Stefano Garzelli

Stefano Garzelli

Garzelli at the 2014 Giro d'Italia
Personal information
Full name Stefano Garzelli
Born (1973-07-16) 16 July 1973
Varese, Italy
Team information
Current team Retired
Discipline Road
Role Rider
Rider type All-rounder
Professional team(s)
1997–2000 Mercatone Uno
2001–2002 Mapei–Quick-Step
2003–2004 Vini Caldirola–So.di
2005–2006 Liquigas–Bianchi
2007–2012 Acqua & Sapone–Caffè Mokambo
2013 Vini Fantini–Selle Italia
Major wins

Grand Tours

Giro d'Italia
General classification (2000)
Mountains classification (2009, 2011)
8 individual stages

Stage races

Tour de Suisse (1998)
Vuelta a Aragón (2004)
Tirreno–Adriatico (2010)

One-day races and Classics

GP Miguel Indurain (1999)
Tre Valli Varesine (2005, 2006)
Rund um den Henninger Turm (2006)

Stefano Garzelli (born 16 July 1973) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who competed as a professional between 1997 and 2013.[1] The high point of his career was his overall win in the 2000 Giro d'Italia, after a close three-way competition with Gilberto Simoni and Francesco Casagrande.

Career

Born in Varese, Garzelli started out as being a domestique for Marco Pantani but proved in 2000 that he deserved much more. When "The Pirate" lacked form in the beginning of the 2000 Giro, Garzelli was left free of all team duties for Mercatone Uno–Albacom, and was able to fight and win his own battle in the Giro. In the final time-trial stage Garzelli took the race leadership away from Casagrande, who was suffering an inflamed sciatic nerve. Casagrande was devastated, and Garzelli dedicated his win to Pantani.

He was a versatile rider with qualities that included decent sprinting, decent time trials and some good skills in the mountains. Without being a great attacker, Garzelli was very constant and, on a good day, he could go with the best climbers.

After his win of the 2000 Giro d'Italia he was recruited by the Italian super-team Mapei–Quick-Step in 2001, aiming to repeat his 2000 Giro success. The start of the season showed promise, with Garzelli being a key player in teammate Paolo Bettini's win in Liège–Bastogne–Liège, with Garzelli himself finishing second. The finale of the race saw Bettini and Garzelli make tactical moves to benefit from each other's aggressions and saw them finish the race with a comfortable margin to decide the win amongst themselves.

However, Garzelli was caught in the 2002 doping scandal in the Giro d'Italia, and was forced out of the race. Many believe that the circumstances of his suspension prompted the Mapei boss Giorgio Squinzi to terminate his sponsorship of the team at the end of the year. "The exclusion of Garzelli, who tested positive for a masking agent, wasn't a normal thing. At the start nothing was found. Later, as soon as he won a stage, a forbidden substance came out all of a sudden. That's bizarre," said Squinzi in an interview. Belgian champion Freddy Maertens cast doubt on whether Garzelli was guilty of choosing to doping, likening the incident to the 1974 world championships, in which Martaens was deliberately sabotaged by the soigneur of his rival Eddy Merckx.[2]

Garzelli was able to mount a come-back for the 2003 Giro d'Italia and was able to challenge eventual winner Gilberto Simoni in the race.

In December 2012, Garzelli signed a one-year contract with the Vini Fantini–Selle Italia team for the 2013 season,[3] and retired thereafter.[1]

Career achievements

Major results

1998 – Mercatone Uno
1st Overall, Tour de Suisse
1st, Stages 5 & 6
1st, Points competition
1st, Combination competition
1999 – Mercatone Uno
1st, GP Miguel Indurain
1st, Stage 3, Tour of the Basque Country
2000 – Mercatone Uno
1st Overall, Giro d'Italia
1st, Stage 18
Tour de Suisse
1st, Stage 8
1st, Mountains classification
1st, Stage 4, Settimana Lombarda
1st, GP Nobili Rubinetterie
2001 – Mapei
1st, Stage 5a, Tour of the Basque Country
2002 – Mapei
1st, GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
2003 – Vini Caldirola
1st, Stage 1, Giro del Trentino
2nd, Overall, Giro d'Italia
1st, Stages 3 & 7
2004 – Vini Caldirola
1st, Vuelta a Aragón
1st, Stage 2, Tour de Romandie
6th, Overall, Giro d'Italia
1st, Stage 19
2005 – Liquigas
1st, Tre Valli Varesine
2006 – Liquigas
1st, Rund um den Henninger Turm
1st, Stage 4, Tour de Luxembourg
1st, Tre Valli Varesine
2007 – Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo
1st, Stage 3, Giro del Trentino
Giro d'Italia
1st, Stages 14 & 16
1st, Stage 2, Tour de Slovenie
2008 – Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo
2nd, Overall, Giro del Trentino
1st, Stages 2 & 4
Vuelta a Asturias
1st, Stages 2a & 3
1st, Grand Prix de Wallonie
2009 – Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo
2nd, Overall, Tirreno–Adriatico
6th, Overall, Giro d'Italia
1st, Stage 4
1st, Mountains classification
2010 – Acqua & Sapone
1st Overall, Tirreno–Adriatico
1st, Points classification
1st, Stage 16, Giro d'Italia
2011 – Acqua & Sapone
Giro d'Italia
1st, Mountains classification
Winner Cima Coppi

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Grand Tour 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Giro 9 21 WD 1 WD WD 2 6 WD 16 7 WD 26 108
Tour 32 14 WD 32 55
Vuelta 11

WD = Withdrew; In Progress = IP

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Garzelli's career celebrated at Tre Valli Varesine". VeloNation. VeloNation LLC. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  2. "Freddy Maertens interview". Bikeraceinfo.com. 2011-11-25. Retrieved 2015-06-29.
  3. "Garzelli signs with Vini Fantini-Selle Italia for one year". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 24 December 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.

External links

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