Puncheur
A puncheur or puncher is a road bicycle racer who specialises in rolling terrain with short but steep climbs. The ideal races for this type of rider are one-day spring classics (making them classics specialists), which are characterized by multiple hills with a 10–20% gradient and are 1–2 km long. Examples include climbs at Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the Mur de Huy in the Flèche Wallonne and the Cauberg in the Amstel Gold Race (men's race), Amstel Gold Race, which comprise the Ardennes classics. Puncheurs can be well built, with broader shoulders and bigger legs than the average racing cyclist (able to produce high overall power over short time periods) - for example Wout van Aert (78kg) or Peter Sagan (78kg) or smaller, lighter riders (able to produce a higher power/weight ratio over that same time period) - for example Paolo Bettini (58kg) or Julian Alaphilippe (62kg). The physique of this type of rider allows them to escape from the peloton through quick bursts, som ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 common competition formats are mass start events, where riders start simultaneously (though sometimes with a handicap) and race to a set finish point; and time trials, where individual riders or teams race a course alone against the clock. Stage races or "tours" take multiple days, and consist of several mass-start or time-trial stages ridden consecutively. Professional racing originated in Western Europe, centred in France, Spain, Italy and the Low Countries. Since the mid-1980s, the sport has diversified, with races held at the professional, semi-professional and amateur levels, worldwide. The sport is governed by the (UCI). As well as the UCI's annual World Championships for men and women, the biggest event is the Tour de France, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mathieu Van Der Poel
Mathieu van der Poel (born 19 January 1995) is a Belgian-born Dutch professional Cycle sport, cyclist who rides for the UCI WorldTeam . He competes in the cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, mountain biking, Gravel cycling, gravel and road bicycle racing, road racing disciplines of the sport. Van der Poel has won seven UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, Cyclo-cross World Championships (2015 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, 2015, 2019 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, 2019, 2020 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, 2020, 2021 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, 2021, 2023 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, 2023, 2024 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, 2024, 2025 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, 2025), one UCI Gravel World Championships, Gravel World Championship (2024 UCI Gravel World Championships, 2024) and one Road World Championship (2023 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, 2023), becoming the only Men's World Champion in three different cycling ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Joaquim Rodríguez
Joaquim Rodríguez Oliver (born 12 May 1979) is a Spanish cyclist, who competed in road bicycle racing between 2001 and 2016 for the , , and teams. Following his retirement from road racing, Rodríguez has competed in mountain bike racing and formed his own mountain bike racing team, Andbank–La Purito. Rodríguez recorded notable results included fourteen Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tour stage victories, and five overall podium placings: second places at the 2012 Giro d'Italia and the 2015 Vuelta a España, and third-place finishes at the 2010 Vuelta a España, the 2012 Vuelta a España and the 2013 Tour de France. He also finished first in the UCI world rankings in 2010 UCI World Ranking, 2010, 2012 UCI World Tour, 2012 and 2013 UCI World Tour, 2013, and won Classic cycle races, classics such as the 2012 La Flèche Wallonne, La Flèche Wallonne and the Giro di Lombardia twice (2012 Giro di Lombardia, 2012 and 2013 Giro di Lombardia, 2013). He also won stage races including t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Simon Gerrans
Simon Gerrans (born 16 May 1980) is an Australian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2018, for the , , , , and squads. Post-retirement he initially worked as an athlete intern at Goldman Sachs in London, then joineThe Service Course in which he is an investor, as COO and now CEO, in early 2020. He can also be heard commentating road cycling for ASO and SBS. Gerrans was a two-time winner of the Australian National Road Race Championships, having won the title in 2012, and 2014. Aside from his National Championship successes, his biggest triumphs were winning the Tour Down Under a record four times, and getting the better of one-day races such as the 2009 GP Ouest-France, the 2012 Milan–San Remo, the 2012 and 2014 Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, the 2014 Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and stage wins in all three Grand Tours. In the 2013 Tour de France, Gerrans claimed the yellow jersey on Stage 4 after being part of the winning ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Philippe Gilbert
Philippe Gilbert (born 5 July 1982) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, who is best known for winning the 2012 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, World Road Race Championships in 2012, and for being one of two riders, along with Davide Rebellin, to have won the three Ardennes classics – the Amstel Gold Race (men's race), Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège – in a single season, which he accomplished in 2011 UCI World Tour, 2011. Gilbert also finished the 2011 season as the overall winner of the UCI World Tour. A Classics specialist, Gilbert has won several classic cycle races, including Paris–Tours twice (2008, 2009 Paris–Tours, 2009), the Giro di Lombardia twice (2009 Giro di Lombardia, 2009, 2010 Giro di Lombardia, 2010), the Amstel Gold Race four times (2010 Amstel Gold Race, 2010, 2011 Amstel Gold Race, 2011, 2014 Amstel Gold Race, 2014, 2017 Amstel Gold Race, 2017), La Flèche Wallonne (2011 L ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Julian Alaphilippe
