Christopher Brandon Horner (born October 23, 1971) is an American retired professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 1996 and 2019, and is the most recent American rider to win a Grand Tour. A current resident of Bend, Oregon, Horner dominated the American road racing scene by winning the points standings in the 2002, 2003 and 2004

USA Cycling National Racing Calendar The USA Cycling National Racing Calendar (NRC) is an annual competition of road bicycle racing events held in the United States and sponsored by USA Cycling. The NRC includes a men's and women's individual and team rankings based on points awar ...

. He won the Vuelta a España in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, becoming the oldest winner of any of cycling's grand tours in the process.

Racing career

PAA–NutraFig (1995–96)

Horner turned professional in 1995 with the PAA–NutraFig team. He captured his first major victory in a stage win of the

Tour DuPont The Tour DuPont was a cycling stage race in the United States held annually between 1989 and 1996, initially called the Tour de Trump in the first two years. It was intended to become a North American cycling event similar in format and prestig ...

in 1996.

Française des Jeux (1997–99)

He was then asked to ride in Europe with French team . From 1997 to 1999 he had three frustrating seasons with this team.

Mercury, Prime Alliance, Saturn, and Webcor (2000–2004)

In 2000, Horner returned to America to resume a record-setting domestic career, riding with Mercury in 2000, Prime Alliance in 2002, Saturn in 2003 and Webcor Builders in 2004. Horner has won almost every important race in the US racing calendar, with the notable exception of the USPRO National Championships.

Saunier Duval (2004–05)

Horner decided to move to after his top-ten finish in the

2004 UCI Road World Championships The 2004 UCI Road World Championships took place in Verona, Italy, between 27 September and 3 October 2004. The event consisted of a road race and a time trial for men, women, men under 23, junior men and junior women. Events summary { ...

because he wanted to give the Tour de France a try. After being injured in the beginning of 2005, Horner showed strong performance in the USPRO Championships and won his first major European victory by taking the sixth stage of the

2005 Tour de Suisse The 2005 Tour de Suisse was the 69th edition of the Tour de Suisse road cycling stage race and was held from 11 June to 19 June 2005. The race started in Schaffhausen and finished in Ulrichen. Australian Michael Rogers was not able to defend h ...

. He then earned his place on the

2005 Tour de France The 2005 Tour de France was the 92nd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 2–24 July, with 21 stages covering a distance . It has no overall winner—although American cyclist Lance Armstrong origin ...

team and nearly won the Miramas to Montpellier stage when he and

Sylvain Chavanel Sylvain Chavanel'' Procycling'', UK, November 2008 (born 30 June 1979) is a French former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2000 and 2018 for the , , and two spells with the / team. His brother Sébastien Chavanel ...

refused to cooperate in the final kilometers and were caught by the

peloton In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close ( drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reducti ...

Davitamon and Predictor (2006–07)

He made a move to the Belgian UCI ProTour squad for the 2006 season. He took a stage victory at the Tour de Romandie, and finished the race in seventh overall. During both the

2006 Tour de France The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between the 1st and the 23rd of July. It was won by Óscar Pereiro following the disqualification of Floyd Landis. Due to the Unit ...

and the

2007 Tour de France The 2007 Tour de France the 94th running of the race, took place from 7 to 29 July. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and Spain. It was ...

, Horner was one of the most important

domestiques ''Domestiques'' is the Delgados' debut album. It was released on their own label, Chemikal Underground, on 28 October 1996. The title (literally "servants" in French) is a reference to the support team for the team leader in road bicycle r ...

for general classification contender

Cadel Evans Cadel Lee Evans (; born 14 February 1977) is an Australian former professional racing cyclist, who competed professionally in both mountain biking and road bicycle racing. A four-time Olympian, Evans is one of three non-Europeans – along with ...

, who placed inside the top-five overall in both years. For 2007, Horner signed with Ed Krall Racing for the cyclo-cross season.

