It's a little odd that after the 6 day Ghent event he was so positive about cycling that he seemed further away from retirement than he had been signalling for quite some time before. I hope he woke up with legs that hurt so much and for so long that he decided that he was too old for this game. The other version, of course, would be that Sky cough medicine had cast too big a shadow over the final days of his career. I suspect that there will be a lot of heavy drinking in either case but it's easier to get over a hangover without a cloud hanging over you as well.
Great career and a key person in the UK's renaissance in international cycling.