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2008 In Road Cycling
In 2008, for the first time in ten years, two Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours were won by one rider, the Spaniard Alberto Contador. Alessandro Ballan succeeded fellow Italian Paolo Bettini as UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, World Champion, winning the road race in his home country, where Varese hosted the World Championships for the second time in history. Bettini and German cycling sprinter, sprinter Erik Zabel were among the most prominent riders to quit after this season, while Mario Cipollini made a brief comeback in the early months of the year. Despite even tighter controls and warnings concerning doping, and the introduction of the blood passport by the UCI, several major races, including the Giro d'Italia, Giro and Tour de France, Tour were faced with positive tests. In addition, the ongoing feud between the Union Cycliste Internationale, UCI and the race organizations almost came to a definite break in March, when the UCI threatened to suspend riders ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Tour (cycling)
In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour is one of the three major European professional cycling stage (bicycle race), stage races: Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España. Collectively they are termed the ''Grand Tours'', and all three races are similar in format, being three-week races with daily stages. They have a special status in the Union Cycliste Internationale, UCI regulations: more points for the UCI World Tour are distributed in Grand Tours than in other races, and they are the only stage races allowed to last longer than 14 days, and these differ from major stage races more than one week in duration. All three races have a substantial history, with the Tour de France first held in 1903, Giro d'Italia first held in 1909 and the Vuelta a España first held in 1935. The Giro is generally run in May, the Tour in July, and the Vuelta in late August and September. The Vuelta was originally held in the spring, usually late April, with a few editions held in June in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deutschland Tour
The Deutschland Tour (English: ''Tour of Germany'' and sometimes ''Deutschland-Rundfahrt'' in German) is the most important Race stage, multi-stage road bicycle racing, road bicycle race in Germany. Initially the race was held in May/June, but from 2005 until 2008 it was moved to August as part of the UCI ProTour. On October 16, 2008, the organizers announced that the 2009 edition would be cancelled, following the doping cases that were revealed in the sport of cycling. Marketing chiefs said they were unable to finance the nine-day race due to a lack of interested sponsors after the latest revelations of cyclists testing positive for the blood-booster Continuous erythropoiesis receptor activator, CERA. A revival for 2017 was announced on 8 March 2016. In 2018, the A.S.O. revived the Deutschland Tour and included a 4-stage-race into a cycling festival. From 23 August to 26 August 2018, the Deutschland Tour took place in the South-Western region of Germany. The 2019 race was held fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riccardo Riccò
Riccardo Riccò (born 1 September 1983) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who was suspended from all competition until 2024. He was previously ejected from the 2008 Tour de France for doping violations and suspended. Riccò returned to competition in late 2010, but in February 2011 he was fired by his team, , after he became seriously ill allegedly through a self-administered autologous blood transfusion. He then signed to UCI Continental team . On 19 April 2012 it was announced that he had been suspended for 12 years, effectively ending his career. Career Born in Formigine, Riccò joined UCI ProTeam in 2006 after two successful seasons as an amateur rider, during which he won the Settimana Bergamasca. Prior to joining the team he tried to become a professional with in 2005 but was not allowed because several blood tests revealed his hematocrit levels exceeded those acceptable. Saunier Duval's sportif director, Mauro Gianetti, suggested he spend a week in the UCI ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bernhard Kohl
Bernhard Kohl (born 4 January 1982) is an Austrian former professional road bicycle racer and recognized climbing specialist. After the Gerolsteiner team announced they would not be in existence for the 2009 season, Kohl signed with UCI ProTeam for three years. His biggest career achievements include becoming the Austrian national road race champion in 2006, finishing third place overall in the Dauphiné Libéré and winning the mountains classification in the 2008 Tour de France. He was 73 seconds behind winner Carlos Sastre at the completion of the event, finishing in third place in the General classification. He was banned from the sport for two years after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs in October 2008. On 25 May 2009, he announced his retirement from the sport, claiming that it is "impossible to win without doping" in international cycling. upleft, Bernhard Kohl wears the Mountains classification in the Tour de France, polka dot jersey of the Tour de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Greg LeMond and Egan Bernal – to have won the Tour de France, winning the race in 2011 Tour de France, 2011. Early in his career, he was a champion Mountain biking, mountain biker, winning the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in 1998 and 1999 and placing seventh in the Cycling at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's cross-country, men's cross-country mountain bike race at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Evans is a four-time Olympian. Evans turned to full-time Road bicycle racing, road cycling in 2001, and gradually progressed through the ranks. He finished second in the Tour de France in 2007 Tour de France, 2007 and 2008 Tour de France, 2008. Both of these 2nd place finishes are in the top 10 of the Tour de France records and statisti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carlos Sastre
