BOURGES (France), Oct 5: Three-time world champion Oscar Freire has finally brought the curtain down on his illustrious career and retired from cycling, his Katusha team confirmed on Thursday.

The 36-year-old Freire, world champion in 1999, 2001 and 2004, has not raced since competing at the world championships at Valkenburg, the Netherlands on Sept 23 when he finished tenth.

The Spaniard, who suffered a serious injury in the Tour de France and was forced to pull out of the London Olympics, has been competing for the past 15 years but his last win was in the 2010 Paris-Tours classic.

Freire also won the Milan-Sanremo three time in 2004, 2007, 2010.

In the big Tours, Freire won four stages of the Tour de France and seven on the Vuelta. He also won the points leaders green jersey on the Tour de France in 2008.

He rode for four different teams during his career — Vitalicio (1998-1999), Mapei (2000-2002), Rabobank (2003-2011) and Katusha (2012).—AFP