Hubert Schwab, Frank
Høj retire
Hubert Schwab and Frank Høj have announced that they won’t be returning to the peloton in 2011.
After coming out on top at the Gäu-Rundfahrt, Hubert Schwab has had enough of professional cycling. The Swiss rider has only been competing for six years, most of them with Belgium-based Team Quick Step,
but he has decided it is time for a career change.
"It was time for me to go for new goals in life, so I took up my studies again at the University of Basel,” said Schwab. “The Gäu-Rundfahrt seemed like the perfect career ending. The race was in my training
grounds and, with a difficult mountain top finish, tailor-made for me. To cross the line in first place at the last race is a very nice feeling."
He raced the event with team Price-Custom Bikes, a team which he only joined in August after spending most of the 2010 season with Vorarlberg-Corratec. The Gäu-Rundfahrt was led by an early breakaway,
but when that was absorbed into the peloton at the base of the final climb, Schwab jumped ahead, with Sven Schelling and Raymond Künzli in pursuit. He had the extra motivation necessary to win his final race on home soil, his first Pro victory since 2005.
"Already at the flat laps around Egerkingen, my girlfriend, my family and many friends were at the side of the road. They supported me loudly and with bells,” said Schwab. "Two kilometres from the line
I was able to dislodge my last companion, Künzli, and save a small gap to the finish."
He began his career in 2005 where he won the first stage of Vuelta a Navarra and led the stage race for three days. He rode with Quick Step from 2006 to 2009 but never took a victory with that team.
Høj has also announced his retirement. The 37-year-old former Danish national champion has been a professional cyclist for 16 years, and he recently sat down with Team Saxo Bank director Bjarne Riis to
discuss a contract for his 17th season. The discussions ultimately led Høj to the decision to put pro cycling behind him.
“I’ve reached saturation point. My legs have been through a lot, so it will be nice to be able to ride my bike without it necessarily having to hurt,” said Høj to the Danish press. “I’m going to start
off again from zero with a new career that has nothing to do with cycling.”
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