José Luis Rubiera Vigil (born 27 January 1973 in

Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and municipality by population in the autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea in the Bay of Biscay, in the cent ...

) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. He last rode for the

UCI ProTour The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI (International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, ...

team . Rubiera won his first professional race at the

1997 Giro d'Italia The 1997 Giro d'Italia was the 80th edition of the Giro. It began on 17 May with a mass-start stage that began and ended in Venice. The race came to a close on 8 June with a mass-start stage that ended in the Italian city of Milan. Eighteen t ...

, winning stage 19. He would win another stage in the

2000 Giro d'Italia The 2000 Giro d'Italia was the 83rd edition of the Giro. It began with a prologue that navigated through the Italian capital Rome. The race came to a close on June 4 with a mass-start stage that ended in the Italian city of Milan. Twenty te ...

and was part of three consecutive team time trial (TTT) stage wins in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

. He has also finished in the top 10 of both the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage 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'Italia, the ...

and Giro d'Italia, on two occasions apiece. His climbing ability was instrumental in leading

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 fr ...

to five of his Tour de France victories, most famously leading Armstrong up the start of Alpe d'Huez in 2001. It was also on this stage that "The Look" incident happened between Armstrong and

Jan Ullrich Jan Ullrich (; born 2 December 1973) is a German former professional road bicycle racer. Ullrich won gold and silver medals in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Sydney. He won the 1999 Vuelta a España and the HEW Cyclassics in fro ...

just prior to Armstrong launching his attack. In reality Armstrong was not looking at Ullrich, but rather at Rubiera as he was checking to be sure Rubiera would be there to save him if he cracked and his attack failed. He earned an engineering degree in 2004, while balancing his race schedule and studies. He is very respected in 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 ...

and was elected as deputy to the cyclists' representative council of the

Career achievements

Major results

;1997 : 10th Overall, Giro d'Italia :: 1st, Stage 19 ;1999 : 1st Overall, Volta ao Alentejo :: 1st, Stage 3b ( ITT) : 6th Overall,

;2000 : 1st, Subida al Naranco : 8th Overall, Giro d'Italia :: 1st, Stage 13 ;2001 : 2nd Overall,

Vuelta a Burgos Vuelta Ciclista a Burgos is an elite professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the Burgos province of Spain. The men's Vuelta a Burgos has been a multi-day stage race as part of the UCI Europe Tour since 2005. In 2019, a multi-day ...

:: 1st, King of the Mountains : 7th Overall,

;2002 : 2nd Overall,

;2003 : 1st, Stage 4 ( TTT),

;2004 : 1st, Stage 4 ( TTT),

: 2nd,

Châteauroux Classic The Châteauroux Classic de l'Indre Trophée Fenioux was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in August in the region of Indre, France, starting and finishing in Châteauroux. It was created in 2004 and since 2005 the race had been organ ...

;2005 : 1st, Stage 4 ( TTT),

: 3rd 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. Since 2017, it has been organised as a 2.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race became part of the new UCI ...

;2006 : 3rd Overall,

Vuelta a Castilla y León The Vuelta Ciclista a Castilla y León is a professional road bicycle stage race held in Castile and León, Spain. Since 2005, Vuelta a Castilla y León has been a part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bi ...

: 9th Overall, Paris–Nice : 10th Overall,

;2007 : 1st, Stage 8,

Tour of Qinghai Lake The Tour of Qinghai Lake is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in the Qinghai province of China since 2002, named after Qinghai Lake. The race is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.HC race as part ...

;2008 : 1st, Stage 2,

Vuelta a Murcia The Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia ( en, Tour of Murcia) is a road bicycle race held in and around Murcia, Spain. The first four editions were reserved to amateurs. Originally the race was held in early March and consisted of five stages. However, d ...

;2009 : 10th Overall,

Tour of California The Tour of California (officially sponsored as the Amgen Tour of California) was an annual professional road cycling stage race on the UCI World Tour and USA Cycling Professional Tour that ran from 2006 to 2019. It was the only event on the ...

;2010 : 10th Overall,

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

*
chechurubiera.info An Online Magazine for Fans of Chechu Rubiera
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubiera, Jose Luis Living people 1973 births Spanish male cyclists Spanish Giro d'Italia stage winners Sportspeople from Gijón Cyclists from Asturias