Tributes paid to Andy Schleck on Twitter following retirement

2010 Tour de France winner Andy Schleck announced his retirement from cycling on Thursday after failing to recover from a knee injury.

While his form has been somewhat iffy in the last few years, Schleck can boast of a Tour win and victory at Liege-Bastogne-Liege in his career, but a crash at the 2014 Tour has forced him to call time at the age of just 29.

There's been a large outpouring of affection from some of his former colleagues on social media, so here's a few picks of notable riders paying tribute.

Alberto Contador

Contador consistently went head-to-head with Schleck for the top spot at the Tour de France, beating the Luxembourger to the yellow jersey twice in a row in 2009 and 2010 before having the latter stripped for doping and awarded to Schleck.

Jens Voigt

The recently retired Voigt rode on the same teams as Schleck from 2005 right up until his last year as a pro in 2014. The German worked as a domestique for Schleck in his 2010 Tour win, as well as his second place in 2011.

Matthew Busche

Busche rode with Schleck from 2010 onwards and currently rides for Trek Factory Racing .

Frank Schleck

Older brother Frank rode by his brother's side since almost day one of Andy's pro career, and managed to find enough form in 2014 to earn himself a new two year contract with Trek.

Chris Horner

The 2013 Vuelta a Espana champion rode with Schleck between 2011 and 2014.

Fabian Cancellara

Cancellara rode with Schleck for the entirety of the latter's career, and the former World Time Trial Champion was also part of the team that helped Schleck to eventually win the 2010 Tour.

Trek Factory Racing

Schleck's current team paid tribute to a rider that has been with them through their different incarnations since 2011.

Andy Schleck: Career in photos

Pictorial look back at Andy Schleck's career as he announces his retirement from professional cycling

Andy Schleck retires from professional cycling

Andy Schleck announces that he will retire from cycling, citing a persistent knee injury