Jose María Jiménez Sastre (6 February 1971 – 6 December 2003) was a Spanish professional

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 com ...

. During his career he excelled as a climber, winning numerous mountain stages. His nickname was ''El Chava''.

Career

After a four month spell as a stagiaire (trainee), Jiménez turned professional at the beginning of the 1993 season with the Spanish team

Banesto Banco Español de Crédito, S.A. (), “Spanish Credit Bank”) better known as Banesto, was a Spanish multinational financial services company. Prior to the Spanish Government's historical intervention in 1993, the first in the history of bank ...

which he would be a part of for the rest of his career. In his first year, his teammates included

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

champions

Pedro Delgado Pedro Delgado Robledo (; born 15 April 1960), also known as Perico (), is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the 1988 Tour de France, as well as the Vuelta a España in 1985 and 1989. He finished in the top 10 of eighteen ...

and

Miguel Induráin Miguel Induráin Larraya (; born 16 July 1964) is a retired Spanish road racing cyclist. Induráin won five Tours de France from 1991 Tour de France, 1991 to 1995 Tour de France, 1995, the fourth, and last, to win five times, and the only five- ...

. Even at an early point in his career, Jiménez was considered a potential successor of Induráin.

Vuelta a España

Jiménez was particularly successful 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 ...

, winning nine stages in total, the

points classification The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points c ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

and the

mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used. While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest p ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

and

. His four triumphs in the mountains classification of the Vuelta places him behind only José Luis Laguía as the rider with the most wins in the competition in the history of the race. His best year in the Vuelta was 1998. Here, he took the overall lead for the first time in his career after winning stage 6. However, he acknowledged that the

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also trac ...

on stage 9 would inevitably cost him the lead, as this was a weakness of his. As expected, Jiménez found himself just over three minutes down on his Banesto teammate

Abraham Olano Abraham Olano Manzano (born 22 January 1970) is a Spanish retired professional road racing cyclist, who raced as a professional from 1992 to 2002. He won the UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, World Road Championship in 1995 UCI ...

after the time trial. But Jiménez then won stages 10, 11 and 16, before finally taking back the overall lead from Olano with just two stages remaining. However, the following stage was another time trial in which he lost 2.50 to Olano and consequently the overall victory. Kelme rider

Fernando Escartín Fernando Escartín Coti (born 24 January 1968) is a Spanish former road racing cyclist. Between 1995 and 2000 he came in the top 10 of the Tour de France five times and in that same time period finished on the podium in 2nd place at the Vuelta a ...

also bested Jiménez by enough to knock him down into 3rd place overall, his final placing. Jiménez would never again lead the Vuelta. His second best overall performance was in 1999, in which he was 5th. Prior to that he was 12th in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and 21st in 1997. He concluded his Vuelta career with three stage wins on his way to 17th place overall in 2001.

Other races

Of other noteworthy results, Jiménez won the

Spanish National Road Race Championships The Spanish National Road Race Championships are held annually to decide the Spanish cycling champions in the road race discipline, across various categories. The event was first held in 1897 and was won by a Portuguese rider, José Bento Pesso ...

in 1997 and secured overall victories in the 2000

Volta a Catalunya The Volta a Catalunya (; Tour of Catalonia, ) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of the Basque Country. The race has had ...

and in the

Vuelta a La Rioja The Vuelta a La Rioja () is a regional Spanish road bicycle race held in La Rioja. From 2005 to 2008, it was a 2.1 category race on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were int ...

in both 1994 and 1997. He also competed in both of the other

Grand Tours In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour is one of the three major European professional cycling 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 fo ...

, the

and 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 ...

. After a modest Giro d'Italia debut with 26th place in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, he was appointed leader of his Banesto team for the 1999 race and started off well by finishing 2nd after

Marco Pantani Marco Pantani (; 13 January 1970 – 14 February 2004) was an Italian road racing cyclist, widely regarded as one of the greatest climbing specialists in the history of the sport by measures of his legacy, credits from other riders, and record ...

on stage 8. However, a time trial and then a disastrous stage 14 followed, during which he lost over 20 minutes, making him drop to 38th overall. He eventually finished 33rd overall, never to return to the race. He had more luck in his Tour de France starts, finishing 8th overall in

after a consistent performance which included four top 10 results on individual stages. He also challenged for stage wins in the 2000 edition, managing 3rd on the mountainous stage 10 and 2nd on stage 15, only beaten by Marco Pantani. Nonetheless, he finished 23rd overall, some 52 minutes down on winner

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 fro ...

Style

Both on and off the bike, Jiménez was, with only a few exceptions, too erratic to ride consistently in stage races. He often attacked without considering the consequences, which however sometimes resulted in spectacular wins in the toughest mountain stages. A particularly memorable instance of this occurred during stage eight of the

1999 Vuelta a España The 1999 Vuelta a España was the 54th edition of the Vuelta a España, taking place from 4 September starting in Murcia and finishing in Madrid on 26 September 1999. It consisted of 21 stages over , ridden at an average speed of . The favourites ...

