Six-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy decided to retire from cycling after using "every last ounce of energy and effort" at London 2012.
The 37-year-old Scot had been expected to compete at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow but felt "to go on for another year would be one too far".
Hoy, who won two gold medals in London, also claimed 11 world titles.
He said: "I wanted to get a medal for Scotland. I didn't think I could so wanted someone else to take my place."
Speaking at a news conference at Murrayfield in Edinburgh, Hoy added: "It is a hard time - it is one moment at the end of your career when you say 'enough is enough'.
"It's a decision that I didn't take lightly and I thought about it very hard. In sport at the highest level you are dealing in the smallest margins and you can tell when you are good but not good enough."
Looking ahead to next year's Commonwealth Games, he said: "Nothing would give me more pleasure than going to Glasgow, but I don't want to be there for the numbers.
"Now it's time for younger riders to experience what it is like to compete in front of a home crowd. I will be there to open it and soak up the experience."
The two gold medals Hoy won in London last summer added to the four he had won in previous Games. His sixth beat rower Sir Steve Redgrave's previous mark of five .
Asked if he was the greatest British Olympian, Hoy said: "To describe the greatest is subjective. To me, in my subjective opinion, Sir Steve Redgrave is the greatest in British history."
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