Israel Start-Up Nation's Dan Martin announces retirement from professional cycling after 14 years in the saddle

Dan Martin will retire from professional cycling at the end of the season, his team Israel Start-Up Nation announced on Saturday.

Martin, 35, has had a long career as a professional cyclist after 14 years and moved to Israel Start-Up Nation two years ago when the team formed.

“These past two seasons with ISN have been some of the most enjoyable moments of my cycling career,” he said in a statement. “Together, we have achieved some incredible results that even I didn’t realize were possible such as my fourth in the GC at the Vuelta in 2020.

“Seeing the happiness those victories bought to so many people in this organisation was the best moment as they were truly earned by everybody,” he added.

“ISN really became like my family these past two years and leaving this group of people made my decision even more difficult. We’ve lived some incredible moments together from my first experience of Israel during our camp in December 2019 to the victories we have achieved.

“I am really grateful to team owners Sylvan Adam’s and Ron Baron for the opportunity to have been a part of this team and all the team sponsors for their support. A special thank you to all the team staff and riders whose great spirit made every moment together, even the tough times, special. I look forward to continuing the story in the next races and I wish the team the very best in the future.”

Martin led the team in four Grand Tours across the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He took the role of leader in last year's Tour de France just two weeks after one of many unfortunate fracture injuries in his career.

In 2020, he won a stage of La Vuelta a Espana, finishing fourth overall, and in May rode the Giro d'Italia for the third time finishing 10th in the general classification with a stage victory.

Team owner Sylvan Adams said: “I am truly sorry that Dan won’t be racing with us next year, but understand and respect his decision. Dan will always be a member of the ISN family. We wish him luck in his future endeavours. I hope Dan will get some great results to finish off a long and successful professional cycling career and wish Dan all the best with any upcoming endeavours!”

Martin joined ISN from UAE-Emirates in 2019, and has raced for a number of World Tour teams in the peloton in his career including Garmin Sharp in the early years alongside David Millar and Rohan Dennis, and moved to Quick-Step Floors for 2016 and 2017.

He has won five grand tour stages, the one-day Belgian classic Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and was Irish National champion in the 2008 road race.

In the 2017 Tour de France, Martin and Richie Porte collided heavily into a rock face on stage nine. Porte was out of the race with a broken collarbone and pelvis, while Martin who was lying in fourth in the GC before the crash, continued and eventually finished sixth in the general classification. Martin was seen being helped onto his bike at the start of multiple stages afterwards, and once the race reached Paris he was medically treated, and he discovered he had raced 12 stages with two fractured vertebrae.

The Irishman will race the up coming Tour of Britain and the Giro di Lombardia as his final races.