Canadian remaining in cycling in rider development
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Randell riding in Philly this year.(Image credit: Brian Hodes / VeloImages)
Sprinting away for victory at the national championships in 2002.(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
On the podium after winning a stage of the FBD Milk Ras in 2002. (Image credit: INPHO/Lorraine O'Sullivan)
In El Salvador with the Symmetrics team.(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
Andrew Randell (Spidertech p/b C10) has announced that he has ridden his last race as a professional bike rider, with the 37-year-old calling it quits after more than two decades of involvement with the sport.
Randell's biggest wins came in 2002 when he picked up the national championships in Canada and a stage of the FBD Milk Ras [An Post Ras]. Although he has primarily raced in the United States and Canada, he has been competitive in Europe in his younger years.
Randell has three times suffered career threatening injuries, but each time recovered to continue on. It took time to come to terms with the decision to retire but the Canadian felt that mentally and physically he knew he'd had enough.
"Cycling allowed me to travel the world and provided me with an education that will help me in the coming stages of my life," said Randell. "It is a lifestyle that I would recommend to anyone who has the heart to pursue it - it demands a lot, but the returns are tremendous. For me cycling wasn't simply about winning, it was a journey of discovery and growth.
"[But] it's time to take a more relaxed approach to cycling. It took a while for me to come to grips with this reality, but now I'm comfortable with the idea. I had some help with the transition: getting married to my lovely wife Janet and spending three weeks on our honeymoon made things a lot easier.
"My days as a professional cyclist are over."
Randell will be staying in the sport in a management/rider development role with his former team Jet Fuel/La Bicicletta. Having turned pro with Jet Fuel and raced with the team for five seasons between 1999 and 2005, he now hopes to repay some of the faith that team owner John Englar showed in him early in his career.
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"I always knew that this would be somewhere that I would come back to," said Randell. "Through all my years racing on other teams John always hinted that I should come back and get involved with the team. I will bring my years of experience to help with the team's mandate of developing Canadian racing talent."
The Canadian concluded by saying that he is finishing his career as a rider when the strength of cycling in Canada is at an all-time high.
