Sandy Casar (born 2 February 1979) is a French former professional

racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling spo ...

, who competed as a professional between 2000 and 2013, all for the team. His greatest results have been winning three stages of the

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 ...

, as well the overall classification of the

Route du Sud 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 ...

in 2005. He also won the one-day race

Paris–Camembert Paris–Camembert (also Paris–Camembert Trophée Lepetit or Paris–Camembert Lepetit) is a semi classic held annually in April. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The route of the race has varied over t ...

in 2011.

Career

Born in

Mantes-la-Jolie Mantes-la-Jolie (, often informally called Mantes) is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region of north-central France. It is located to the west of Paris, f ...

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional road bicycle racing, cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the ...

2002, which he finished second at 23 years old. He finished 13th in the

2003 Giro d'Italia The 2003 Giro d'Italia was the 86th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. The Giro began in Lecce with a mass-start stage. The race came to a close with a individual time trial that began and ended ...

, in front of climber

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 ...

. He had his biggest win in a stage of the 2003

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 ...

. He then finished 16th in the

2004 Tour de France The 2004 Tour de France was a multiple stage bicycle race held from 3 to 25 July, and the 91st edition of the Tour de France. It has no overall winner—although American cyclist Lance Armstrong originally won the event, the United States Ant ...

, and sixth in the

2006 Giro d'Italia The 2006 Giro d'Italia was the 89th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It began in the Belgian city of Seraing with a individual time trial. The race came to a close with a mass-start road stage that stretched from ...

, 25 minutes behind winner

Ivan Basso Ivan Basso (born 26 November 1977) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 1999 and 2015 for seven different teams. Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, was considered among the best mountain riders in ...

. Casar also won the

in 2005. On 27 July 2007, he won his first Tour de France stage, beating

Laurent Lefèvre Laurent Lefèvre (born 2 July 1976) is a French former professional road bicycle racer, last for UCI Professional Continental team . He is one of only three Festina team riders who was named as being clean in the Festina doping affair in the 1 ...

Axel Merckx Axel Eddy Lucien Jonkheer Merckx (born 8 August 1972) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer and the son of five-time Tour de France champion Eddy Merckx. He is team director of UCI Continental team . In his professional career, h ...

and

Michael Boogerd Michael Boogerd (born 28 May 1972) is a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer. He was one of the leaders of a generation of Dutch cyclists in the late 1990s and early 2000s, together with teammate Erik Dekker and female cyclist Leontien va ...

in a sprint after a collision with a dog earlier in the day. He then finished 14th overall in the 2008 Tour de France. In 2009, Casar finished second in the 16th stage of the

2009 Tour de France The 2009 Tour de France was the 96th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on 4 July in the principality of Monaco with a individual time trial which included a section of the Circuit de Monaco. The race visite ...

. Stage 16 was originally won by

Mikel Astarloza Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (born 17 November 1979 in Gipuzkoa, Basque Country) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2002 and 2009, and 2011 to 2013. Career In 2003 he won his first race, w ...

. However, Astarloza was found after the Tour to have tested positive for EPO before the race had started. The organisers stripped him of the stage win and Casar became the official stage winner. Casar later finished 11th overall that year. In 2010, Casar won the stage 9 of the

2010 Tour de France The 2010 Tour de France was the 97th edition of the Tour de France cycle race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on with an 8.9 km prologue time trial in Rotterdam, the first start in the Netherlands since 1996. The race visited th ...

, after being part of a long breakaway that went over numerous categorized climb, including the

Col de la Madeleine Col de la Madeleine (el. 1,993 m.) is a high mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Savoie in France which connects La Chambre in Maurienne with La Léchère in Tarentaise. The pass is closed from November to the beginning of June. It ...

. The breakaway was down to only four units in the descent of the col, and got caught in the final kilometer by

Andy Schleck Andy Raymond Schleck (; born 10 June 1985) is a Luxembourgish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the 2010 Tour de France, being awarded it retroactively in February 2012 after Alberto Contador's hearing at the Court of Arbitration fo ...

and

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 ...

