Wegelius in the 2007 Tour de Romandie |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Charles Wegelius | ||
| Nickname | Charlie | ||
| Born | April 26, 1978 Espoo, Finland |
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| Height | 1.80m | ||
| Weight | 62kg | ||
| Team information | |||
| Current team | Retired | ||
| Discipline | Road | ||
| Role | Rider | ||
| Rider type | Climber/Mountain Domestique | ||
| Professional team(s) | |||
| 2000–2002 2003–2004 2005–2008 2009–2010 2011 |
Mapei-Quick Step De Nardi Liquigas-Bianchi Silence-Lotto UnitedHealthcare |
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| Major wins | |||
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| Infobox last updated on September 26th, 2011 |
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Charles "Charlie" Wegelius (born 26 April 1978 in Espoo, Finland) is an English former professional road racing cyclist.
Never a winner of an individual race, Wegelius nevertheless made a career out of being a reliable and strong domestique, most notably in the mountains.
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Wegelius' cycling aspirations suffered an early setback, after being injured in an accident involving an all-terrain vehicle, which resulted in his spleen being removed and the news that he would never cycle again.[1] He recovered, however, and had his first professional break in 1999, when he rode as a stagiaire for the ill-fated Linda McCartney Racing Team.[2]
Wegelius participated in the cycling at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, where he finished 5th in the individual time trial and 28th in the road race.[3] He also started the road race at the 2004 Summer Olympics, but failed to finish.
Wegelius was involved in controversy in 2005 when he and teammate Tom Southam chose not to ride to protect Roger Hammond, their team leader, in the World Championship road race, and instead looked after the riders in their trade teams.[4] Wegelius later repaid the costs associated with his participation in the event, and was never selected to represent his national team again.[5] He later said that he regretted the incident.[6]
Having previously ridden in the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España, Wegelius made his Tour de France début in the 2007 edition. By finishing 45th, he was the best placed British rider in the general classification at 1 hour, 41 minutes and 5 seconds behind yellow jersey winner Alberto Contador.
He received a call-up to participate in the 2009 Tour de France as a replacement for Thomas Dekker, who was ruled out following a positive drug test.[7] He finished 60th in the general classification, 1 hour, 14 minutes and 25 seconds behind the winning Contador.
Wegelius also began the 2010 Tour de France. However, much to his disappointment, he had to pull out after suffering from a sickness.[8] It was his last participation in the Tour de France, as he retired after the 2011 Giro di Padania.[6]
Wegelius is the son of Christopher Wegelius, a former Finnish banker and the most successful show jumper to have ever represented Finland.[1]
Wegelius was educated at Bootham School in York from 1989 to 1994.[9]
Wegelius has a wife, Camilla.[2]
| Grand Tour | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giro | 51 | 48 | 46 | 58 | WD | 69 | 105 | 29 |
| Tour | - | - | - | - | 45 | - | 60 | WD |
| Vuelta | - | - | 60 | WD | - | - | WD |
WD = withdrew