Jake’s Journal: Magnus works magic as mentor

Already, the well-wishers are lining up to tell Magnus how much they care. Among the comments at the Slipstream blog, one from "Manchester City Max" stood out to me, summing up the many ways that Magnus has left an impression: "You will be missed big Maggie!! You will be missed by all of us big guy racers, those of us who are north of 6 ft and north of 190 lbs!!! You will be missed by us, the Swedish-Americans who rooted for you for sooooo long. You will be missed by us, the fans of the greatest classics of them all… Paris-Roubaix! You will be missed by us, the fans who have a new hope in cycling because of Garmin-Slipstream! And you will be missed by me, because you inspired me and helped me believe as I head into my first year of racing and first year on a team. Cheers Magnus Maximus! You will be missed. Maximvs"

I'll sign off with Magnus' official statement, but first I have to congratulate Team Garmin's squad in Qatar for winning the Stage 1 Team Time Trial, placing Martijn Maaskant in 7th in the Stage 4 sprint and helping Hans Dekkers take 4th in the final sprint of the tour. Next up is Tour of Langkawi, beginning Monday, and then I'm off to join the crew for the start of Tour of California. But for now, I'll turn it over to Maggy:

“I have had a fantastic career. I turned pro at 21; I have raced with some of the best riders and teams in the world. I’ve won a stage of the Tour de France and the biggest one-day classic in the world, among others. I can take a step down from the highest level of the sport with my head held high and with the knowledge that I helped bring about a change in the sport by being involved with Garmin-Slipstream. I believe in a NEW clean future for our sport and I can pass this onto my own young riders. I want to thank Jonathan Vaughters, Doug Ellis, every single person in the team, everyone at Garmin and our other sponsors who have supported me. Most of all I want to thank my family (wife and two daughters especially), friends and all the people who have helped me through the years. I also want to thank my fans. You guys have been a huge contributing factor in helping me get back from each setback. As they say, as one door closes, another one opens. New beginnings with no regrets. I’m still going to ride my bike, wind down and bring on the future champions. Thank you all!”

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