Tom Dumoulin has announced his retirement from professional cycling, ending his career as of Monday.

The Dutchman, who won the Giro d'Italia and time trial world titles in 2017, had planned to retire at the end of this year, but has moved that up.

"I have decided to quit professional cycling with immediate effect," Dumoulin said in a statement.

"I realized I couldn't do it anymore. My tank is empty, my legs feel heavy, and my training sessions are not going as well as I would like."

Dumoulin has flirted with retirement since taking an unpaid leave of absence from the sport in early 2021. He returned that summer, winning the Dutch time trial title and a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, but his passion for life as a professional cyclist was never rekindled.

After abandoning the Giro d'Italia with a back injury, Dumoulin announced in early June that he would retire at the end of the season. But that was a step too far.

"About two months ago, I announced that I would retire from professional cycling at the end of this year. Last spring, despite my love of cycling, I realized that things were not going the way I wanted them to. I felt ready to enter a new phase of my life. But I still had one project left to finish my career with a flourish.

"I wanted to tackle the road to the World Championships the same way I tackled the road to the Tokyo Olympics. With a sense of freedom, at my own pace, fueled by team support and my own intrinsic motivation. That is what brought back the joy of cycling for me at the time."

." Explaining that his "tank is empty," he added, "I'm not sure how I'm going to get back on track. I had to interrupt my efforts to get back into my old groove again and deal with another disappointment. I've had enough."

In addition to his Giro d'Italia title and world title, Dumoulin was runner-up in the 2018 Tour de France, finished in the top 10 in the 2015 Vuelta a España, and retired at age 31 after breaking through as a Grand Tour contender.

A natural time triallist and GC contender, Dumoulin won 22 races in his 11-year professional career, starting with a Giro d'Italia win in 2017, followed by another impressive runner-up finish in the Giro and Tour in 2018. However, in 2019, he was unlucky to suffer a knee injury in his third Giro appearance, ultimately ending his season in June, when he broke his contract with Sunweb and moved to Jumbo-Visma.

The 2021 Dutch Time Trial Championship was supposed to be Dumoulin's last victory, but he was already coming to terms with the idea that he was better off outside the sport, and he took that step on Monday.

"Even if the breakup doesn't turn out the way I wanted, I can look back on my career with incredible pride," Dumoulin said.

"I worked hard for this career, had a lot of passion and joy over the years, and gave great performances. I will never forget that."

"Now it's time to enjoy other things and be around the people I love. I want to thank my team and everyone who has supported me throughout my amazing career. And a special thanks to my wife who has had my back all along.