Maarten den Bakker of Team Skil-Shimano has called it quits, putting an end to his career right in the middle of the Deutschland Tour. He did not start in Wednesday's fifth stage. Before the fourth stage, "he said that this was his last race," teammate Thierry Hupond told Rad-Net.de.
The 39 year-old rider turned pro in 1990 with PDM-Concorde. He rode for TVM from 1993 to 1997, Rabobank from 2000 to 2005 and Milram in 2006. He joined Skil-Shimano in 2007. Den Bakker rode the Tour de France nine times in his career and was Dutch road champion in 1996 and 1999.
