Mario Cipollini, one of the biggest names in cycling for the last decade, has announced his retirement from the sport.

As Italy's best sprinter, Cipollini had been expected to be the Italians' top man at the world championships in Portugal this autumn.

But it was not clear if Cipollini planned to retire immediately or after the racing season.

In 1999, he became the first rider since 1930 to capture four consecutive stages of the Tour de France.

But the Italian said he was bitter at not being invited to this year's Tour and had made the "drastic decision" to quit.

Cipollini's Acqua and Sapone team failed to qualify for this year's Tour.

And, for the second year running, organisers declined to hand them one of the five wildcard invitations on offer.

Ironically, 2002 has been one of the most successful seasons for the 35-year-old.

He took six stages of the Giro d'Italia and won the Milan-San Remo classic and the Gand-Wevelgem race.

In this year's Giro, he came one short of the record of 41 career stage wins long held by Alfredo Binda.

Cipollini announced his retirement in a statement on his website.

He said: "The bitterness of not being able to compete for victory leads me to take this drastic decision to say enough with cycling."

Cipollini added he would hold a news conference over the next few days to explain the decision.

Wednesday's fourth stage of the Tour de France starts at 1315 BST, with live action on BBC Sport Online.