Astana (2008–09)

In 2008, Horner moved to . Horner earned the nickname "The Smiler" for his unflappable expression of happiness, even during the most excruciating physical challenges, and "The Yahoo Kid" for his wild exclamations after winning a race. Teammates

Levi Leipheimer Levi Leipheimer (born October 24, 1973) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He was twice US national champion, winning the time trial title in 1999 and the road race in 2007, and is an Olympic medalist. ...

and

Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong ('' né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005 after recovering f ...

call him "The Redneck". In the 2008

Cascade Cycling Classic The Cascade Cycling Classic was the longest running elite road bicycle racing stage race in the United States (1980–2019), with 2018 being the only year the race was not held. The race took place in the Central Oregon region and was based in Be ...

Horner carried amateur cyclist and

Nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first ever Winter Olympics in 1924, while the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup ...

skier

Bill Demong William Demong (born March 29, 1980 in Vermontville, New York) is an American former Nordic combined skier and Olympic gold medalist. Demong is a five-time Olympian, having competed in Nagano, Salt Lake City, Torino, Vancouver and Sochi. Career ...

(who was from another team) with his broken bicycle to the finish line.

RadioShack (2010–11)

Chris Horner, Tour of California 2011 (cropped)

2010

On October 4, 2009, it was confirmed that Horner would compete for in the next two seasons. In one of his strongest European campaigns, Horner garnered first overall at the

Tour of the Basque Country The Tour of the Basque Country (Officially: ''Itzulia Basque Country'', es, Vuelta al País Vasco, links=no, eu, Euskal Herriko Itzulia) is an annual road cycling stage race held in the Spanish Basque Country in April. It is one of the races t ...

, including a stage win in the critical 6th stage individual time trial, defeating overall threat

Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (born 25 April 1980) is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist, who last rode for UCI WorldTeam . Valverde's biggest wins have been the Vuelta a España in 2009, Critérium du Dauphiné in 2008 and 2009, ...

. Horner also achieved several top 10 placings in the

Spring classics The classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional road cycling races in the international calendar. Some of these events date back to the 19th century. They are normally held at roughly the same time each year. The five most ...

La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is today normally held mid-week bet ...

, Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the

Amstel Gold Race The Amstel Gold Race is an annual one-day classic road cycling race held in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. It traditionally marks the turning point of the spring classics, with the climbers and stage racers replacing the cobbled classic ...

. He and his RadioShack teammates did well at the Tour of California, with Horner putting on a particularly strong performance in the last stage of the race as a member of a final breakaway at

Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak trees ...

. Horner finished fourth overall, 64 seconds behind winner Michael Rogers, and just 39 seconds behind teammate Levi Leipheimer in overall time. His good form also resulted in a 9th place overall at the Tour de France, as the first-placed American rider, in spite of dedicating himself in the first stages to supporting his captain Lance Armstrong.

2011

In 2011, Horner continued his success at the

with a second-place finish, as well as 4th at the

Volta a Catalunya The Volta a Catalunya (; en, Tour of Catalonia, es, Vuelta a Cataluña, link=no) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of th ...

. Horner then accomplished another high-profile result by winning May's Tour of California stage race. He scored a major solo victory on the 4th stage, after making significant time gains on the day's final mountain finish in San Jose. He maintained his hold on the

yellow jersey The general classification is the most important classification, the one by which the winner of the Tour de France is determined. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification wears the yellow jersey (french: maillot jaune ). History Th ...

until the tour's

queen stage This is a glossary of terms and jargon used in cycling, mountain biking, and cycle sport. For ''parts of a bicycle'', see List of bicycle parts. 0–9 ; 27.5 Mountain bike: A mountain bike with wheels that are approximately in diameter and ...

, where he completed a two-man breakaway finish with teammate

to finalize the overall lead, and at age 39 became the oldest rider in history to win that tour. His participation at the Tour de France was short lived after a crash left him out of the competition.

