Isidro Nozal

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Isidro Nozal
Personal information
Nozal at the 2005 Vuelta al País Vasco
Full name	Isidro Nozal
Born	(1977-10-18) 18 October 1977 Barakaldo, Spain
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Professional team(s)
1999–2006 2007 2008–2009	ONCE-Deutsche Bank Astana Karpin-Galicia
Infobox last updated on 8 May 2011

Isidro Nozal Vega (born 18 October 1977) is a former Spanish professional road racing cyclist. He has become somewhat famous for not showering during Grand Tours for fear that the water will soften his muscles .^{[citation needed]} Nozal was runner-up in the 2003 Vuelta a España and an instrumental domestique in Roberto Heras' 2004 Vuelta a España win.

Doping

In 2005, he was suspended for two weeks after being tested with a hematocrit level above 50 before the start of Dauphine Libere.^[1] In 2006, he was initially implicated in the Operación Puerto doping case, but was later cleared of any wrongdoing by Spanish officials.^[2] For the 2008 and 2009 seasons Nozal rode for the Portuguese Pro Continental team of Liberty Seguros.^[3] In September 2009 Nozal and two teammates (Nuno Ribeiro and Hector Guerra) were announced to have tested positive for EPO-CERA in samples taken for the previous month's Tour of Portugal.^[4] Liberty Seguros immediately announced that it would cease sponsorship of the team and its participation in cycling. Ribeiro had initially been declared the winner but the second-placed rider, Spain's David Blanco, was elevated to the overall win. Nozal, Ribeiro, and Guerra all received two-year suspensions from cycling.^[5]

Major achievements and teams

1999 – ONCE - Deutsche Bank

First year as a professional

2000 – ONCE - Deutsche Bank
2001 – ONCE - Eroski: 3rd, Stage 10 – Giro d'Italia
2002 – ONCE - Eroski: Stage 3 – Clasica de Alcobendas; Stage 3 – Vuelta a Burgos
2003 – ONCE - Eroski: Stages 6 and 13 and 2nd overall – Vuelta a España
2004 – Liberty Seguros
2005 – Liberty Seguros-Würth Cycling Team
2006 – Astana-Würth Team
2007 – Karpin-Galicia

References

Persondata
Name	Nozal, Isidro
Alternative names
Short description	Spanish road cyclist
Date of birth	18 October 1977
Place of birth	Barakaldo, Spain
Date of death
Place of death

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