Twenty-four-year-old British cyclist Mason Hollyman has ended his career after a multi-year struggle with allergies.
The Huddersfield-born rider was part of the Portuguese squad Anicolor Tien 21 this season, and rode for ProTeam Israel-Premier Tech in the previous two years.
Announcing his retirement in a YouTube video titled 'Why I Quit Pro Cycling', Hollyman said it had become an “impossible task” to compete with his allergies.
“I’ve decided to step away from professional cycling,” he said. “It’s been a difficult few years for me. I’ve struggled badly with allergies. I guess it’s not something you’d think would end someone’s career, but in my case it’s taken quite a big hit on me.
“I’ve suffered a lot for the last two or three years from them now. To be honest, it’s made me think more and think deeply about what I’m doing, and question my love for racing specifically. I’ve come to the decision to stop.”
The Brit explained that the issues began in 2022, when, despite training well, he found himself feeling “empty” and “off the mark” in races. Following a Covid diagnosis in 2023, he said, the allergies became “definitely more prominent”.
“After some tests, it revealed that the IG – the inflammation brought on from allergies – was an incredible number. I remember the doctor telling me most patients he had seen with this don’t get out of bed for their nine-to-five office jobs in the morning. That was me after DNF’ing stage four of the Tour de Romandie,” Hollyman said.
“I guess it showed there was a serious issue there that needed solving. We managed to get it to a decent level, but still not really where it should be to be a professional cyclist.
“As we all know, the one or two per cent [of performance] that you’re losing is the difference between winning and losing. Maybe I was losing even more than that.”
The son of a keen cyclist father, Hollyman got into the sport as an eight-year-old riding with his family at the weekends.
He joined Zappi Racing Team as an under-23 rider, competing on a roster with current WorldTour pros Ben Healy (EF Education-Easypost) and Paul Double (Jayco AlUla). In 2021, he signed for Israel-Premier Tech's academy set-up, before turning pro in 2023.
Hollyman scored two victories across his elite career; the first came at the Volta a Portugal in 2021, while the second was at the Tour of Taiwan last year.
He now plans to do some cycle touring, and has started a YouTube channel to document his life post-career. “I’m just happy I got to do my passion for so long,” he said.