RadioShack–Nissan (2012–2013)

2012

In 2012, Horner signed with . He started the

Tirreno–Adriatico Tirreno–Adriatico, nicknamed the "Race of the Two Seas", is an elite road cycling stage race in Italy, run between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic coasts. Traditionally held in the early part of the season, it is considered to be an important prep ...

as his first race since July where he finished second after losing his lead in the final time trial to

Vincenzo Nibali ), The Nibbler , birth_date = , birth_place = Messina, Sicily, Italy , height = , weight = , currentteam = , discipline = Road , role = Rider , ridertype = Climber , proyears1 = 2005 , proteam1 = , proyears2 = 2006–2012 , protea ...

. He then finished 8th in the Tour of California, failing to defend his title. He then rode the Tour de France where he ended up finishing 13th overall after putting a good performance in the mountains.

2013

After suffering an injury in the beginning of 2013, Horner returned to action after winning stage 5 in the

Tour of Utah Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

and finishing 2nd overall. Less than three weeks later, in stage 3 of the Vuelta a España, Horner attacked over the last kilometer to win the stage and take the overall lead in the race. By doing this, he became the oldest rider in history (41 years and 307 days) to win a stage and wear the leader's jersey in a Grand Tour. He won again on stage 10, another uphill finish, reclaiming the lead. and setting a new record of the oldest rider (41 years and 314 days) to win a stage in a Grand Tour. He lost the race lead on the following stage to

, and fell to fourth overall; however, he moved up to second place overall – 50 seconds behind Nibali – before the race's final week. He reduced Nibali's lead by 22 seconds on stage 16, and 25 seconds on stage 18, to trail by 3 seconds. A six-second swing on stage 19 resulted in Horner taking a three-second lead into the penultimate stage, which ends with the climb up the ledgendary

Alto de l'Angliru Alto de L'Angliru ( ast, L'Angliru; es, el Angliru) is a steep mountain road in Asturias, near La Vega-Riosa, in northern Spain. It is considered one of the most demanding climbs in professional road bicycle racing and is often used in the Vuelta a ...

, one of the hardest climbs in all of cycling that has been both vilified as an act of "barbarism". and praised as a great challenge. Nibali – who had been looking to complete a Giro–Vuelta double – tried to distance Horner on several occasions as they climbed into the clouds on the mountains on the Angliru with fans parting as the rode up sections so steep that the camera bikes stalled and fell leaving no TV coverage for several minutes as they struggled to catch up. But Horner answered every attack by slowly reeling Nibali in before Nibali finally cracked on a hairpin turn on a 20% + section with just 1k remaining. However Horner continued opening the gap out to 28 seconds on the road by the finish line. But the second place time bonus gave him his race-winning margin of 37 seconds and Chris Horner won the Vuelta a España. It was Horners only grand tour win in his 20+ year professional career, and in winning this race he became the oldest ever Grand Tour winner. He left at the end of the season, as his contract expired. He felt he was worth more than the team were willing to offer for a rider of his resume and ability.

Lampre–Merida (2014)

Horner joined for the 2014 season. In April, while training in Italy for the Giro d'Italia, he was hit by a car driver who subsequently fled the scene. Horner suffered a punctured lung and broken ribs in the accident, jeopardizing his participation at the Giro d'Italia. He elected not to compete in the Giro d'Italia; on June 30, 2014, Horner was named in Lampre's Tour de France squad, with Rui Costa as team leader. He placed second in the mountainous

which he raced in preparation for the Vuelta a España. However, Horner withdrew from the Vuelta ahead of the first stage due to his

cortisol Cortisol is a steroid hormone, in the glucocorticoid class of hormones. When used as a medication, it is known as hydrocortisone. It is produced in many animals, mainly by the ''zona fasciculata'' of the adrenal cortex in the adrenal gland ...

levels dropping below the threshold considered healthy by the Mouvement pour un cyclisme crédible, of which Lampre–Mérida is a member. The announcement followed Horner's usage of

cortisone Cortisone is a pregnene (21-carbon) steroid hormone. It is a naturally-occurring corticosteroid metabolite that is also used as a pharmaceutical prodrug; it is not synthesized in the adrenal glands. Cortisol is converted by the action of the enz ...

on prescription under a therapeutic use exemption to treat a case of bronchitis. Lampre–Mérida opted not to extend Horner's contract, and in December 2014 he announced he had signed a deal with UCI Continental team for 2015.

