Ziga Pandur retires from downhill racing - Dirt

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Ziga Pandur retires from downhill racing

Unior Tools rider steps down

Unior Tools Team rider Ziga Pandur has today announced he is retiring from downhill racing.

Pandur has been riding World Cups for eight years on the Unior Tools Team. He is a two-time Slovenian national champion and a regular feature in the World Cup top 40. His best result came in 2013 – a 25th in Hafjell – this was the best result by a Slovenian ever until Jure Zabjek’s breakout 2017 season. Pandur’s 24th place at the Vallnord World Championships in 2015 remains the best result by a Slovenian to date.

Pandur said: “Time flies really fast! I vividly remember my first racing steps as they would happen just a few days ago, but actually that happened quite a few years ago, probably a decade ago. After eight years of racing mountain bikes at the highest level I’ve decided to stop actively racing downhill. I am still passionate and motivated about mountain biking as when I started riding bikes, but over the time priorities had changed and I feel that now it’s perfect time to finish this chapter in life and start a new one.

My racing career had lots of ups and downs, wins and bad races, but overall I had lots of great and unforgettable moments, I’ve met a lot of awesome people, travelled to a lot of beautiful places, learned a lot of new things and had ‘hell of a good time’ doing it.

“I would first like to thank my parents for all their unconditional support, then to Tine, Grega and Rok for being behind me all the way from the beginning of my racing. I’ve been part of Unior Tools Team from start of my career and also from beginning of the team. It was a pleasure and great honor being part of it and to see how the team has grown over the years. Then also to all sponsors and friends who believed in me and supported me through my racing career and also to all fans, without you guys, racing bikes wouldn’t be that much fun!

“This is not a goodbye note, I’ll see you somewhere on the bike and eventually also on the races, but next time on the spectators side of the tape.”

Time flies really fast! I vividly remember my first racing steps as they would happen just a few days ago, but actually that happened quite a few years ago, probably a decade ago. After 8 years of racing mountain bikes at the highest level I've decided to stop actively racing downhill. I am still passionate and motivated about mountain biking as when I started riding bikes, but over the time priorities had changed and I feel that now it's perfect time to finish this chapter in life and start a new one. My racing career had lots of ups and downs, wins and bad races, but overall I had lots of great and unforgettable moments, I've met a lot of awesome people, travelled to a lot of beautiful places, learned a lot of new things and had ‘hell of a good time’ doing it. I would first like to thank my parents for all their unconditional support, then to Tine, Grega and Rok for being behind me all the way from the beginning of my racing. I've been part of Unior Tools Team from start of my career and also from beginning of the team. It was a pleasure and great honor being part of it and to see how the team has grown over the years. Then also to all sponsors and friends who believed in me and supported me through my racing career and also to all fans, without you guys, racing bikes wouldn't be that much fun! This is not a goodbye note, I'll see you somewhere on the bike and eventually also on the races, but next time on the spectators side of the tape ✌️ Photo: Klemen Humar

A post shared by Ziga Pandur (@zigapandur) on

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