http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/othe...ng/4487617.stm

Italian sprinter Mario Cipollini has announced his retirement from cycling for the second time.

The 38-year-old has retired once before - two years ago - but returned to the peloton again.

But Cipollini said: "Announcing my withdrawal one week before the Giro d'Italia is a painful but honest decision. The public will understand."

Cipollini holds the record for the most number of Giro stage wins (42) and has also won 12 Tour de France stages.

But he has been plagued by injury over the past year.

Cipollini admitted he had wanted to compete in one more Giro.

He said: "I would have liked to be at the start of the Giro d'Italia in Reggio Calabria looking for victory again, fighting for the pink jersey.

"Maybe, an "old man" like me, who has given a lot to cycling and has also received a lot, has to recognise when is the right moment to stop."