Ian Boswell, 28, an American who has turned his attention to gravel racing, podcasting, and a position on Wahoo, has announced his retirement from professional cycling.

The former Team Sky and Katusha-Alpecin rider suffered his sixth career concussion after a major crash at the 2019 edition of Tirreno-Adriatico, and his longstanding symptoms have caused him to seriously consider taking on a new career challenge, racing for Rally Cycling in 2020. Despite offers, Boswell decided to take the next step and move on to a new challenge.

"It's definitely a change of pace, but I'm also looking forward to it. It took me a while to make the decision, but I'm happy with it. More or less, I have a North American racing program, and as an ambassador for Wahoo (open in new tab), I'll be a liaison with the WorldTour teams," Boswell told Cycling News.

"The crash last March helped me make this decision. If not for that crash, I probably would still be racing on the road. This sport moves so fast, it's amazing how quickly you can feel the distance. While I was away from racing, I was stressing in my own way about what to do next because road racing was my source of income. It was all I knew and the only job I had in my life was racing motorcycles"

.

After his crash last March, Boswell returned to the United States to focus on his recovery. His initial plan was to return to racing as soon as his body healed, but as the months passed, it became more and more likely that he would miss the remainder of the season. Despite the expiration of his contract with Katusha and his absence from racing, Katusha had several teams interested in giving him another shot.

Israel Startup Nation, Katusha's replacement within the World Tour, was one possibility for a return, and a highly regarded North American rally team went a step further and offered Boswell a contract for 2020. After a month of searching, however, Boswell came to the conclusion that his life and career were headed in different directions.

"Israel was quite interested, and Dan Martin was trying to get more climbers there, so that was a possibility. Once Larry made me an offer, I had to choose whether to go back to racing or not. I knew what it took to get to that level, and I wasn't going to go back to that lifestyle. It took a lot of sacrifices to live that lifestyle, and it became harder and harder to pay for it. Being away allowed me to see things through a different lens."

"After the crash, I thought I would be able to come back and compete in the Vuelta, and I thought I would be able to race the World Tour race in Canada until August, when I went to the University of North Carolina at the end of September and saw some more specialists, but my symptoms didn't ease until I was able to go to the University of North Carolina and see some more doctors.

"There are still a few things left to be done. Like night vision problems, if I'm racing right now and I'm going through a tunnel and I'm moving from dark to light, I can't do that. My eyes still can't transition to light fast enough, and the fact that I've lost what I've done in my career and the ability to do that scares me. Things have changed since the accident."

In November, Boswell returned to his base in Nice, France. He packed his bags and said his goodbyes, but not before going on one or two final rides with compatriots Will Barta and Larry Warbus. The Tour de France (a race Boswell competed in once in 2018 and calls the highlight of his career) began this year in Nice.

Until then, he will follow in Peter Stetina's footsteps and start a new chapter in his life as a gravel racer.

"Since making the decision, I feel like a lot of pressure has been taken off me. I put a lot of pressure on myself, but I really enjoyed the time I had and I feel very lucky to have accomplished so much in the sport. I didn't win any big races, but when I look back on my career I have a lot of positive memories."

Boswell may have changed paths, but there is still plenty of time for him to create entirely new positive memories.