Antoine Duchesne’s second Tour de France was his last.
To everyone’s surprise, the 30-year-old cyclist announced his retirement from competition at the end of the season.
On the eve of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, he announced his intentions during a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
The 31-year-old on Monday has played nine seasons in the European peloton, including the last five in the WorldTour with the French team Groupama-FDJ.
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On July 24, Duchesne completed his second Tour de France at 61e rank, supporting his teammate David Gaudu to fourth place overall. He had become a father two months earlier.
In 2016, he lined up for the first time on the Grande Boucle with Direct Énergie, the second native of Quebec to achieve the feat. He also took part in two other grand tours, the Giro (2021) and the Vuelta (2015 and 2018).
An attacker by nature, he developed as a model teammate during his 10-year professional career, which began in 2013 with American continental team Bontrager.
Canadian road champion in 2018 in his hometown of Saguenay, Duchesne took part in the road race at the Rio Olympics in 2016. He participated in six world championships, including that of Louvain, last year.
He was selected for those of Wollongong, Australia, but a broken finger suffered in the Tour du Poitou-Charentes on August 24 forced him to forfeit.
The GP cyclists of Quebec, Friday, and Montreal, Sunday, will therefore be the last opportunity to see him with a bib on his back.
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