Cadel Evans announces retirement plans

The 37-year-old, who won the Tour in 2011, told a news conference from the world championships in Ponferrada, Spain, that he would call it quits after riding Tour Down Under and the inaugural Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road one-day race on Feb. 1.

"The chance of winning another Grand Tour is probably past me, something I have to accept. Now is a good time to say stop," said Evans, also twice runner-up on the Tour in 2007 and 2008.

He won the world championships road race in 2009. He also took third place overall in the Giro d'Italia in 2013 and in the Tour of Spain in 2009, adding the prestigious Fleche Wallonne classic to his palmares in 2010.

"I knew I'd not be racing at 40, I had it in my mind that I'd never want to race at the high level at 40. I knew that it'd be before 40 years old that I'd stop, and now I'm at that period," Evans added.

The former world champion's star started to fade after last year's Giro when he failed in his final attempt to win the Tour, finishing a disappointing 39th.

This year he opted out of the Tour to focus on the Giro but could manage only eighth place overall, and he was never in contention in the Tour of Spain earlier this month.