At the end of 2022, a 29-year-old Matt Holmes hung up his wheels after 11 years as a pro cyclist, the final three of which were at WorldTour level with Lotto-Soudal. The man from Wigan was simply not enjoying racing anymore.
“I stopped because I didn't really enjoy it that much last year,” he told Cycling Weekly. “I got a normal job, I did that for like four days. I was working for a sports travel agency, I was going to be an ambassador. It was just a job, to help pay my bills. I wasn't in a good place at the time, everything went wrong all at once. I just didn't know what to do for a long time. I somehow managed to pay my mortgage, just through reaching out to people and doing different things. It was a random year.”
