By Katharina Schulz
Former Danish champion and Tour de France stage winner Jakob Piil has decided to end his career. The 34 year-old from Odense has had a very unfortunate season, mostly due to an injury in his right knee. Despite a successful operation in July, the knee continued to give him trouble, so that he never really returned to racing top form. Therefore, T-Mobile did not renew his contract.
"You can say that this was one long fight. I would love to continue, if I felt that I was able to give my best. If I feel that I can't give it my all, I'd rather stop now and have a fresh start. I don't know yet exactly with what, I am still thinking about that," he said in a press release.
After his breakthrough year in 1999, Piil was signed by Memory Card-Jack & Jones, the team that later was to become Team CSC, and had some successful years in the 2000s. His biggest achievements was a Tour stage win in 2003, but he also won the Danish championship in 2001, the Peace Race, the Tour of Denmark, the Grand Prix d'Ouverture, and, last but not least, the 2002 Paris-Tours.
