Lawson Craddock has had a career to be proud of, and taking into account his accomplishments, physical and mental circumstances, and family considerations, the 32-year-old American has officially announced that he will exit the professional peloton after the 2024 season.
Craddock, who hails from Houston, Texas and currently rides for the UCI WorldTeam Jayco-AIUIa, has had a notable career spanning the past decade, having compaeted for top teams, including Giant-Shimano (2014-2015), Cannondale/EF Pro Cycling (2016-2021), and Team BikeExchange-Jayco (2022-2024).
He has participated in all three Grand Tour (the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and Vuelta a España), and recording his best finish in 2023 at the Tour de France in 84th place. Craddock has even recorded highlights in his most difficult personal circumstances, having gained significant attention during this race when he crashed violently in the first stage of the 2018 Tour de France, suffering a hairline fracture in his scapula. Despite the injury, he continued racing and finished the entire Tour, becoming the first rider in Tour history to hold last place (lanterne rouge) after every stage. As an act of goodwill following his crash, during the 2018 Tour de France, Craddock pledged to donate $100 for every stage he finished to the Greater Houston Cycling Association for rebuilding the Alkek Velodrome, where he started his cycling career, with the initiative raising over $250,000.
Craddock has always shown a predilection for individual time trials, and was selected for the United States team at the 2020 Summer Olympics, finishing in 34th place overall, recorded a 6th place performance at the 2019 UCI World Championships, the best performance by an American since Taylor Phinney's silver in 2012, and won the U.S. National Time Trial Championship in 2021 and 2022.
Comments
Post a Comment