Belgian all-rounder Jan Bakelants, 36, has admitted that 2022 will be the last year of his cycling career.

The Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Materieux racer scored his biggest win in 2013 with an impressive late breakaway at the Tour de France in Corsica, his first professional victory, simultaneously taking the first week stage win and the two-day overall lead.

Bakelants, who won the Tour de Lavenir in 2008 and led the pack by three minutes after a breakaway of over 200km, suffered a major crash at Il Lombardia in 2017, breaking multiple ribs and vertebrae.

However, Baquelinz bounced back, and impressively won the fifth stage of the Tour de Wallonie on his home turf for his final victory of the season. But he has now decided to put an end to his career.

Other victories in his career include the 2013 Grand Prix de Wallonie, a stage win at the Criterium du Dauphiné in 2014, and victories at the Giro delle Miglia and Giro del Piemonte in 2015, as he had earned a solid reputation as a breakaway specialist.

"I'm quitting the pros," Bakelants recently told Sporza.be. 'It's official now and it's time to tell everyone. It wasn't an easy decision, but it's becoming clearer and clearer."

"It's not an easy decision, but it's becoming clearer and clearer.

"It wasn't a quick decision. I didn't want to take any risks and I made this decision after consulting with my family. I think it's a good thing."

Il Lombardia, where he finished 33rd, was his last race, but winning the Tour de Wallonie made his decision to quit more clear, Baquelinz said.

"Three years ago, I sat here again looking for someone who still believed in me.

"When I started this season, I wasn't clear what I wanted to do. But after those victories, I got the idea that it was a good time to stop."