Igor Antón Hernández (born 2 March 1983) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2018 for the , and squads.

Career

Born in Galdakao, Basque Country, Antón's first major achievement after turning professional in 2005, was winning the sixteenth stage of the 2006 Vuelta a España, between Almería and the Calar Alto Observatory. After impressing his team directors in 2007, where he won a stage at the Tour de Romandie, Antón was soon picked out to be the team leader for the general classification (GC) in the 2007 Vuelta a España where he ended up finishing 8th overall. The year started well, and in June he came second in the Euskal Bizikleta. Later in the same month, Antõn won the second stage in the UCI ProTour race Tour de Suisse. In the GC he came home third. In September at the Vuelta a España, Antón was in the best form of his career and held the pace of the likes of Alberto Contador and Alejandro Valverde up the mountains. A fall on the stage to

Alto de L'Angliru Alto de L'Angliru (; ) is a steep mountain road in Asturias, near La Vega-Riosa, in northern Spain. It is considered one of the most demanding climbs in professional road bicycle racing and is often used in the Vuelta a España stage race. Origin ...

ended his ambitions in the Vuelta. The fall caused a fractured collarbone, and Antón's season came to an early end. The 2009 season started slowly for Antón. He started the Tour de France in July, but failed to make a great impression. The Tour was filled with bad luck for Antón as he had at least three falls during the start of the three-week race. However, Antón came out of the Tour in great form and took the season's only victory on 2 August, when he won the

Subida a Urkiola Subida a Urkiola is a one-day cycling race in Durango, Biscay in the Basque Country whose starts in Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

. In 2010, Anton proved to be a formidable rider in the Classics, taking 4th at La Flèche Wallonne and 6th at Liège–Bastogne–Liège. In 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 ...

, Anton won Stage 4 and Stage 11 giving him the leader's jersey. However, on Stage 14 whilst wearing the leader's jersey, Anton crashed heavily on a descent and was forced to retire. In 2011, Anton won two grand tour stages. He won Stage 14 in the

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 ...

and Stage 19 in the

which were both summit finishes, the latter almost a 'home' stage with familiar climbs in Biscay and concluding in

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

. In 2012, Anton built his whole season on the 2012 Vuelta a España. He ended up finishing 9th overall after an impressive race in the mountains. Antón joined the for the 2014 season, after his previous team – – folded at the end of the 2013 season. In May 2015, Antón renewed with victory after a four-year drought. He won the mountainous first stage of the Vuelta a Asturias with fourteen seconds of an advantage over former Euskaltel teammate Amets Txurruka of . He would not let go of the lead on stage two, which was the last stage of the race. He finished with the lead group of five riders. Anton retired from racing after the last stage of the 2018 Vuelta a España. He was celebrated by the public on the streets of

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, when riding in front of the peloton for a while. A few months later, his career was honoured by local football club Athletic Bilbao at their stadium prior to a derby match against Eibar.

Major results

;2004 : 3rd Road race, National Under-23 Road Championships : 5th Overall Ronde de l'Isard : 5th Overall Volta a Lleida ::1st Stage 5a ;2006 : 1st Overall Escalada a Montjuïc ::1st Stage 1b ( ITT) : 1st Stage 16

: 3rd

: 5th Overall Clásica Internacional de Alcobendas ;2007 : 2nd Overall GP Internacional Paredes Rota dos Móveis : 4th Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León : 4th Overall Escalada a Montjuïc : 7th Overall Tour de Romandie ::1st Stage 4 : 8th Overall

: 8th Klasika Primavera : 9th GP Miguel Induráin ;2008 : 2nd Overall Euskal Bizikleta : 3rd Overall Tour de Suisse ::1st Stage 2 : 9th Clásica a los Puertos de Guadarrama ;2009 : 1st

;2010 :

::1st Stages 4 & 11 : 2nd Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León ::1st Stage 3 : 2nd Klasika Primavera : 4th La Flèche Wallonne : 6th Overall Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid : 6th Liège–Bastogne–Liège : 9th Overall Tour de Romandie ::1st Stage 5 : 9th Overall Bayern–Rundfahrt : 9th Overall Vuelta a Burgos ;2011 : 1st Stage 14

: 1st Stage 19

: 1st

Mountains classification Tour of Beijing : 3rd Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León : 5th La Flèche Wallonne : 8th Overall Vuelta a Burgos ;2012 : 3rd Klasika Primavera : 7th Overall Critérium International : 9th Overall

: 9th Overall Vuelta a Burgos ;2013 : 2nd GP Miguel Induráin : 6th

Vuelta a Murcia The Vuelta Ciclista a 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, due to Spain's fina ...

: 8th La Flèche Wallonne ;2014 : 4th Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia ;2015 : 1st Jersey blue

Overall Vuelta a Asturias ::1st Stage 1 : 3rd Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León ;2016 : 9th Overall Vuelta a Burgos : 9th Gran Premio di Lugano : 10th Giro dell'Emilia ;2017 : 6th Overall Vuelta a Burgos ;2018 : 4th Overall Vuelta a Burgos

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

* *
Team Profile (in Spanish)Palmares on CyclingBase.com (French)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anton, Igor 1983 births Living people People from Galdakao Spanish male cyclists Tour de Suisse stage winners Spanish Vuelta a España stage winners Spanish Giro d'Italia stage winners Cyclists from Biscay Vuelta a Asturias winners 21st-century Spanish sportsmen