Louis Kitzki quits cycling at the age of 21 after experiencing two tragedies up close during racing

Louis Kitzki's professional cycling career, one of the young promises of German cycling, comes to an early end. The rider from Winsen, winner of the Zwift Academy 2023 and member of the Alpecin-Deceuninck development team, has announced his retirement at the age of 21, citing a loss of confidence and growing fear for his safety after experiencing two tragedies in the peloton up close.

Louis Kitzki, goodbye to cycling at 21: "I was never the same after the Tour of Austria"

Kitzki made his professional debut in 2024 with the label of a talent to watch. However, his career was marked by the emotional impact of the death of André Drege in the Tour of Austria 2024, a race in which he himself was participating. "After that edition, I had serious doubts about continuing to compete. I tried to continue, but I was never the same rider I was before," he admitted.

The final blow came in July 2025, during the Giro Ciclistico della Valle d'Aosta, when Italian Samuele Privitera passed away. "After that race, I decided to end my career. I was increasingly worried about my safety and felt uncomfortable in competition. The chaos of the races mentally blocked me and prevented me from performing as well as in training," he explained in a statement on his social media.

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The German admitted that he had completely lost the pleasure of racing and that, although he enjoyed the process of training and improving, the races had become "an annoying side effect" in order to continue making a living from cycling. "If the mind isn't there, the body doesn't work. The Giro del Valle d'Aosta confirmed to me that the decision to stop was the right one, and my well-being since I left has reaffirmed it," he added.

Kitzki thanked the support received from Alpecin-Deceuninck and Zwift, as well as the work of his coach Philipp Walsleben, and stated that he hopes to continue pedaling occasionally. His case adds to that of other young people who in recent years have hung up their bikes before the age of 23, such as Ella Simpson, Gabriele Casalini, or Leo Hayter, which reopens the debate on safety in racing, the demands, and the mental pressure faced by the new generations of the peloton.