, who had escaped from the main group on the Madeleine. Casar won the uphill sprint to take the prestigious victory in one of the toughest stages of that year's Tour. In 2011, he won the

classic, again after being part of a long breakaway. He tried to escape on a slope near the end, but was caught by four riders. He nonetheless prevailed in the sprint against these four, taking the win on the roads he trained on in his youth. On 6 September 2013, Casar announced his retirement from cycling.

Career achievements

Major results

;2000 :5th Overall

Tour Down Under The Tour Down Under (currently branded as the Santos Tour Down Under for sponsorship reasons) is a cycling race in and around Adelaide, South Australia. It is traditionally the opening event of the UCI World Tour and UCI Women’s WorldTour ...

;2001 :7th

Trophée des Grimpeurs The Trophée des Grimpeurs, called Polymultipliée until 1970, was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in August in the region of Val-d'Oise, France, between Argenteuil and Sannois. Between 1980 and 2002 it was a criterium. Since 2005, t ...

:8th

Tour du Haut Var The Tour des Alpes-Maritimes, formerly known as the Tour du Haut Var, () is an early-season two-day road bicycle race in the Var department region in the south of France. Until 2008 it was run as a one-day race, part of the UCI Europe Tour. In 20 ...

;2002 :1st Stage 4

Circuit Franco-Belge The Circuit Franco-Belge is a single day cycling race held annually in Belgium and France. The race was previously known as the Tour de Wallonie-Picarde in 2011 and as the Tour de l'Eurométropole from 2012 to 2021. From 2005 to 2015 the Tour de ...

:2nd Overall

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional road bicycle racing, cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the ...

::1st Young Rider Classification :3rd Paris–Camembert Lepetit :10th

;2003 :1st Stage 4

:2nd GP Le Télégramme :4th Paris–Camembert Lepetit :7th

Route Adélie de Vitré Route Adélie de Vitré is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in April in a circuit around Vitré, France. Between 1980 and 1995 it was called ''Tour d'Armorique''. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe T ...

;2004 :1st Stage 2

Tour du Poitou Charentes et de la Vienne Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle-Aquitaine is a road bicycle race held annually in the former region of Poitou-Charentes (now Nouvelle-Aquitaine) France. It was first held in 1987 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI E ...

:2nd Overall

:3rd

Duo Normand The Duo Normand is a two-man team time trial (against the clock) for elite racing cyclists. Held annually at Marigny-le-Lozon in Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive wi ...

(with Carlos Da Cruz) :4th Paris–Camembert Lepetit :8th Overall Tour du Languedoc-Roussillon :8th Overall

Circuit de la Sarthe The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport race course, chiefly known as the venue for the 24 H ...

;2005 :1st Overall

:3rd Paris–Camembert Lepetit :5th

Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise Grand Prix Cycliste La Marseillaise, formerly known as the Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise, is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in February around the city of Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in south ...

:6th Overall

GP Internacional Paredes Rota dos Móveis GP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * Gameplanet (New Zealand), a New Zealand video game community * GamePolitics.com, a blog about the politics of computer and video games * ''GamePro'', a monthly video game magazine * Gold ...

;2006 :5th Overall

:6th Overall

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 ...

;2007 :1st Stage 18

;2008 :3rd

Polynormande The Polynormande is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in August in the region of Normandy, France. Between 1980 and 2002 it was a criterium. Since 2003, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, also being part of t ...

:6th Overall

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...

:8th Overall

Vuelta al País Vasco 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 ...

;2009 :1st Stage 16

;2010 :1st Stage 9

:6th Overall

;2011 : 1st

: 3rd

Tour du Finistère Tour du Finistère is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in April around the city of Quimper, France. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, also being part of the Coupe de France de cyclisme sur route ...

: 5th Overall

;2012 : 4th Overall

Tour of Oman The Tour of Oman is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Oman since 2010, as part of the UCI Asia Tour through 2019 and on the UCI ProSeries since 2022. It was scheduled to become part of the new UCI ProSeries in 2020, b ...

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

*
Team biography
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casar, Sandy 1979 births Living people Sportspeople from Mantes-la-Jolie Cyclists from Yvelines French male cyclists French Tour de France stage winners Tour de Suisse stage winners 2010 Tour de France stage winners