Rigoberto Urán

Rigoberto Urán

Urán at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné
Personal information
Full name Rigoberto Urán Urán
Born January 26, 1987 (1987-01-26) (age 25)
Urrao, Colombia
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Weight 63 kg (140 lb; 9.9 st)[1]
Team information
Current team Team Sky
Discipline Road
Role Rider
Rider type Climbing and time trial specialist
Professional team(s)
2006
2007
2008–2010
2011–
Tenax
Unibet.com
Caisse d'Epargne
Team Sky
Major wins
Tour de Suisse, 1 stage (2007)
Infobox last updated on
July 17, 2011

Rigoberto Urán Urán (born 26 January 1987) is a Colombian professional road racing cyclist, currently riding for UCI ProTeam Team Sky.

Contents

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Early life

Urán's first cycling race was at the age of 14, three months before his father was accidentally killed in a gunfight related to the drug war in Colombia. Rigoberto had to take his place as a lottery seller to help his family and at the age of 16 he turned professional and moved to Medellín to ride for Orgullo Paisa, a Colombian cycling team.[2][3]

Cycling career

Tenax and Unibet (2006–07)

At the age of 19 he moved to Italy to ride for Team Tenax with his compatriot Marlon Pérez Arango. The following year he signed for Unibet.com and won a time trial at the Euskal Bizikleta that was stopped with some riders still left to go due to heavy rainfall and strong winds. He also won the eighth stage of the Tour de Suisse and finished ninth overall. At the Deutschland Tour he was in a breakaway with eventual stage winner Damiano Cunego when he flew down over a mountain stream and smashed into a retaining wall. He fractured both elbows and the right wrist.[4]

Caisse d'Epargne (2008–11)

In 2008 he signed a contract with Caisse d'Epargne and went on to finish second at the Volta a Catalunya and third at the Giro di Lombardia, a prestigious one-day classic. At the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, Urán competed in the road race but he did not finish. In 2009 he finished fifth overall at the Tour de Romandie and rode his first the Tour de France and finished 52nd. In 2010 he rode the Giro d'Italia and finished 7th overall in the 2010 Tour de Suisse. He also rode the Vuelta a España but suffered a fall that ended his options of a high overall placing while being eighth overall.[5]

Team Sky (2011–present)

Urán joined Team Sky for the 2011 season.[6] He finished 5th in Liège–Bastogne–Liège,[7] and 5th overall in the Volta a Catalunya.[1]

At the Tour de France, Urán became leader of Sky after Bradley Wiggins crashed out on Stage 7. He finished 5th on Stage 14, taking the best young rider's jersey and moving up to 11th overall in the process.[8] Uran lost the Maillot Blanc to Rein Taaramäe on Stage 18[9] after picking up an illness,[10] and eventually finished 24th overall.[11]

Palmares

2003
 Colombia U17 Time Trial Champion
 Colombia U17 Points Race Champion
2nd, National U17 Pursuit Championship
3rd, National U17 Road Race Championship
2005
 Colombia U19 Road Race Champion
 Colombia U19 Pursuit Champion
 Colombia U19 Points Race Champion
 Colombia U19 Scratch Champion
2007
2nd National Time Trial Championship
9th Overall Tour de Suisse
1st Stage 8
1st Stage 2b Euskal Bizikleta
2008
2nd Overall Volta a Catalunya
3rd Giro di Lombardia
2009
5th Overall Tour de Romandie
2010
7th Overall Tour de Suisse
2011
3rd Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
3rd Giro dell’Emilia
5th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
5th Overall Volta a Catalunya
Held Maillot blanc from Stage 14–17 Tour de France
9th Clásica de San Sebastián

References

  1. ^ a b c "Team Sky, Rider profile, Rigoberto Urán". teamsky.com. BSkyB. 2011. http://www.teamsky.com/profile/0,27291,17543_6636475,00.html. Retrieved 17 July 2011. 
  2. ^ "Un campeón nacido de la violencia (Spanish)". El País. http://www.elpais.com/articulo/deportes/campeon/nacido/violencia/elpepidep/20080317elpepidep_27/Tes/. Retrieved 9 October 2009. 
  3. ^ "Urrao tiene niño mimado (Spanish)". El Colombiano. http://www.elcolombiano.com/BancoConocimiento/U/urrao_tiene_nino_mimado_su_primera_bicicleta_fue_fiada_por_el_tio/urrao_tiene_nino_mimado_su_primera_bicicleta_fue_fiada_por_el_tio.asp. Retrieved 9 October 2009. 
  4. ^ "Deutschland Tour injury update". CyclingNews. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/deutschland-tour-injury-update. Retrieved 9 October 2009. 
  5. ^ Barry Ryan (13 September 2010). "Anton undergoes surgery in Bilbao". cyclingnews.com. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/anton-undergoes-surgery-in-bilbao. Retrieved 17 July 2011. 
  6. ^ Stephen Farrand (28 September 2011). "Team Sky sign Dowsett, Urán and Zandio". Cyclingnews.com. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/team-sky-sign-dowsett-uran-and-zandio. Retrieved 18 July 2011. 
  7. ^ Brecht Decaluwé (24 April 2011). "Gilbert the great!". Cycling News. http://www.cyclingnews.com/liege-bastogne-liege/results. Retrieved 23 August 2011. 
  8. ^ Brendan Gallagher (16 July 2011). "Tour de France 2011: Jelle Vanendert takes stage 14 win as Andy Schleck plays waiting game". telegraph.co.uk. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/tour-de-france/8642257/Tour-de-France-2011-Jelle-Vanendert-takes-stage-14-win-as-Andy-Schleck-plays-waiting-game.html. Retrieved 18 July 2011. 
  9. ^ Adriaan Alsema (21 July 2011). "Colombian Uran loses white jersey in Tour de France". Colombia Reports. http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/sports/17792-colombian-uran-loses-white-jersey-in-tour-de-france.html. Retrieved 23 August 2011. 
  10. ^ Shane Stokes (16 August 2011). "Wiggins wants strong Vuelta a España performance to thank his fans". Velonation. http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/9420/Wiggins-wants-strong-Vuelta-a-Espana-performance-to-thank-his-fans.aspx. Retrieved 23 August 2011. 
  11. ^ "Tour de France – 2011 – Overall Standing". LeTour.fr. http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/2100/classement/index.html. Retrieved 23 August 2011. 

External links