Walter Bénéteau (28 July 1972 – 10 December 2022) was a French professional

cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

. He raced in every

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 ...

from 2000 until 2006.

Career

Stage 1 of the

2006 Tour de France The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. It took place between the 1st and the 23rd of July. It was won by Óscar Pereiro following the disqualification of Floyd Land ...

started with a seven-man break-away with Bénéteau being the last man caught with 7km to go after spending 177km out in front. During Stage 6 Bénéteau was hit in the face by Spaniard

David de la Fuente David de la Fuente Rasilla (born 4 May 1981 in Reinosa, Cantabria) is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI Continental team . De la Fuente led the mountains classification of the 2006 Tour de France for a number ...

causing his glasses and helmet to go flying. Then in Stage 9 Bénéteau was part of an initial 3-man break-away, caught with only 10km to the finish line. During this stage he won all three intermediate sprint points, moving him to 23rd in 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 ...

. Bénéteau's final Grand Tour was the

2006 Vuelta a España The 2006 Vuelta a España was held from 26 August to 17 September 2006, and was the 61st edition of the race. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of , and was won by Alexander Vinokourov of the cycling team. The Points classification in th ...

; he finished first in the main peloton bunch sprint in stage 11, 15 minutes down on winner

Egoi Martínez Egoi Martínez de Esteban (born 15 May 1978 in Etxarri-Aranatz, Navarre) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2001 and 2013. In his first Tour de France, Martínez finished 41st overall at t ...

. He finished 83rd overall in his final Grand Tour. Bénéteau announced he would retire after his contract ended with .

Death

Bénéteau died on 10 December 2022 in a hotel room in

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

, Indonesia. The circumstances of his death have not yet been released by local authorities.Les Herbiers. Walter Bénéteau, un cycliste au grand cœur s'en est allé

Major results

Sources: ;1996 : 3rd

Tro-Bro Léon Tro-Bro Léon ( or ''The'' ''Hipsters’ Paris—Roubaix''; ) is a professional cycle road race held in Finistère, Brittany. The event was first run in 1984 as an amateur race before becoming a professional race since 2000. The race was establi ...

;1997 : 1st

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 ...

;1999 : 7th

Tour du Doubs The Tour du Doubs is a single-day road bicycle race, currently held annually in April in the region of Doubs, France. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour and since 2010 it is part of the French Road Cycling Cu ...

;2000 : 1st

Châteauroux Classic The Châteauroux Classic de l'Indre Trophée Fenioux was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in August in the region of Indre, France, starting and finishing in Châteauroux. It was created in 2004 and since 2005 the race had been organi ...

: 1st

Boucles de l'Aulne Boucles de l'Aulne is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in May or June around Châteaulin, in the region of Brittany, France. Since 2006, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It was previously known as Grand ...

: 3rd

GP Ouest-France The Bretagne Classic, also called Bretagne Classic Ouest-France, is an elite cycling classic held annually in late summer around the Breton village of Plouay in western France. The race was originally named Grand-Prix de Plouay and, from 1989 to ...

: 3rd

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 ...

: 10th Tour de Berne ;2001 : 2nd Road race, National Road Championships ;2002 : 2nd

Tour de Vendée Tour of Vendée is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in October (Previously May) in the region of Vendée, France, finishing in a circuit inside La Roche-sur-Yon town. From 2005 until 2009, the race was organized as a 1.1 event on the ...

: 2nd

: 8th

;2003 : 1st

: 3rd La Poly Normande : 8th Overall

Tour du Limousin Tour du Limousin is a 4-day road bicycle race held annually in Limousin, France. It was first held in 1968 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle raci ...

: 8th

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 ...

: 8th

Grand Prix de Wallonie The Grand Prix de Wallonie is an annual road bicycle race held annually in Wallonia, Belgium. From 2005 to 2019 it was organised as a category 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2021, it joined the UCI ProSeries, after being cancelled in 2020. ...

: 9th

;2004 : 9th Road race, National Road Championships ;2005 : 3rd Bordeaux-Caudéran ;2006 : 2nd

: 4th

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Sources:

References

External links

* 1972 births 2022 deaths Cyclists from Vendée French male cyclists Tour de Guadeloupe winners {{France-cycling-bio-1970s-stub