One of the most loyal domestiques of the cycling peloton, Egoi Martinez, has been forced to end his career. The Basque has been unable to find a new team after the demise of Euskaltel and will leave the professional cycling world one year earlier than planned.

For several years, Egoi Martinez has been known as Samuel Sanchez's trusted lieutenant, having been assigned the important task of safely bringing his captains through stages in all terrains. His loyalty may not have given his much freedom to chase  personal success but it is testament to his importance that he has been selected for 9 Tours de France in a row before following Sanchez in the decision to skip this year's edition of the world's biggest race.

Despite working in the services of others, Martinez managed to finish 22nd in the Giro and 30th in the Vuelta. With his combination of experience, loyalty and climbing legs, one would expect that Martinez would have no difficulty finding a new team after the demise of Euskaltel.

However, this year the market has been unusually difficult for the riders. Five professional teams will fold at the end of the year and this has left many riders with no other choice than to retire.

Martinez can now add his name to the long list of riders that will no longer work as a professional bike rider. Having been unable to find a new team, the Basque has decided to bring the curtain down on his career.

"It is not the desired end," he said. "We fought as hard as we could to find something but it was impossible. Let's face it: I know that I have to end this phase to focus on another phase of my life."

"I had the strength and desire to continue," he added. "I hoped that a WorldTour team would be interested in my services although I was always aware that it is a difficult time for professional cycling."

Martinez had been riding for Euskaltel for most of his career, with only a two-year stint at Discovery Channel breaking his relationship with Basque team. While he has mostly put his personal ambitions on hold in the second part of his career, he showed his class when he finished 9th in the 2008 Vuelta a Espana after wearing the leader's jersey for several days.

His loyalty and commitment was rewarded at the end of the season when he realized a life-long dream of getting selected for the Spanish team for the world championships. Paradoxically, that race was the final one in his professional career.

"I'm leaving with this little regret but also with a big smile," he said. "And I am very grateful to fans, teammates, sponsors...  The pedal strokes make great riders but also the surroundings. Without them, there would be nothing."

"I would like to thank so many people so much that I won't list them because it would be unjust to forget someone," he added. "Cycling has given me so much. I've also had disappointments but thankfully I can say that the former exceeds the latter by far."

"I say goodbye to cycling to focus on another phase of my life. It will probably be less beautiful, but who knows? Whatever I will do, I will do it with the same eagerness and enthusiasm. "

Martinez won a stage in the 2006 Vuelta a Espana and won the Tour de l'Avenir in 2003.