Former mountain bike Olympic champion Miguel Martinez is returning to professional cycling at the age of 44. The Frenchman told L'Équipe (opens in new tab) that he has signed a six-month contract with the Amore e Vita-Prodir Continental team, which he was with in 2008.

"It's a six-month renewable contract," he said. It doesn't pay, but passion is more important than money."

Martinez, the son of 1978 Tour de France mountain champion Mariano, was one of the stars of mountain biking in the 1990s.

He won a bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics at the age of 20 and a gold medal at the Sydney Olympics four years later; he was also world cross-country champion in 2000 and won World Cup titles in 1997 and 2000.

Martinez switched to the road in 2002 and signed with Mapei. He won a stage at the Vuelta a Navarra and finished 44th overall at the Tour de France; in 2003 he moved to Phonak, where he finished second in the Tour Mediterraneen at Mount Fallon, and returned to mountain biking in 2004.

Martinez first retired in 2006, but in 2008 he signed with Amore et Vita and won a stage at the Tour de Beauce in Canada; in 2013 he made another comeback as a mountain biker, winning the Roc d'Azur and Otters Classic. In 2017, Martinez became the French marathon cross-country champion.

Martinez told the French website Cyclism'Actu (opens in new tab) that he once rode 100 km a day on his bicycle on the road to deliver food to the elderly during the blockade caused by the coronavirus, which made him consider returning to road racing He said that this was what made him think about returning to road racing.

"I told myself I could call the Amore e Vita team.

"If 48-year-old Davide Rebellin and 44- and 45-year-old players can do it, why can't I?

"Rebellin was still winning races at 44, but he was a road racer. But I had unfinished business, and at least now I have one last chance."[17