Gallery: Andy Schleck's cycling career in photos

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Andy Schleck in yellow after stage 19 of the 2011 Tour de France(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

Andy Schleck confirmed his retirement after ten years as a professional cyclist, at a press conference this Thursday.

During his time as a cyclist Schleck rode with only two teams. He spent his formative years with Bjarne Riis and the CSC team, before branching out to the Leopard Trek project (now Trek Factory Racing) where he has been since 2011. Schleck began in the shadow of his elder brother Frank, but first showed promise as a Grand Tour rider in his own right when he finished second in the 2007 Giro d’Italia. His last major success was also arguably his most impressive, when he mounted an audacious attack on the Izoard to take a stage win at the 2011 Tour de France.

Things took a downturn in 2012 when he broke his pelvis in a crash during the 2012 Critérium du Dauphiné and he was forced to skip the Tour de France. After the Dauphiné, Schleck would go onto abandon eight of the next 10 races he started. Since then, the younger of the two Schleck brothers has struggled to re-find his confidence and form in the peloton. His final race was this year’s Tour de France, where he crashed out on stage three, injuring his knee.