German cycling talent ends career and posts moving statement
After two fatal racing accidents in the cycling scene, Louis Kitzki is drawing a line under his career. The 21-year-old German pro rider Louis Kitzki is ending his career. The 21-year-old shared a moving statement on Instagram.
Louis Kitzki is ending his cycling career – at the age of 21. After two fatal accidents, which he witnessed as a participant, his fear of crashing in competitions grew. On Monday, the German shared a detailed statement on Instagram and announced his retirement.
"Probably not the end of my career that I had imagined... After my participation in the Giro Ciclistico Valle D'Aosta, my last race, and the associated death of Samuele Privitera , I have decided to end my career as a professional cyclist," writes Kitzki.
The 21-year-old continued: "After last year's Tour of Austria, in which another rider was killed, I already had serious doubts about racing and was close to quitting. Nevertheless, I continued and largely repressed what had happened. Unfortunately, after the Tour of Austria, I never again became the racing driver I once was."
Kitzki says he has increasingly lost his enjoyment of racing . Mental problems have also increased over time. "I regret that I was unable to fulfill some of the expectations I had as a professional cyclist and that my collaboration with Alpecin is now coming to an end. Nevertheless, I am certain that it was the right decision to retire," Kitzki says.
In 2024, the German cyclist won the Zwift Academy of the World Tour team Alpecin-Deceuninck and secured a contract with the Alpecin-Deceuninck Development Team.
Kitzki's sporting career was still comparatively short at that time: in 2021 he won the Kiel Week cycling race, in 2022 he became national champion in the U19 class in both the time trial and on the road, and in 2023 he competed for Team Embrace The World.
With the Alpecin contract, he finally made the leap into the professional world—his long-held dream seemed to be coming true. Shortly thereafter, his first races with the Alpecin-Deceuninck World Tour team followed.
In addition to Privitera , André Drege's fatal crash at the Tour of Austria left a particularly deep emotional scar on him. Now Kitzki is turning his back on the sport.
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