Team Illuminate (2018–2019)

In June 2018, Horner returned to racing for the

United States National Road Race Championships The United States National Professional Road Race Championships began in 1985. They are run by the governing body, USA Cycling. Until 2006 the race was open to all nationalities, the first American to finish being named the winner and given a dis ...

, riding for . He said that overcoming a bronchial infection that had plagued the tailend of his career had convinced him to come out of retirement. However, he eventually did not finish the road race.

Broadcasting career

In 2019, Horner joined the team of broadcaster

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...

for their coverage of the Tour de France, acting as a commentator, and in August 2020 started his own YouTube show called 'The Butterfly Effect'.

Major results

;1996 : 1st Lancaster Classic : 1st Stage 1

: 2nd Overall

Redlands Bicycle Classic The Redlands Bicycle Classic is a cycling stage race located in Redlands, California, United States that has been held since 1985. It consists of three road races, an individual time trial and a criterium A criterium, or crit, is a bike race c ...

: 3rd Road race, National Road Championships : 3rd Overall

Fitchburg Longsjo Classic Fitchburg Longsjo Classic, also known as the Longsjo Classic, was an annual bicycle race held in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, United States. The race began in 1960 as the Arthur M. Longsjo Jr Memorial Race, in honor of Art Longsjo. History The ...

;1997 : 3rd GP Ouest–France : 3rd

Nevada City Classic The Nevada City Classic (previously: Tour of Nevada City; Father's Day Bicycle Classic), one of the most historic and challenging professional cycling races in the US, is held in Nevada City, California. Established in 1960, the Nevada City Classi ...

;1998 : 7th Overall Tour du Poitou-Charentes et de la Vienne : 9th

Grand Prix des Nations The Grand Prix des Nations was an individual time trial (against the clock) for both professional and amateur racing cyclists. Held annually in Cannes, France, it was instituted in 1932 and often regarded as the unofficial time trial championship ...

;1999 : 9th Overall

Circuit des Mines The Circuit de Lorraine is a multi-stage road bicycle racing event held annually in Lorraine, France. Since 2005, it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing compet ...

;2000 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

Tour de Langkawi The Tour de Langkawi is a multiple stage bicycle race held in Malaysia. It is named after the archipelago Langkawi, where the first edition started and finished. The race has been held annually since 1996, primarily in February. It usually con ...

: 1st

Overall

: 8th Overall

Critérium International The Critérium International was a two-day bicycle stage race held in France every spring from 1932 until 2016, typically the last weekend of March. It was formerly known as the Critérium National de la Route, first run in 1932. For many year ...

: 8th Route Adélie de Vitré ;2001 : 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 3 : 5th Overall

::1st Stage 5 ;2002 : 1st

: 1st

Overall

::1st Stages 1 & 2 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

Sea Otter Classic The Sea Otter Classic is a bicycling and outdoor sports festival and exposition held each spring since 1991 at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey ...

::1st Stage 3 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

Nature Valley Grand Prix The North Star Grand Prix is a men's and women's road bicycle racing stage race held each June in Minnesota, United States, as part of the North Star Bicycle Festival. An event was added in North Mankato, Minnesota, North Mankato in 2016. The North ...

::1st Stage 3 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

: 2nd Time trial, National Road Championships : 3rd Overall

: 9th

San Francisco Grand Prix The San Francisco Grand Prix was a road cycling race held in San Francisco, United States in early September. It was as a 1.HC event and in 2005 part of the UCI America Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing compet ...

;2003 : 1st

: 1st

Overall

Tour de Georgia The Tour de Georgia was a U.S. professional road cycling stage race across the state of Georgia. The race began in 2003 and was contested six times until 2008. It was one of the three events in North America ranked as Hors Classe ( 2.HC) stage rac ...

