Chechu Rubiera announces retirement
José Luis 'Chechu' Rubiera will be racing his last professional race on Saturday, October 16, at the Giro di Lombardia in Northern Italy. The 37-year-old Spaniard has been in the pro peloton for 16 years, most recently riding for
Team Radioshack.
“I think it's time now to enjoy my family and spend more time at home,” said Rubiera. “I consider myself very lucky to have had the good fortune to do what I liked best during all these years. I enjoyed [myself] and did my job to the best of my ability.”
The Italian classic, an end-of-season race for many cyclists, will be the Spaniard’s last competitive race. He will close the curtain on his career on October 30 at the Oviedo Criterium.
He began his career with Kelme and moved through the US Postal Service team. He rode with Astana until leaving that team with Johan Bruyneel, Lance Armstrong and others to form Team RadioShack.
“I am proud to have worked with Chechu for ten years,” said Bruyneel. “We could always count on him as a team captain. His role was to guide the team on the road and to share his experience with all the young riders. I cannot count
how many hours Chechu raced in the front of the peloton.”
While at the USPS team, Rubiera supported Armstrong in five of the American’s seven victories at the Tour de France and went on to similarly contribute to Alberto Contador’s victory at the 2009 Tour. He has won two stages at the Giro d’Italia and finished
in the top ten in that race and in the Vuelta a Espana.
“I felt the love of many fans around me and I was proud to have such support with such a modest record,” said Rubiera.
“I hope that all fans will continue to enjoy cycling and that the difficult times we are undergoing now will soon be only be a bad memory. Hasta pronto. We’ll meet on the road. I’ll remain a cyclist all my life.”
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