Zdenek Štybar , the Czech superstar who transitioned from cyclocross to road racing, has confirmed that his WorldTour road racing career is over. The 37-year-old posted a message on social media confirming that the Gree Tour of Guangxi will be his last professional road race.
The last WorldTour race of my career. Not quite what I expected, but life would be boring if we could plan everything, right? Now is the time to sit back and think about the future – Zdenek Stybar
The Arctic Race of Norwegian was the Czech runner's first race after surgery for iliac artery endofibrosis in May. After joining Jayco-AlUla in January, Štybar has only raced at the Saudi Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico this spring.
After underperforming in the spring classics, the medical team decided it was time to operate on him. After a series of other health issues, including COVID-19 bouts and heart arrhythmia surgery in 2021, Štybar had surgery on his legs due to bending of his arteries. He had it in both legs.
Although he didn't win one of cycling's monuments, he won races such as Strade Bianche and E3 Saxo Bank, as well as winning stages at the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. Štybar joined the WorldTour in 2011 with Quick-Step and joined Jayco-AlUla on a one-year contract for 2023.
He still hasn't decided what he will do in the future.
