Its a sad day for the fans, Jamie's a top bloke and professional in every way no matter what kind of bike he rides.
I have no doubt that his new ventures will be a huge success.
Taken from his website....
www.jamiestaff.comI announce my Retirement
March 28th, 2010
Statement:
I’ve decided to announce my retirement from competitive cycling.
I’ve been racing for 27 years and have accomplished all my goals in winning World and Olympic titles at two cycling disciplines.
I now feel it’s time to pass the challenge on to the younger members of the Great Britain squad in the lead up to the London Olympics in 2012.
I feel that looking at the big picture I would struggle to compete with the best riders in the World at the London Olympics and be in a position to win the Gold medal again.
I wish to thank everyone at British Cycling for believing in me and giving me the best support an athlete could ever wish for. I especially want to thank Dave Brailsford, Shane Sutton, my coach Iain Dyer, my sponsors Sky + HD and all the support staff for being very professional, and being there when I needed them most.
I can honestly say that I have become a better person for being part of the British Cycling team and have had the time of my life, and for that I will be forever grateful.
I intend to stay within the sport of cycling as a coach. I am in the process of setting up a number of projects to help guide young athletes in the right direction and am also in the process of establishing my own bicycle company.
Over the last few years I’ve got involved with coaching young riders and I now feel that this is the direction I would like to take. Watching someone improve under your guidance is to me a wonderful thing, so if I can give the young riders of today a chance to compete at the levels I have then I would feel very proud.
I wish the team all the success in the future and have no doubt that they will be victorious in London.
If people wish to follow me in my new ventures then they can do so via my website at: Jamiestaff.com
I will be taking a short break from the racing scene, but will be back very shortly with my new and exciting ventures.
I also want to take this time to thank everyone who has ever helped me out in my career.
I am very happy and very content and so this is not a sad day.
Thank you,
Jamie