."
Raggl is not putting the bike in the cellar for good just yet, in addition to the Ötztal Cycle Marathon, he will be riding two more races for the JB-Brunex team in the fall: "We're going to have two more nice weekends, the team is also closing at the end of the year."
Staying true to the sport
Raggl also wants to stay true to the sport as a coach: "I've already signed up for the relevant training courses." However, the Oberlander sees his professional future in his father Gerold Raggl's family business: "It was always my dad's wish that I would take over the business one day."
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