Andy Schleck calls it a day

Brussels - Former Tour de France winner Andy Schleck announced his retirement from cycling on Thursday, three months after the Luxembourger crashed out of cycling's premier event with a complicated knee injury.

At 29, the one-time prodigy is ending his career at an age when many multi-stage racers are still in their prime. He was handed the 2010 Tour victory after Alberto Contador was disqualified for doping.

It turned one of his runner-up finishes in the Tour into a belated highlight but he never showed much joy in being awarded the victory almost two years later. He also had one major one-day triumph - Belgium's Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2009.

Schleck said "I will end my career at the end of the year."