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Aussie Commonwealth Games gold medallist Dale Parker retires from cycling at age of 19

Teen training for London 2012 and who raced with RadioShack last season 'no longer feels passion for the sport'...

An Australian track cyclist who won gold in the team pursuit at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi last year and who was in training with his country’s track squad for next year’s Olympic Games in London next year has announced his retirement from the sport at the age of just 19.

Dale Parker revealed his decision to his friends on Facebook and told Adelaide newspaper The Advertiser that he no longer felt passion for the sport.

The paper reported that Parker had also said he did not want to disappoint people by carrying on with the sport when he no longer felt fully committed, and that he was looking forward to moving on with his life.

Parker made the headlines last November just a few weeks after winning that gold medal in Delhi when he was suspended by Cycling South Australia following a drink drive incident that left a friend of his seriously injured. He was subsequently banned from driving for five months.

He returned to racing this year with Lance Armstrong’s Trek-Livestrong Under-23 team, and won the time trial in this year’s Tour of the Gila, a performance that helped him earn a ride for RadioShack in August’s Tour of Utah alongside Levi Leipheimer and Janez Brajkovic.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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WolfieSmith | 12 years ago
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Seems to have had a bit of a confused time what with drink driving. Giving up because you don't have the passion anymore is one thing - giving up because you've lost passion at that point in time is another.

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notfastenough | 12 years ago
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Fair play for having the balls to stand up and say it. It is a shame though, a glittering career awaited.

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alotronic | 12 years ago
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Good on him! Takes guts to know yourself and take a big decision like that. Like every one of us who has given up racing, even at an amateur level, we know when we haven't got the drive anymore. When you stop enjoying it what's the point? It's just a job then...

Hope he can channel his obvious drive into something he loves, and also that he will find that he still loves riding his bike - I am sure he will!

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cat1commuter | 12 years ago
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Sad. Must be a huge talent to have achieved some big wins so young.

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