Nacer Bouhanni ended his time as a professional cyclist as the French sprinter struggled last season as he returned from the nightmare crash of 2022 and again tried to find the speed that had been on display for the rest of his 13-year career.

The Arkéa-Samsic rider, who scored a total of 70 in his career, ended his season in 2022 just as he crashed on the Tour of Turkey on May 4, suffering a fracture of his first cervical vertebrae and was starting to collect steam.

Bouhanni returned to the race after a neck injury at the beginning of the 2023 season, but the result came only with 1 podium finish to show for his efforts, not for the rider to deliver the worst season of his career.

"After my serious accident last year, I suffered a severe fracture of my cervical spine and a lot of rehabilitation, I became a shadow of myself," Bouhanni announced his retirement in an instagram post.

"I fought body and soul to try to return to my level in vain. Life has made different decisions.

Bouhanni spent his career in a trio of French teams. He started as a trainee at Francaise des Jeux in late 2010, moved to Cofidis in 2015 and Arkéa-Samsic in 2020, spending the last 4 seasons of his career.

"I have been seriously considering this decision for several months," Bouhanni said of the announcement of his retirement.

Bouhanni has Palmares, including 3 stage wins in both the Vuelta a España and Giro d'Italia, the most prolific year of his career from 2013 to 2016, providing 11 winning tallies for Four Seasons running.

Even in recent seasons, there were lows beyond the 2022 crash and fight back, especially the GP Cholet・Pays De Loire incident, which changed the line during the sprint and hit Jake Stewart against the barrier. He was disqualified and then received a two-month suspension for a dangerous sprint, but was then subject to a flood of online racial abuse.

"I started cycling at the age of 6, and it quickly became a passion," Bouhanni said. "70 victories, ups and downs, beautiful, not so beautiful encounters, joys and disappointments, but I keep only the best."