Olivia Baril has retired from professional cycling after the Montréal World Championships, telling Cycling Pro Net that a herniated disc had left her concerned for her long-term health.
The Canadian rider started the elite women's road race in her home nation but said she struggled with her back throughout the entire season and believed it would be too hard to recover from the injury. She had spoken earlier in the week saying that the Mixed Relay would be her last time trial with the road race closing her career surrounded by family and friends.
“I've had some health problems this year,” Baril said. “I have like a herniated disc in my back that I’ve been struggling with a lot and maybe I shouldn't even have been racing the second part of the season
“I know it would be very hard to come back from this,” she added. “I don’t want to strain my body so much that it impacts the rest of my life”.
Baril described cycling as “short-lived”, and that “we need to think about the future and your health”.
The home crowd caught Baril by surprise: “I didn't think that at 9:00 a.m. like it would be so packed.”
“The last lap I did here, like I knew it was going to be my last lap and so I enjoyed every second of it and so many people came out and encouraged me,” she said. “Some people I haven't seen in five, 10 years were out here, like some school friends and it just it was really amazing and I enjoyed every second of it and I'm happy that it's over, too.”
Baril's final time trial
Six days earlier, Baril had placed 23rd in the elite women's time trial on 20 September, 4:46 behind the winner and Movistar teammate Marlen Reusser. She had been called up as a reserve for the event after back pain limited her race days this year.
“I spent my whole career focusing on cycling and now it’s my last ITT, so I’m really proud of myself. I’m also really happy that it’s over.”
The support on the course gave that final time trial a different weight. “When I race in Europe, I don’t hear my name that often, so in my head I feel like I don’t really have an impact on people. I’m just a cyclist like any other. But when I started here, there were obviously a lot of people who knew me.” Baril called it “really beautiful to see that in reality, throughout my career, I’ve had an impact on people back home.”
Baril only began her professional career in cycling in 2020 and has won the Gran Premier Ciudad de Eibar in the tough roads of the Basque Country in 2022 and 2023 as well as taking her national road race title in 2024, followed by the time trial title in 2025.
She plans to remain within the sport but now as an agent with the qualifications already set and the exams already passed. “I did my exam: I’m a UCI riders agent. I’m going to be looking to get a few athletes and help them develop in their career, choose the right teams for them, give them some help relocating to Europe.”
“Also I’ll help them financially plan for their careers. It’s a short career. So guide people. I think that the North Americans are becoming really incredible riders. And it’s different being a Canadian living in Europe.”
