Lech Piasecki (born 13 November 1961) is a Polish former

racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cyclin ...

. Born in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

, he became the first Polish cyclist to wear the yellow jersey 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 consist ...

, in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

. After Piasecki became Amateur world champion in 1985, the Colnago team wanted to sign him. The Polish cycling organisation allowed that in exchange for bicycles. His first victory as a professional cyclist was in a time trial in the

1986 Giro d'Italia The 1986 Giro d'Italia was the 69th running of the Giro d'Italia. The race started in Palermo, on 12 May, with a prologue and concluded in Merano, on 2 June, with a mass-start stage. A total of 171 riders from nineteen teams entered the 2 ...

, where he beat many favourites. In 1987, he won the first stage of the Tirreno–Adriatico. It was a time trial in which he started early, and the wind changed direction after Piasecki finished, so the main favourites who started later had a disadvantage. In the

1987 Tour de France The 1987 Tour de France was the 74th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 1 to 26 July. It consisted of 25 stages over . It was the closest three-way finish in the Tour until the 2007 Tour de France, among the closest overall races ...

, Piasecki became second in the prologue, and took the yellow jersey after finishing in the lead group of Stage 2. After he lost the lead on Stage 4, he had to abandon in the 7th stage due to an illness. On August 24, 1988 he became World Track Champion in individual pursuit. The following year Piasecki put forth a remarkable performance during the 1989 Giro d'Italia by winning three stages including two ITT stages, as well as a high mountain stage.

Career achievements

;1982 :1st Stage 7a,

Milk Race The Tour of Britain is a multi-stage cycling race, conducted on British roads, in which participants race across Great Britain to complete the race in the fastest time. The event dates back to the first British stage races held just after the ...

;1983 : 6th Overall Tour de Pologne ::1st Stage 6 ;1984 :3rd

Polish National Road Race Championships The Polish National Road Race Championships are held annually to decide the Polish cycling champions in the road race discipline, across various categories. Men Amateur Elite Under 23 Women Senior References External linkscycl ...

;1985 :1st

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 mixed team relay. Events ...

, Amateurs :1st Overall Peace Race ::1st Stages 1, 7, 8 & 11 ;1986 :1st Tour de Romagna :1st Florence-Pistoia :1st Stage 12 (

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 ...

) Giro d'Italia :1st Stage 3, Tour de l'Aude :1st Trofeo Baracchi (with Giuseppe Saronni) ;1987 :1st Stage 1 Tirreno–Adriatico ;1988 :1st Stage 21b (ITT) Giro d'Italia :1st Trofeo Baracchi (with Czesław Lang) ;1989 :1st Tour de Friuli :1st Stage 7 Tirreno–Adriatico : Giro d'Italia ::1st Stages 10 (ITT), 15b & 22 (ITT) ;1990 :1st Florence-Pistoia

Tour de France

- did not finish. Wore

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 ...

for 2 consecutive days, the first and so far only Polish cyclist to do so.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piasecki, Lech 1961 births Living people Polish male cyclists Sportspeople from Poznań UCI Track Cycling World Champions (men) Polish track cyclists