::1st

Mountains classification : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

: 1st

: 1st Stage 4

: 2nd Overall

::1st Stages 2 & 3 : 3rd Overall

: 9th Lancaster Classic ;2004 : 1st

: 1st

Overall

::1st Stage 2 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stages 1a (

ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...

), 1b & 2 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

International Tour de Toona The International Tour de Toona was a stage bicycle race held in Central Pennsylvania in July from 1987 until 2011. The event became the largest pro-am cycling event in North America and had stages spanning Blair, Cambria, Bedford, and Somerset ...

: 3rd Overall

: 8th Road race, UCI Road World Championships ;2005 : 3rd Road race, National Road Championships : 5th Overall Tour de Suisse ::1st Stage 6 : 6th Lancaster Classic ;2006 : 7th Overall Tour de Romandie ::1st Stage 2 : 8th Liège–Bastogne–Liège : 10th Overall Paris–Nice ;2007 : 3rd

Giro dell'Emilia The Giro dell'Emilia is a late season road bicycle race held annually in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour, and since 2020 it's part of the UCI ProSeries calendar. Th ...

: 5th Overall Tour de Romandie : 5th

Coppa Sabatini The Coppa Sabatini is a late season road bicycle race held annually in Province of Pisa, Italy. From 2005 to 2019, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2020, it was added to the UCI ProSeries The UCI ProSeries is ...

: 10th Giro di Lombardia ;2008 : 7th Overall Tour of California : 7th Giro di Lombardia ;2009 : 2nd Overall

Tour de l'Ain Tour de l'Ain, also known as the Prix de l'Amitié, is an annual professional cycling stage race held in eastern France. G.P. de l'Amitié The first edition of the race was in 1970, as the G.P. de l'Amitié (Friendship G.P.). It was held over ...

::1st

Points classification ;2010 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stage 6 (

) : 2nd Overall

Giro di Sardegna Giro di Sardegna (Tour of Sardinia) was a stage road bicycle race held on the island of Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian language, Italian, Corsican language, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; fre ...

: 4th Road race, National Road Championships : 4th Overall Tour of California : 7th Overall

: 7th

: 7th Liège–Bastogne–Liège : 8th Overall Tour de France : 9th Overall

Critérium du Dauphiné The Critérium du Dauphiné, before 2010 known as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, is an annual cycling road race in the Dauphiné region in the southeast of France. The race is run over eight days during the first half of June. It is par ...

: 10th

;2011 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Tour of California ::1st Stage 4 : 2nd Overall

: 3rd Overall

;2012 : 2nd Overall

: 7th Overall

: 8th Overall Tour of California : 9th Overall

;2013 : 1st Jersey red

Overall Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers". Overalls were ...

Vuelta a España ::1st Jersey white

Combination classification ::1st Stages 3 & 10 : 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 5 : 6th Overall

;2014 : 2nd Overall

: 8th Overall

Volta ao Algarve The Volta ao Algarve (Portuguese; en, Tour of the Algarve) is a road bicycle racing stage race held annually in the Algarve, Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose ...

;2015 : 4th Overall

Tour d'Azerbaïdjan Tour d'Azerbaïdjan was a 2.1 multi-stage bicycle race of the UCI Europe Tour, which took place in Azerbaijan around May between 2012 and 2017. Each day, participants started on a new phase of the race. The race was held in 7 regions of Azerbaij ...

: 5th Road race, National Road Championships : 5th Overall

: 7th Overall

: 9th Overall

Tour of the Gila The Tour of the Gila is a cycling stage race for both men and women located in New Mexico, United States. It is sponsored by the component maker SRAM. The "Gila" began in 1987. Beginning in 2012, the men's Gila has been added to the UCI Americ ...

;2016 : 9th Overall

General classification results timeline

References

External links

*
USA Cycling biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Horner, Chris 1971 births American male cyclists American Vuelta a España stage winners Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Living people Olympic cyclists of the United States Sportspeople from Bend, Oregon Tour de Suisse stage winners Vuelta a España winners Cyclists from Oregon