Mikel Nieve Iturralde (born 26 May 1984) is a Spanish former 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 ...

, who competed as a professional from 2008 to 2022.

Career

Euskaltel–Euskadi (2009–2013)

Born in

Leitza Leitza (; ) is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Afric ...

, Nieve won the sixteenth stage of the

2010 Vuelta a España 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to s ...

, shaking off four riders to win solo in the mountain finish at the Alto de Cotobello. He earned another prestigious victory in the fifteenth stage of the

2011 Giro d'Italia Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleve ...

, the

queen stage This is a glossary of terms and jargon used in cycling, mountain biking, and cycle sport. For ''parts of a bicycle'', see List of bicycle parts. 0–9 ; 27.5 Mountain bike: A mountain bike with wheels that are approximately in diameter and ...

of that year's edition, which

Alberto Contador Alberto Contador Velasco (; born 6 December 1982) is a Spanish former professional cyclist. He is one of the most successful riders of his era, winning the Tour de France twice (2007, 2009), the Giro d'Italia twice (2008, 2015), and the Vuelta ...

later described as the most difficult stage of his life. Nieve had broken away early, and crested the penultimate climb of the day, the Passo Fedaia, with only

Stefano Garzelli Stefano Garzelli (born 16 July 1973) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who competed as a professional between 1997 and 2013. The high point of his career was his overall win in the 2000 Giro d'Italia, after a close three-way ...

in front of him. On the lower slope of the final climb to Gardeccia-Val di Fassa, Nieve passed Garzelli, and held on to win the stage after having spent a little less than 7 hours and a half in the saddle. He finished 10th twice in the Giro d'Italia in 2011 and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. He also finished 10th twice in the Vuelta a España in 2010 and

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

. In 2013, Nieve rode his first

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 ...

, where he finished 3rd on

Mont Ventoux Mont Ventoux (; ) is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France, located some northeast of Carpentras, Vaucluse. On the north side, the mountain borders the department of Drôme. At , it is the highest mountain in the region and h ...

and 9th on

Alpe d'Huez L'Alpe d'Huez () is a ski resort in Southeastern France at . It is a mountain pasture in the central French Western Alps, in the Communes of France, commune of Huez, which is part of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-R ...

. He ended up finishing 12th overall. After the disbanding of the team was confirmed at the end of the 2013 season, Nieve agreed to join on an initial two-year deal.

Team Sky (2014–2017)

In 2014, he won stage 8, the final stage of the

Critérium du Dauphiné The Critérium du Dauphiné, before 2010 known as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, is an annual cycle sport, cycling road bicycle racing, road race in the Dauphiné region in the southeast of France. The race is run over eight days during ...

as well as finishing 8th overall. In 2015, Nieve finished 8th overall 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 ...

, his highest Grand Tour finish to date. In 2016, Nieve won stage 13 of 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 ...

. He also went on to win 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 ...

. Nieve also rode the

, where he helped

Chris Froome Christopher Clive Froome, (; born 20 May 1985) is a British professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . He has won seven Grand Tours: four editions of the Tour de France (in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017), one Giro d' ...

take overall victory as one of his mountain domestiques.

Mitchelton–Scott (2018–2021)

In August 2017, it was announced that Nieve would join for the 2018 season. During the

2018 Giro d'Italia The 2018 Giro d'Italia was the 101st edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. The race started in Jerusalem on 4 May, with a individual time trial followed by two additional stages within Israel. After a rest day, there ...

, Nieve won the penultimate stage of the race, having been a part of the 27-rider breakaway on his 34th birthday. He finished 10th overall in the

2019 Vuelta a España The 2019 Vuelta a España was a three-week Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tour cycling stage race that took place in Spain, Andorra and France between 24 August and 15 September 2019. The race was the 74th edition of the Vuelta a España and is the ...

, finishing in the top 10 of the race for the fourth time in his career, having entered the race as a domestique for teammate

Esteban Chaves Jhoan Esteban Chaves Rubio (born 17 January 1990) is a Colombian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Born in Bogotá, Chaves has competed as a professional since the start of the 2012 season, having signed f ...

. At the

2020 Tour de France The 2020 Tour de France was the 107th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's three Grand Tours. Originally scheduled to start on 27 June 2020, it was postponed until 29 August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France. The race began ...

