Talansky makes his retirement official

[MattTuck]

A few flashes of talent that were fun to watch, but for a guy with the nickname (bestowed upon him by J.V., I believe) 'the pitbull', his results were pretty thin. Retiring at 28 years old too, arguably in the peak years for an endurance athlete... Don't know the whole back story, he's certainly had some crashes, injuries and other setbacks -- not to mention what is going on with Cannondale Drapac.

Mixed feelings on this one, for me. Seems like either a lot of potential left on the table, or the realization that there was more hype than substance.

[BobO]

I tried for years to be a fan of his and he kept coming up short with me. Then I saw him dig really deep in a TT last year while wearing the stars and stripes, it was a great effort. Pit bull makes sense in that context, he earned it. I hope his life after pro racing is happy, healthy and prosperous.

[tiretrax]

Agree with both of you. So much hype and not many results.

[earlfoss]

It's pretty widely accepted that he hasn't had the best career arc, but he's certainly a talented athlete. As with most of these stories there has to be a lot we don't know about which led him to this decision. I understand that in the past year or two he's had some family issues severe enough to impact his desire to train and race. For all we know he could have been struggling with depression or something equally terrible. In any case, I hope the guy finds satisfaction and success in life beyond being a professional cyclist.