When Fabio Aru won the 2015 Vuelta a España at age 25 it was easy to foresee the Sardinian assembling an extensive Grand Tour collection before he even reached his thirties.

Instead, the trajectory of Aru’s career changed dramatically, so much so that he would not finish on the podium of a three-week race again. Not only that, but Aru decided before this year’s Tour of Spain that it would be his final race.

In this episode of Kilometre 0, Daniel speaks to Aru about the relief of moving on, and we assess the extent to which his early exit from the sport is a sign of ever more mentally exhausting times in the pro peloton.

Kilometre 0 by The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens: energy management for committed athletes and coaches. See Supersapiens.com