, he abandoned a Grand Tour for the first time in 19 attempts, having finished each of the previous 18 in the top-25 placings overall. He then rode the

2020 Vuelta a España The 2020 Vuelta a España was the 75th edition of the Vuelta a España, one of cycling's three grand tours. It was won for the second consecutive year by Primož Roglič of . The race was originally scheduled to be held from 14 August to 6 Se ...

, and finished 13th overall.

Caja Rural–Seguros RGA

In December 2021, Nieve announced that he was joining the team for the 2022 season, after thirteen years at

UCI World Tour The UCI WorldTour is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an annual ranking system based upon perfor ...

level.

Major results

;2007 : 9th Overall

Vuelta a Navarra The Vuelta a Navarra is a road cycling stage race held annually since 1941 in the Autonomous community of Navarra, Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in N ...

;2008 : 3rd Overall

Cinturó de l'Empordà The Cinturó de l'Empordà was a road bicycle race held annually in Spain. It was organized as a 2.2 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the U ...

;2009 : 7th Overall

Vuelta a Mallorca The Challenge Vuelta Ciclista a Mallorca (, ) is a series of four (five until 2012) professional one day road bicycle races held on the Spanish island of Mallorca in late January or early February. The event is used as an early season preparato ...

::7th Trofeo Inca ;2010 : 4th Trofeo Inca : 7th

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia (), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Cycling monument, Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cycli ...

: 10th Overall

::1st Stage 16 ;2011 : 8th

Gran Premio de Llodio Gran Premio Internacional de Llodio (also known as Clásica de Álava) is a Spanish professional cycle road race that was held in Llodio, Basque Country, between 1949 and 2011. From 2005 to 2011, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI ...

: 10th Overall

::1st Stage 15 : 10th Overall

: 10th Overall

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 ...

;2012 : 5th Overall

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse () is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France, which is on the calend ...

: 10th Overall

;2013 : 4th

Clásica de San Sebastián The Donostia-Donostia Klasikoa — Clásica San Sebastián-San Sebastián (San Sebastián Classic) is a one-day professional men's bicycle road race in northern Spain that has been held every summer since 1981 in San Sebastián. It is the m ...

;2014 : 4th

: 8th Overall

::1st Stage 8 : 10th Overall

Tirreno–Adriatico Tirreno–Adriatico, nicknamed the "Race of the Two Seas", is an elite road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race in Italy, run between the Tyrrhenian Sea, Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coasts. Traditionally held in the early part of th ...

Combativity award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, ...

Stage 18

;2015 : 2nd Overall

Tour of Slovenia Tour of Slovenia (Dirka po Sloveniji) is a five day road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race held since 1993. Between 2005 and 2018, it was organised as a 2.1 race on the UCI Europe Tour. The 2019 edition was classified as a 2.HC race. It b ...

: 4th Overall

Vuelta a Andalucía The Vuelta a Andalucía (Tour of Andalusia) or Ruta del Sol (Route of the Sun) is a regional Spanish road bicycle race first held in 1925. Since 2005, it has been a 2.1 category race on the UCI Europe Tour. The race became a part of the new UCI ...

: 6th

: 8th Overall

: 10th Overall

Tour de Pologne The Tour de Pologne (; ), officially abbreviated TdP, is an annual, professional men's Race stage, multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race primarily held in Poland. It consists of seven or eight stages and is usually around 1,200 km ...

;2016 :

::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 13 : 10th Overall

;2017 : 8th

: 9th Overall

;2018 : 1st Stage 20

;2019 : 4th

GP Miguel Induráin The Grand Prix Miguel Induráin (), formerly the "Grand Prix Navarre" is a Spanish one-day road bicycle race. History The race was inaugurated in 1951, but was limited to local competition. It was rebranded after Spanish cyclist Miguel Indurái ...

: 8th 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

;2020 : 9th Overall

: 10th Overall

;2022 : 10th Overall

Troféu Joaquim Agostinho The Grande Prémio Internacional de Torres Vedras – Troféu Joaquim Agostinho is a road bicycle racing stage race held annually in the Torres Vedras, Portugal. Since 2005, it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Cont ...

General classification results timeline

References

External links

Mikel Nieve profile
at Team Sky * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nieve, Mikel 1984 births Living people Cyclists from Navarre Spanish male cyclists Spanish Vuelta a España stage winners Spanish Giro d'Italia stage winners People from Norte de Aralar 21st-century Spanish sportsmen