British sprinter Dan McLay has hung up his racing wheels after a largely understated but impressive 11-year career which saw him win 10 professional races and ride four editions of the Tour de France.
The 33-year-old rode for Visma-Lease a Bike this past year, but spent most of his career riding for the various guises of the French team now called Arkéa-B&B Hotels.
Deployed in the Arkéa leadout trains of Nacer Bouhanni and Arnaud Démare, and latterly for Olav Kooij and Matthew Brennan at Visma, McLay also had his own regular chances. His standout victory was the 2016 GP de Denain, when he somehow appeared from deep to snake through a crowded field to win.
Reflecting on his decision to retire, McLay told Cycling Weekly: “I’ve gone into every season in the last couple of years with the mindset of seeing how it goes, and if it goes well I’d carry on.
“I didn’t feel like I ever had great legs this season, and the final straw was when I broke my collarbone at the Renewi Tour [in August]. It’s already been a hard year to get a contract with so many teams uncertain about their future, so I made the decision to call it a day. Since then I’ve had no regrets and am looking forward to the future.”
Ever modest, humble and never one to be in the spotlight, McLay downplayed his career victory count of 10, but his success makes him one of the winningest British riders of his generation.
“Being a sprinter, the wins come a bit more than being another type of rider, but it’s true that not too many guys even win a handful of races as a pro,” he said.
“I think I’m like most cyclists in that it was a dream to be pro, and then when I got a sniff of it I started thinking I could do this or that, and hoped that I could win some races.
“I definitely dreamt of doing more than what I ended up doing, but that’s sport – if someone is more talented than you, they’ll win more; you’ve got to make the most of what you’ve got.
"But I’m more than happy with what I did, especially because the wins got harder and harder to come by.”
His win at GP de Denain is often brought up in conversation. “I remember being out of position and doing a big kick to get through some gaps and then a few doors opened for me,” he remembered.
“At no point did it ever feel anything crazy. It was only when I saw the video did I see how it looked and it ended up being this iconic sprint.”
After combining track and road in his earlier years – he was a junior world champion in the Madison in 2010 with Simon Yates – McLay rode for various U23 teams in Belgium before Bretagne-Séche Environnement finally gave him the chance to turn pro aged 23.
“When I joined Lotto’s development team [in 2011] it was a choice between going there or joining British Cycling’s academy. I chose Belgium because I thought it would be the quicker route to turning pro, but in the end it took me the full four years,” he said.
“Arkéa is the team I spent most of my career at and it became my home. It was a small team at first but I got plenty of opportunities to learn at a lower level without being thrown into massive races.”
McLay also donned the pink jersey of EF Education First in 2018 and 2019, and ending his career with Visma means he bows out on a high. “It would have been nice to finish at home with Arkéa, but at the same time I got to play for Barcelona for a year and you can’t ever turn that down. It was pretty cool to work with some of the biggest names in cycling.”
As for what’s next, McLay, who lives in Estonia with his partner and young child, is unsure, but is certain cycling will remain a constant in his life.
“I’m open to anything and have lots of small ideas but nothing concrete as of yet,” he said. “I’d love to do something in the sport, but I’m not panicking to dive straight back into it.”
