Martin said that his decision to retire was influenced partly by concerns about race safety for riders and course design in the sport.
"Today I want to announce that the upcoming time trial and mixed relay World Championships will be the last races in my career," said Martin in a statement released on Sunday. "Such a far-reaching decision is of course not easy to make.
"Cycling has been a large part of my life for a long time, with highs and lows, big successes and losses, crashes and comebacks. What many young riders dream of, I have achieved.
“In the last few months I have been thinking more about what is to come after cycling. The bad crashes this year have also caused me to question whether I am ready to continue to face the risks that our sport involve.
"I have decided that I do not want to, especially since race safety has not improved despite the many discussions about courses and barriers. Hopefully, the cycling world will listen to the plans presented by my team and other teams.’”
Martin was notably the first rider brought down in the highest profile crash at the Tour de France, where a placard-bearing fan jutted out into the road, taking down Martin and causing a mass pile-up in the peloton. He soldiered on, but later abandoned the French Grand Tour after a crash into a ditch during Stage 11.
The 36-year-old will draw to a close his career, which includes four world titles in the time trial an overall win at Paris-NIce, the Eneco Tour and the Beijing Tour. He also took a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
