Fairly to retire after Tour of California

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Caleb Fairly, 29, will hang up his racing wheels at the end of the Amgen Tour of California, Team Giant-Alpecin announced today. The American is expecting the birth of his first child.

Fairly came to the decision after discussing with his family. “The past 10 years spent racing bikes has been an incredible journey,” Fairly said. “I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to race my bike at the highest level of the sport. I will end this chapter of my time in cycling far richer for the incredible people I’ve gotten to know and work with. A huge thank-you to all my teammates and every staff member who joined me along the way. You are the ones who made this journey so amazing."

Fairly, a domestique for teams such as Giant-Alpecin, Garmin, HTC-Highroad and Spidertech, scored his biggest victory in the 2010 Tour of the Battenkill, when he rode away from the peloton to win over Floyd Landis by nearly two and a half minutes. But largely he's been one of the sport's essential background forces, supporting his teammates in races that included two Grand Tours.

“I will be forever appreciative to the team owners who afforded me the opportunity to race for their teams, including Iwan Spekenbrink. Now, I will take some time to enjoy the birth of our first child after California with my wife, and I am very excited to begin the next phase of my cycling career.”

Rudi Kemna said the team supported Fairly's decision. “He has been part in Team Giant-Alpecin’s major successes and has offered a great deal of experience to the team. It was a pleasure to watch his commitment and passion towards his teammates and to the sport that he has given so much to, and we want to thank Caleb for that. We understand everything must come to an end at some point and we wish him all the best for the future and in his career.”