Damien Gaudin has announced his retirement from cycling after 14 seasons as a professional; the 35-year-old raced for Total Energy in 2021 with a second-place finish in the Nokelle Coase, but his contract was not renewed after the season.

A strong ruler from the track, Gaudin won six races as a professional, notably the Paris-Nice prologue in 2013 and Troblo-Leon in 2017; in 2013, he finished fifth in Paris-Roubaix, which he won six years earlier as an under-23 rider.

Gaudin spent his amateur career with Vendée U before turning pro with Bouygues Telecom in 2008. In the first six seasons of his professional career, he raced a combination of road and track races under Jean-Rene Bernadeau.

He was part of the French Team Pursuit team that placed fifth at the Beijing Olympics and won the French individual Pursuit title three times.

In 2013, Gaudin had a breakthrough season, winning his first professional race on the first day of Paris-Nice, a 2.9 km time trial in Houilles. Two weeks later, he won the Chorée Pays de Loire and closed out the spring with an aggressive ride in Paris-Roubaix.

At the end of the season, Gaudin left Bernadeau and Europcar for AG2R La Mondiale, and although he made his Tour de France debut in three seasons with Vincent Lavene's team, he never reached the same heights. However, when he dropped to the continental level in 2017 at the Alme de Terre, Gaudin returned to form, winning the Toro Bro Leon and the prologue of the Tour of Luxembourg and Tour of Portugal.

As a result of these, Gaudin returned to the Bernaud team, now racing under the Direct Energie banner, and won the prologue of the Tour of Luxembourg again in 2018, as well as his second Tour de France appearance.

Total Energie will undergo a major transformation in 2022, bringing in Peter Sagan from Bora-Hansgrohe, along with Daniel Oss, Maciej Bodnar, and Julai Sagan. Gaudin was not offered a new contract after the 2021 season and chose to end his professional career.

In a video posted on social media on Wednesday, Gaudin displayed the jerseys he has worn and medals he has won during his career and thanked his team manager for his trust over the years.

"At the end of this year, 2021, I am announcing the end of my career as a professional cyclist. I would like to thank everyone who has followed and encouraged me over the past years. I thank Jean-Rene Bernodeau, Vincent Laveneau, and David Lima da Costa for their trust, and the three clubs that have supported me: and the three clubs that have supported me. I also thank the various selection committee members for the beautiful adventure in the French road and track teams."