Back surgery will force Australian cyclist Chloe McConville into retirement two months earlier than scheduled.
The 28-year-old had signed a six-month deal with Australian team Orica-AIS that was supposed to take her through to June 30.
But she must return to Australia for an operation on a prolapsed disc.
McConville is frustrated after making a strong start to her last season.
"I have done a heap of work to be going well for the (European spring) classics and I wanted to tick off some goals before I finish," she said.
"That's what I was aiming for, to prove what I could do in the classics."
The domestique has had wretched luck in her cycling career, having overcome deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary embolisms two years ago.
McConville has raced overseas for the past five years.
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