Mission

On July 22, the evening of the 19th stage of the 2002 Tour de France, I announced my retirement from the ranks of professional cycling at a Team Telekom press conference. I had struggled to follow my intuition to retire because I had always thought that advancing age would make the decision for me. After my announcement many words of encouragement followed. There were many factors in my decision. However, my principal reason was my desire to settle down with my family and spend more time at home in the USA. Priorities changed and I found myself daydreaming more of life after professional racing. Lifestyle and sacrifices which came so natural to me began to weigh on me. Rather than being burned out, I felt that it was an appropriate time while I was still relatively young to use my experience to explore other opportunities.

Upon returning home in September the idea of racing the San Francisco Grand Prix as my last race became a possibility. I headed out alone on my bike from my home in Austin Texas on a hot sunny day. I left not knowing whether I would hang the bike up for good and even wondered if I would get the simple enjoyment from riding. The enjoyment that originally brought me into cycling and made it a full time lifestyle and job for so many years. After three hours on the road I arrived home announcing to my wife that San Francisco was a go. I went on to finish 11th in San Francisco with my closest family and friends cheering me on making it one of the most memorable races of my career. After years of racing in Europe, I was particularly gratified and pleased with the large number of fans who offered encouragement and supported me. It was flattering to hear “Don’t retire” as the common theme.

I have always believed cycling offers so much. Whether you do it for a healthy lifestyle, a way to spend time with family and friends, an outlet for your energy away from the stresses of life, or with aspirations to race, or for other reasons. The sport has a technical side involving equipment and clothing and a physical side which at times can demand extreme suffering. Finally a mental side where a rider can be pushed to limits never thought possible.

My goal in starting Kevin Livingston Consulting is to use my years of experience to help people explore their potential. So I will be coaching, training, appearing as a guest rider at camps and events, running my own “Hill Country cycling camps”, doing public speaking and using my language skills in events abroad. I’m sure other things will develop. Enjoy the site and I hope our paths cross.