Kiwi Rushlee Buchanan is stepping away from competitive cycling at 32 years old.
Buchanan - a team pursuit specialist - represented New Zealand at three Olympic Games, most recently at Tokyo this year, joining an elite group of Kiwi athletes.
The Te Awamutu product has been a key performer across the sport, winning national titles on the road, time trial and criterium, as well as four world championship medals on the track, including the multi-event omnium.
She was an integral member of the women's pursuit team that won silver at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, while also featuring at New Delhi 2010 and Glasgow 2014.
A force on the national road cycling circuit since 2009, Buchanan holds eight NZ titles in road race, criterium and time trial. Buchanan also had a long career for USA-based professional track riding teams.
This year, she became the chair of the first Athlete Voice Committee, established to give riders a direct link with the sport's national body.
"I have loved every bit of my cycling journey, and I am grateful for all the experiences and learnings, even the hard ones," says Buchanan.
"I am still passionate about the sport and love riding, but it's now time to give my energy to something else - what that is, I don't know yet.
"I'm grateful for all the support and help I have received from so many people, and right now, I'm enjoying going through all the memories."
Cycling New Zealand chief executive Jacques Landry says, while Rushlee Buchanan will be sorely missed, her contribution to the sport - both on and off the bike - has been significant.
"Rushlee has been a major force in our sport for over a decade," says Landry. "Given all that Rushlee has contributed to cycling in New Zealand, there is no doubt she will continue to help grow the sport in different ways.
"She epitomises a successful high performance athlete - driven, committed, hard-working and talented on the bike, and with professionalism and good nature off it. She is that wonderful mix of being an extremely popular teammate, who is always a fierce competitor."
