U23 star Andrien Costa will no longer be part of Hagens Berman Axeon after ending his contract with the team. The super talented young American rider, who was often considered to be the best one of this generation, has decided to stay out of professional cycling this year as well after the break he took in 2017.
Apparently, the hours spent in intensive training have taken the toll on him making the rider lead an unhealthy and intensive life, something he cannot accept.
Talented 20-year-old Adrien Costa opts out of contract with Hagens Berman Axeon, stepping away from promising pro career. https://t.co/NQLcIEne3r
— VeloNews (@velonews) February 5, 2018
Leading an unhealthy lifestyle
Despite the fact his team was still hoping he would return back to pro cycling, it seems there is no hope for this to happen so the squad decided to officially announce the 20-year old star’s decision on Monday.
“I’m just not ready to come back yet,” Costa stated. “The more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn’t want to hold a spot on the team when that meant denying someone else the opportunity.”
“Since I stopped racing in April 2017, I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve realized how big, and unbalanced, of a part of me was cycling. And I knew that if I was going to race again, it’d be in a much different, more relaxed way,” Costa added.
“I wasn’t able anymore to have the single-minded, razor-sharp focus for training and racing that I once woke up with daily. I knew I had to lean on other things in life to provide me more balance and more happiness overall.”
