Cycling: Fignon near retirement

LAURENT FIGNON, who has won the Tour de France twice, said yesterday he will not ride at the World Championships, which start in Oslo on Sunday.

The 33-year-old Frenchman's absence from the championships and his failure to start a minor French race on Tuesday seem to herald his retirement.

'For me, the adventure is over,' Fignon said in an interview with the radio station France Info. 'There were very good things, and very bad - there was everything. I must say I'm pretty proud.'

Fignon's retirement would leave no French winner of the Tour de France in active cycling. Bernard Hinault, a five-time winner, registered the last French success, in 1985.