Julian Alaphilippe (; born 11 June 1992) is a French professional road cyclist, former cyclo-cross racer and two-time UCI World Road Champion, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . He is the brother of racing cyclist Bryan Alaphilippe. Career Early career Born in Saint-Amand-Montrond, Alaphilippe started his career competing in the cyclo-cross discipline and finished second in the Junior World Cyclo-Cross Championships in 2010. Alaphilippe's road career began in 2012, riding with amateur team . During that season, he impressed at the Tour de Bretagne, finishing eleventh overall, and finished second overall and won a stage in the Coupe des nations Ville Saguenay, a UCI America Tour 2.2 event. Alaphilippe joined , the development team of UCI WorldTeam . The young rider had an even more successful season in 2013, taking a solo victory on stage 4 of the Tour de Bretagne. Later in the year, he came 4th in the European Road Race Championships and 9th in the UCI Road World Under ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Paolo Bettini
Paolo Bettini (born 1 April 1974) is an Italian former champion road racing cyclist, and the former coach of the Italian national cycling team. Considered the best classic cycle races, classics specialist of his generation, and probably one of the strongest of all times, he won gold medals in the 2004 Athens Olympics road race and in the 2006 UCI Road World Championships, 2006 and 2007 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, 2007 World Road Race Championships. He is nicknamed ''Il Grillo'' ("the cricket") for his repeated sudden attacks and his Sprinting specialist (cycling), sprinting style. He gained prominence by winning Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2000 and 2002. He set the record for World Cup wins in a season in 2003, winning the Milan–San Remo, HEW Cyclassics and Clásica de San Sebastián. He won the Giro di Lombardia in 2005 and 2006, the Züri-Metzgete in 2001 and 2005 and Tirreno–Adriatico in 2004. Career Early career Paolo Bettini lived with his family ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Peter Sagan
Peter Sagan (; born 26 January 1990) is a Slovak former professional cyclist who competed in road bicycle racing and mountain bicycle racing. Sagan had a successful junior cyclo-cross and mountain bike racing career, winning the junior cross-country race at the 2008 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships, before moving to road racing. He ended his cycling career in 2024. Sagan is considered a generational talent, having earned many prestigious victories out of a total of 121 professional wins. His most notable achievements were an unprecedented three consecutive men's road race World Championships from 2015-2017 inclusive, and his record seven Points classifications in the Tour de France. He also won two of cycling's monuments, the Tour of Flanders (2016) and Paris–Roubaix (2018), and was awarded the prestigious Vélo d'Or in 2016, the season when he also topped the UCI World Ranking. Early life and amateur career Born in Žilina, Peter Sagan is the youngest child ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Philippe Gilbert, 2012 Road World Championships, Cauberg (cropped)
Philippe is a masculine given name, cognate to Philip, and sometimes also a surname. The name may refer to: * Philippe of Belgium (born 1960), King of the Belgians (2013–present) * Philippe (footballer) (born 2000), Brazilian footballer * Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, father to Albert I of Belgium * Philippe d'Orléans (other), multiple people * Philippe A. Autexier (1954–1998), French music historian * Philippe Blain, French volleyball player and coach * Philippe Najib Boulos (1902–1979), Lebanese lawyer and politician * Philippe Broussard (born 1963), French journalist * Philippe Coutinho, Brazilian footballer * Philippe Daverio (1949–2020), Italian art historian * Philippe Djian (born 1949), French author * Philippe Dubuisson-Lebon, Canadian football player * Philippe Ginestet (born 1954), French billionaire businessman, founder of GiFi * Philippe Gilbert, Belgian bicycle racer * Philippe Noiret, French actor * Philippe Petit, French performer and tightro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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Wout Van Aert
Wout van Aert (born 15 September 1994) is a Belgian professional road bicycle racing, road and cyclo-cross Cycle sport, racer who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Van Aert won three consecutive men's races at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in 2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, 2016, 2017 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, 2017, and 2018 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, 2018. Having initially prioritised competing in cyclo-cross, Van Aert terminated his contract with in 2018 and joined in March 2019, on a three-year deal. Van Aert has since taken more than forty professional road wins, including nine stage victories at the Tour de France between 2019 Tour de France, 2019 and 2022 Tour de France, 2022 (also winning the Points classification in the Tour de France, points classification in 2022), and won Milan–San Remo – one of the five Cycling monuments – in 2020 Milan–San Remo, 2020. Following the 2022 Tour de France, where Van Aert won three stages, sev ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ardennes Classics
The Ardennes classics are three cycling classics held in mid-April in the Belgian Ardennes and southern Limburg in the Netherlands: Liège–Bastogne–Liège, La Flèche Wallonne and Amstel Gold Race. First held in 1892, 1936 and 1966 respectively, the races are notable for their hilly courses, and often have similar riders competing for the top positions as the races are held closely following each other. Cyclists that are specialized in these hilly courses are known as puncheurs. In recent years, the three classics have been held within an 8-day timeframe. Since the late 2010s, all three of the men's races have been joined by equivalent races on the women's circuit: Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition, La Flèche Wallonne Féminine and Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes. History Prior, there was already a points classification for the Belgian Ardennes classics, called Ardennes Weekend (combining La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège). With the introduction of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |