Anna Shackley forced to retire aged 22 because of heart condition

Anna Shackley, one of Britain’s most talented young cyclists, has been forced to retire aged 22 because of heart issues.

The Scot is the reigning British Under-23 road race champion and won bronze in the under-23 event at last year’s World Championships in Glasgow.

She was diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia in January and after further tests has been advised to retire.

“To say I’m devastated would be a huge understatement,” Shackley said.

“Cycling has been my entire life for as long as I can remember and unfortunately it has come to a premature ending.”

Shackley competed for Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics as a 20-year-old and won under-23 silver at the European Championships.

Further notable results include finishing 13th in the general classification at the Giro d’Italia and seventh overall at the Tour de Romandie.

“I had many plans and ambitions for the future and that being taken away from me has been very hard,” she said.

“However, I count myself lucky to have had the unique experience of being a professional in [my] hobby. Wee Anna would never have believed that.”

Danny Stam, sports manager for Shackley’s SD Worx-Protime team, said: “We are very sorry to see Anna’s cycling career end like this.

“She was one of the bigger talents in the women’s peloton.

“We saw in recent years that she was making good progress and we believed she could grow to the world top.”