. Jiménez attacked the 23% gradient of the Angliru in rain and fog to catch

Pavel Tonkov Pavel Sergeyevich Tonkov (; born 9 February 1969) is a former professional road racing cyclist from Russia. His talents were first showcased when winning the world junior title as part of the Soviet Union team in 1987. This alerted the world to h ...

's long solo break at the line and take the stage in a two-man sprint. As he crossed the line, he did not have the energy for the victory pose. It was the first time in the history of the race that the Angliru was used. However, he would subsequently pay for his attacking style in the next stage, where he would often lose by 10 or more minutes.

Death

Jiménez received psychological treatment for depression, and retired from professional cycling in 2002, at which point he got married. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in a psychiatric hospital in Madrid at the age of 32, in December 2003. Spanish cyclist

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 establis ...

is Jiménez's brother-in-law. He dedicated his victory in the

2008 Tour de France The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th running of Tour de France, the race. The event took place from 5 to 27 July. Starting in the French city of Brest, France, Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16t ...

to Jiménez.

Career achievements

Major results

;1992 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

Circuito Montañés Circuito Montañés is a road cycling stage race held annually in Cantabria Cantabria (, ; ) is an autonomous community and Provinces of Spain, province in northern Spain with Santander, Cantabria, Santander as its capital city. It is call ...

;1993 : 3rd

Subida al Naranco Subida al Naranco is a professional cycle road race held in Spain in early June each year. The event was first run in 1941 but was not held consistently until 1981. Between 2005 and 2010, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Eur ...

: 5th

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, ...

;1994 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stage 2a : 1st

: 3rd

Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia – Clásica de Ordizia is a Spanish professional cycle road race held in Ordizia, Basque Country. The first edition was held in 1922. Since 2005, the race has been organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour ...

: 10th

;1995 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Colorado Classic ::1st Stages 1 & 3 : 2nd Overall

: 2nd Road race, National Road Championships : 9th

: 10th Overall

Tour of the Basque Country The Tour of the Basque Country (Officially: ''Itzulia Basque Country'') is an annual road cycling stage race held in the Spanish Basque Country in April. It is one of the races that make up the UCI World Tour calendar. As the Basque Country is ...

: 10th Overall

::1st Stage 4 ;1996 : 1st

: 1st

Mountains classification

Vuelta a Burgos Vuelta Ciclista a Burgos is an elite professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the Burgos (province), 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 ...

: 9th Overall

Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme The Catalan Cycling Week (''Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme'' in Catalan language, Catalan) was a stage race, multi-stage road bicycle race held in Catalonia, Spain. Held annually from 1963 until 2005, it was run as a 2.HC race on the UCI Europe Tour ...

;1997 : 1st National Road Race Championship : 1st Overall

::1st Stage 2 :

:: 1st

Mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used. While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest p ...

::1st Stage 19 : 2nd

: 2nd

: 3rd

Classique des Alpes Classique des Alpes was a classic taking place as a mountainous single-day cycling race. It took place in Chartreuse Mountains, beginning in Chambéry and finishing in Aix-les-Bains. It was held between 1991 and 2004, a day before the start of the ...

: 5th Overall

Vuelta a Asturias Vuelta Asturias is a professional cycle road race held in Spain in early May each year. The event was first run in 1925 but has not been held consistently until 1968 to present. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI ...

: 8th Overall

;1998 : 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 5 : 3rd Overall

::1st

::1st Stages 6, 10, 11 & 16 : 5th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré ::1st Jersey white dots on red

Mountains classification ::1st Jersey white

Combination classification ::1st Stage 3 : 7th Overall

::1st

Mountains classification : 9th Overall

Route d'Occitanie The Route d'Occitanie is a road bicycle race with 4 stages held annually in Southern France. It was first held in 1977 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is usually held a week before the Tour de France. ...

;1999 : 2nd Overall

Vuelta a Aragón Vuelta a Aragón is a professional bicycle road race held in Spain in May of each year. The event was first run in 1939, and was not held between 2006 and 2017. The future of the race is uncertain; there had been plans to organise it again, but an ...

: 3rd Overall

: 3rd

: 5th Overall

::1st

::1st Stage 8 : 8th Overall

;2000 : 1st MaillotVolta

Overall

::1st Stages 7 & 8 (

ITT ITT may refer to: Communication *Tank phone, 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 typ ...

) : 1st

;2001 :

::1st

Points classification The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points c ...

::1st

::1st Stages 8, 11 & 12 (

) : 2nd

: 3rd Overall

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

Profile
world-of-cycling.com
Palmarès
memoire-du-cyclisme.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Jimenez, Jose Maria 1971 births 2003 deaths Spanish male cyclists Spanish Vuelta a España stage winners Sportspeople from the Province of Ávila Cyclists from Castile and León