Bron: ABC. After announcing a new challenge by signing with the new team JotaGas, the 5 time World Champion Mika AHOLA (SF) has finally decided to retire. It is a great champion who’s leaving the Enduro World, here is his press release:
“After 21 years of Enduro competitions at the age of 37 I have come to a decision that took a lot of self-examination and soul-searching. The outcome was that I don’t have anymore enough ambition to continue so I will retire from racing. I have given everything I’ve got for this sport and although it has taken much, it has given me back more than I could have ever imagined when I started racing.
First I won everything in my homeland, Finland, and become the fastest snow rider in the world. Then I threw myself in the world championships riding for different Italian teams and proved myself to be fast but 5 times landing just one position short of a world champion’s title.
Then, against all odds I started winning world titles at the age when most talked about retiring. It has been a hell of a ride: 5 consecutive world titles won in all three categories and the last one won as the oldest champion of the history! With these new world records set on 2011 I feel my ambition for this sport completely satisfied. You can add up also 3 overall champion’s titles even though FIM hasn’t recognized overall titles since 2004. I have been also the fastest rider overall at the I.S.D.E. 3 times and 7 times I have been also a rider of Finland’s winning team.
My ambition for this sport has been completely satisfied and I feel like it’s time for me to move on and see what else the world has to offer than racing! Finally, I want to thank all the people who have supported me throughout my racing career and all the riders I have been battling with!”