David Zabriskie (born January 12, 1979) is a retired professional

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most com ...

from the United States, who competed as a professional between 1999 and 2013. His main strength is

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also trac ...

s and his career highlights include

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

wins in all three Grand Tour stage races and winning the US National Time Trial Championship seven times. Zabriskie is known for his quirky nature, including singing before stages and the interviews he does with fellow riders in the professional

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

which are posted on his web site. In 2005, he became the third American to wear the leader's yellow jersey at the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

, after winning the prologue of that year's Tour. However, later admissions of drug use during that time caused him to be stripped of his stage win and the resulting yellow jersey. On October 10, 2012 – while a member of the squad – it was announced by USADA that he would be suspended for six months for admissions of doping during his time with the US Postal Cycling Team. Later that day, Zabriskie confirmed his acceptance of a six-month ban from September 1, 2012 ending on March 1, 2013 along with a stripping of all race results between May 13, 2003 and July 31, 2006.

Biography

Zabriskie was born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, and graduated from

Olympus High School Olympus High School is a public high school in the Granite School District in Holladay, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. Description The school opened on September 1, 1953, with an original enrollment of 1028 students. In the fall of 1960, th ...

in 1997, and made his professional debut with the Colorado Cyclist team in 1999. After displaying his talent for time trials by winning the US National Time Trial Championships (junior and under-23 age categories) and the Grand Prix des Nations (under-23 category), Zabriskie moved on to the team in 2001. Zabriskie seriously injured his left leg and wrist in 2003 while descending Mill Creek Canyon near Salt Lake City when a vehicle pulled into his lane and collided with him. Upon announcing his retirement in 2013, Zabriskie stated that the injury to his leg still bothered him and indicated it contributed to his decision to retire. Following a year of rehabilitation, he returned to form in 2004, winning the Elite US National Time Trial Championships. He also won stage 11 of the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...

in a 162 km solo breakaway, marking his first Grand Tour stage win—especially notable among his victories for not being a time trial. In the 2005 season Zabriskie switched to , where he racked up another Grand Tour stage victory by winning the 8th stage of the

2005 Giro d'Italia The 2005 Giro d'Italia was the 88th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. It began in Reggio Calabria with a prologue. The race came to a close with a mass-start road stage that stretched from Alb ...

. Despite success on the international cycling scene, Zabriskie did not receive much attention in his native United States until the

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

, when he won the stage 1 time trial, making him the first American to win stages in all three Grand Tours. Zabriskie beat

Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He achieved international fame for winning the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times fro ...

by two seconds clocking an average speed of 54.676 km/h. He wore the leader's

yellow jersey The general classification of the Tour de France is the most important classification of the race and determines the winner of the race. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification has worn the yellow jersey ( ). History For the first t ...

until the

team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ...

on stage 4, where he crashed within the final two kilometres, a crash determined as a chain slip though Zabriskie himself did not know what had happened. After the crash, Zabriskie suffered from his injuries and on stage 8, he arrived last, 51'12" after winner

Pieter Weening Pieter Weening (born 5 April 1981) is a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2004 and 2020 – for teams (2004–2011), (2012–2015), (2016–2019), and (2020). During his career, Weening took a total ...

. Zabriskie abandoned the race in the 9th stage after 11 km. Before Zabriskie had fully recovered from his crash in the Tour de France, a swinging glass door at a restaurant injured his hand badly enough to end his 2005 season.PezCycling News – What's Cool In Pro Cycling
/ref> Back home from the Tour de France, Zabriskie was honored in

by the declaration of "Dave Zabriskie Day" by the mayors of both Salt Lake County and

. Zabriskie's 2006 season started out well, with a strong 2nd-place finish in the February stage race Amgen Tour of California, 29 seconds after the winner, countryman

Floyd Landis Floyd Landis (born October 14, 1975) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. At the 2006 Tour de France, he would have been the third non-European winner in the event's history, but was disqualified after testing positive for p ...

. He was initially placed 3rd in the April stage race Ford Tour de Georgia, but as he lost time to the favourite riders on the

Brasstown Bald Brasstown Bald is the highest point in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is located in the northeastern part of the state in the Blue Ridge Mountains on the border between Towns and Union counties south of the city of Hiawassee. The mountain is kn ...

mountain stage, he finished 6th place overall. Dave Zabriskie won two time trials in the Dauphiné Libéré in May, beating Floyd Landis in the prologue by two seconds, and winning Stage 3 by 53 seconds, again ahead of Landis, further proving Zabriskie's outstanding time trialing skills. Following several mountain stages, including a ride up the

Mont Ventoux Mont Ventoux (; ) is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France, located some northeast of Carpentras, Vaucluse. On the north side, the mountain borders the department of Drôme. At , it is the highest mountain in the region and h ...

, Zabriskie finished the race in 32nd place, behind winner

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. ...

. Upon completing the

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

in 74th place, Zabriskie became the second American behind Christian Vande Velde to finish all three Grand Tours.

2007

On September 1, 2007, Zabriskie won the US National Time Trial Championship for the third time. He finished The Cliffs South Carolina 18.7 mile course in 39 minutes, 34 seconds (28.4 miles/hour average speed) which was just one second ahead of second-place finisher Danny Pate.

2008

After helping his team win the first stage team time trial at the Giro d'Italia, Zabriskie crashed in the Giro's second stage and had to abandon the race due to a fractured first vertebrae. Zabriskie was selected as one of the five riders for the US Olympic road race team and one of the two for the time trial. Later that year, Zabriskie placed 12th at 1:05:17.82 in the men's time trial at the Beijing Olympics, 3:06 behind race winner

Fabian Cancellara Fabian Cancellara (born 18 March 1981), nicknamed "Spartacus", is a Swiss people, Swiss cycling executive, businessman and former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist who last rode for UCI ProTeam . He is known for being a qual ...