Carlos Sastre Candil (; born 22 April 1975) is a former Spanish professional road bicycle racer and winner of the 2008 Tour de France. He consistently achieved outstanding results in the Vuelta a España and in the Tour de France. Sastre established himself as a strong and stable climbing specialist, and after working to improve his individual time trial skills, he became a contender for the top GC spots in the Grand Tours. In total, Sastre finished in the top ten of fifteen Grand Tours during his career, and finished on the podium of each of them. Sastre never tested positive for drugs, nor was he implicated in any doping investigation, even though he performed at the top level of cycling. Sastre continues to be widely regarded, following the Lance Armstrong affair, as one of the very few 'clean' riders to have won the Tour de France in the period from 1996 to 2013, as he has never been involved in a doping affair. In fact, with respect to doping allegations and admissions that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tour De France 2008
The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th running of the race. The event took place from 5 to 27 July. Starting in the French city of Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16th, heading for Paris, its regular final destination, which was reached in the 21st stage. The race was won by Carlos Sastre. Unlike previous years, time bonuses were no longer awarded for intermediate sprints and for high placement on each stage. This altered the way the General Classification was awarded in comparison to previous seasons. Teams Long running disputes between the event organisers, the ASO and the UCI reached a head when the race organisers insisted upon the right to invite, or exclude, whichever teams it chose for the event. Under UCI rules, any ProTour event must be open to all member teams of the UCI's top level. The ASO made it clear that, despite changes in team management and personnel, it intended to exclude from the event as a result of it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astana Team
XDS Astana Team () is a professional road bicycle racing cycling team, team sponsored by the Samruk-Kazyna, a coalition of state-owned companies from Kazakhstan and named after its capital (political), capital city Astana. Astana attained UCI ProTeam status in its inaugural year, 2007. Following a major doping scandal involving Kazakh rider Alexander Vinokourov, team management was terminated and new management brought in for the 2008 season. The team was then managed by Johan Bruyneel, former team manager of Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team, U.S. Postal/Discovery Channel team. Under Bruyneel the ethical nature of the team did not improve, although Astana in this period was very successful. With a lineup including Grand Tour winner Alberto Contador, as well as runner-up Andreas Klöden the results were good, but the team was on the verge of financial collapse in May 2009. A battle for control of the team led to the return of Vinokourov for the 2009 Vuelta a España and caused B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 from 1999 Tour de France, 1999 to 2005 Tour de France, 2005, but was stripped of his titles in 2012 after Lance Armstrong doping case, an investigation into History of Lance Armstrong doping allegations, doping allegations found that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs over his career. As a result, Armstrong is currently banned for life from all sanctioned bicycling events. At age 16, Armstrong began competing as a triathlon, triathlete and was a national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990. In 1992, he began his career as a professional cyclist with the Motorola Cycling Team, Motorola team. Armstrong had success between 1993 and 1996 with the UCI Road World Championships, World Championship in 1993 UCI Road World Champio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alejandro Valverde
Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (born 25 April 1980) is a Spanish cyclist, who competed as a professional in road bicycle racing from 2002 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2022, and now competes in gravel cycling for the Movistar Team Gravel Squad. During his road racing career, Valverde took 133 professional victories, with some of his biggest wins having been the Vuelta a España in 2009 Vuelta a España, 2009, the Critérium du Dauphiné in 2008 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, 2008 and 2009 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, 2009, the Tour of the Basque Country in 2017 Tour of the Basque Country, 2017, the Volta a Catalunya in 2009 Volta a Catalunya, 2009, 2017 Volta a Catalunya, 2017 and 2018 Volta a Catalunya, 2018, Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2006 Liège–Bastogne–Liège, 2006, 2008 Liège–Bastogne–Liège, 2008, 2015 Liège–Bastogne–Liège, 2015 and 2017 Liège–Bastogne–Liège, 2017, La Flèche Wallonne in 2006 La Flèche Wallonne, 2006, 2014 La Flèche Wallonne, 201 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Team Columbia
A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to information, resources, knowledge and skills and who seek to combine their efforts to achieve a common goal". A group does not necessarily constitute a team. Teams normally have members with complementary skills and generate synergy through a coordinated effort which allows each member to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. Naresh Jain (2009) claims: Team members need to learn how to help one another, help other team members realize their true potential, and create an environment that allows everyone to go beyond their limitations. While academic research on teams and teamwork has grown consistently and has shown a sharp increase over the past recent 40 years, the societal diffusion of teams and teamwork actually follo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
