Luca Pibernick has retired from professional cycling at the age of 27.

He is the latest rider to put an early end to his career due to a lack of options in a transfer market heavily affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Former Olympic champion John Dibben, 26, and AG2R pair Axel Domon and Clément Chevrier are both headed to the wine industry.

The former Slovenian national champion did not receive a contract extension offer from Bahrain McLaren, where he had been riding for the past four years, and struggled to find other rides during the off-season.

With the New Year upon us, Pibernik announced via social media that he was ending his career.

"This is the end of cycling ....... Lovely and interesting," he wrote.

"Thanks to everyone who helped me achieve what I have! It's time for a new challenge in my life. Thank you.

Pibernik won the Slovenian national road race through the Slovenian Radenska team, which also provided a path to Tour de France champion Tadej Pogachar After winning the Slovenian national road race title in 2013, in 2015 he turned professional with Lampre-Merida and won his second title.

During his two years in Lampre, he also won a stage at the Binkbank Tour and made his Tour de France debut.

Pibernik then joined the Bahrain team (then Bahrain-Merida), which was established before the 2017 season. He competed in two events, the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España, as well as five monuments.

A memorable moment was when he thought he had won stage 5 of the 2017 Giro, only to realize he was a lap too early on the finish circuit in Messina.

Pibernik was told that he would not be offered a contract renewal, and in early December the Bahrain team, along with Mark Cavendish, Ivan Cortina, Enrico Battaglin, and another Slovenian, Grega Bole, were not selected for 2021 Pibernik's departure was announced.

"It's time to say goodbye to all the great riders, both those who were with us for one year and those who were with us for four seasons, who made unforgettable memories. It was a lot of fun and I wish you all the best for the future. I wish you all the best for the future."