2011

Zabriskie won stage 6, the Individual Time Trial in the Tour of California. Zabriskie was also key to 's successes in the 2011 Tour de France. Garmin-Cervélo win in the second stage team time trial propelled team leader

Thor Hushovd Thor Hushovd (born 18 January 1978) is a Norwegian former professional road bicycle racer. He is known for sprinting and time trialing; Hushovd is a three-time Norwegian National Road Race Championships, Norwegian national road race champion ( ...

into the yellow jersey. Thor stayed in the yellow jersey until stage 9, the stage Zabriskie seriously injured his wrist in a crash during a descent that also caused the withdrawal of

Alexander Vinokourov Alexander Nikolayevich Vinokourov ( Kazakh and Russian: ; born 16 September 1973) is a Kazakhstani former professional road bicycle racer and the current general manager of UCI WorldTeam . He is of Russian origin. As a competitor, his achieveme ...

Jurgen van den Broeck Jurgen Van den Broeck (born 1 February 1983) is a Belgian former road bicycle racer, who competed professionally between 2004 and 2017 for the , , and squads. Van den Broeck specialised in the time trial discipline, having been Junior World Ch ...

and Frederik Willems.

Personal life

In 2005, Zabriskie married Randi Reich, a 2005

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

alumna. In February 2009, thieves entered Zabriskie's home while he was away competing in the Tour of California and stole thousands of dollars worth of racing equipment and Olympic memorabilia and his Marvel action figure collection. Three men were charged in connection with the burglary. David Zabriskie confirmed at the end of the 2010 cycling season that he is following a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

based diet, albeit with the addition of salmon. Which would make his diet “pescetarian” by definition; incorporating seafood into an otherwise vegan diet is less commonly known as �
seaganism
��.

Retirement

At the beginning of the 2013

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia (), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Cycling monument, Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cycli ...

Zabriskie announced his retirement after 13 years as a professional cyclist.

Career achievements

Major results

;2000 : 1st MaillotUSA

Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

, National Under–23 Road Championships ;2002 : 1st Stage 1 Sea Otter Classic ;2003 ;2003 : 1st Young rider classification
Four Days of Dunkirk The Four Days of Dunkirk () is road bicycle race around the Nord-Pas de Calais region of northern France. Despite the name of the race, since the addition of an individual time trial in 1963, the race has been held over a 5 or 6 day period for ...
;2004 : 1st
Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...
, National Road Championships : Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...
::~~1st Stages 1 ( TTT) & 11~~ ;2005 : 1st Stage 1 ( ITT)
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...
: 1st Stage 8 ( ITT)
Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...
: 1st Stage 4 ( TTT)
Tour Méditerranéen 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 ...
;2006 : ~~Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré~~ ::~~1st Stage 1a & Stage 3 ( ITT)~~ : 1st
Eindhoven Team Time Trial The UCI ProTour Eindhoven Team Time Trial was an annual road bicycle race held in Eindhoven, Netherlands. It was approximately . Each team had six riders. In 2006, team size expanded to eight. Conceived as part of the UCI ProTour in 2005 UCI ProT ...
: ~~1st Stage 2 ( TTT) Settimana Ciclistica Internazionale~~ : ~~2nd Overall Tour of California~~ ;2006 : 1st MaillotUSA

, National Road Championships : 2nd Silver medal blank

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and , a UCI Road World Championships ...

;2007 : 1st MaillotUSA

, National Road Championships : 1st

Eindhoven Team Time Trial The UCI ProTour Eindhoven Team Time Trial was an annual road bicycle race held in Eindhoven, Netherlands. It was approximately . Each team had six riders. In 2006, team size expanded to eight. Conceived as part of the UCI ProTour in 2005 UCI ProT ...

: 5th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré ;2008 : 1st MaillotUSA

, National Road Championships : 1st Stage 1 Tour of the Bahamas : 1st Stage 1 ( TTT)

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

: 1st Stage 4 ( TTT)

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 ra ...

: 3rd

: 6th Overall Tour of California ;2009 : 1st MaillotUSA

, National Road Championships : 1st Overall Jersey yellow

Tour of Missouri ::1st Stage 5 ( ITT) : 2nd Overall Tour of California : 3rd Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León ;2010 : 2nd Overall Tour of California ::1st Stage 3 ;2011 : 1st MaillotUSA

, National Road Championships : 1st Stage 4 ( ITT)

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...

: 1st Stage 6 ( ITT) Tour of California : 1st Stage 2 ( TTT)

;2012 : 1st MaillotUSA

, National Road Championships : 1st Stage 1 ( ITT)

Tour de Langkawi The Tour de Langkawi is a stage race, multiple stage bicycle racing, 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 ...

: 1st Stage 2 ( TTT) Tour of Utah : 2nd Overall Tour of California ::1st Stage 5 ( ITT) : Jersey red number

Combativity award Stage 6,

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Footnotes

External links

*
VELOBIOS profileTeam Garmin-Chipotle profileZabriskie Podcasts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zabriskie, David 1979 births American male cyclists American Giro d'Italia stage winners American Vuelta a España stage winners American Tour de France stage winners Living people Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for the United States Sportspeople from Salt Lake City Doping cases in cycling American sportspeople in doping cases Cyclists from Utah 21st-century American sportsmen