Cycling: Lizzie Holden taking time to adjust to retirement

Manx pro rider brought career to an end last month

Manx cyclist, Lizzie Holden says it will take time to adjust after retiring from professional cycling.

The Island-born Women's WorldTour competitor called time on racing recently following the conclusion of the 2025 season.

The 2023 British elite women's trial champion says the last two campaigns have been challenging, including dealing with a number of injuries this year and an Epstein-Barr diagnosis in 2024.

Holden told Manx Radio why now feels like the right time to be stepping away from the sport:

At the tail end of the latest campaign, the Island athlete signed off on her pro cycling journey with UAE Team ADQ at the Tour of Guangxi in China on 19 October.

That final appearance came not long after she'd spent over a month out due to injuries sustained in a crash on the Simac Ladies Tour in early September.

Overall, along with the 2023 British time trial success, Holden also secured two top-ten UCI race finishes during her career, finishing fourth in the Lotto Belgium Tour and seventh in the Thuringen Ladies Tour in 2022.

During that same year, she was also part of the Isle of Man women's cycling squad which contested the women's road race and time trial events at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

For three years running, Holden was also a competitor in the Tour de France Femmes, first with Le Col Wahoo in 2022 and then with her most recent team, UAE Team ADQ in 2023 and 2024.