Lately retired professional Anna Shackley has taken on a brand new function as a sports activities director after ending her street profession final month, aged simply 22.
The highly-rated Scot, a World Championships bronze medallist within the under-23 street race, was compelled to retire early resulting from coronary heart irregularities.
On Wednesday, it was introduced that Shackley will be a part of Scotland-based Continental squad Alba Improvement Highway Group as a sports activities director for the remainder of this season. The now 23-year-old will even look to finish an official sports activities director course on the UCI headquarters in Switzerland later this 12 months.
“The very promising profession of Anna Shackley was very sadly ended prematurely resulting from well being points earlier this 12 months, nonetheless, Anna is now focussed on remaining within the sport, albeit in a special function as a Director Sportive,” Alba posted on X.
“She might be enterprise the UCI DS course in Aigle this coming October, with a view to taking over a full time place for the 2025 season. Within the meantime, we’re delighted to announce that Anna will be a part of Alba as DS for the rest of the 2024 season.
“She brings a wealth of WorldTour expertise to the workforce, which might be an enormous profit to the riders and compliments the event focus of the workforce. Welcome to the workforce Anna.”
The very promising profession of Anna Shackley was very sadly ended prematurely resulting from well being points earlier this 12 months, nonetheless, Anna is now focussed on remaining within the sport, albeit in a special function as a Director Sportive. She might be enterprise the UCI DS course in Aigle this… pic.twitter.com/0MvS5URNVHMight 29, 2024
Final month, Shackley’s workforce SD Worx-Protime revealed she had been recognized with a cardiac arrhythmia, placing an finish to her profession.
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“We’re very sorry to see Anna’s biking profession finish like this,” Danny Stam, the workforce’s sports activities director mentioned on the time. “She was one of many greater abilities within the girls’s peloton. We noticed in recent times that she was making good progress and we believed she might develop to the highest of the world.”
Shackley final raced on the European Highway Championships in September 2023, the place she completed second within the under-23 race. She was additionally runner-up finally 12 months’s Tour de l’Avenir Femmes.
“To say I am devastated can be an enormous understatement,” Shackley wrote on Instagram of her retirement. “Biking has been my whole life for so long as I can keep in mind and sadly it has come to a untimely ending.
“I had many plans and ambitions for the long run and that being taken away from me has been very exhausting. Nevertheless, I discovered myself fortunate to have had the distinctive expertise of being knowledgeable in my interest. Wee Anna would by no means have believed that.”
