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1996 Vuelta A España
The 51st Edition ''Vuelta a España'' (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three Grand Tours, was held from 7 September to 29 September 1996. It consisted of 22 stages covering a total of , and was won by Alex Zülle of the ONCE cycling team. This was the only time in cycling history that riders from Switzerland swept the Podium in a Grand Tour. Five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain started his home tour for the first time since finishing second in 1991, having just recently been dislodged at the Tour by Bjarne Riis. He was initially reluctant to start, but convinced by his team to do so after a strong performance during the time trial at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. However, Indurain would eventually abandon the race, which would prove to be the last of his career, on stage 13 while lying in third place overall, having been dropped by the rest of the race favourites on the first-category climb of the Fito pass. Teams and riders Route ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alex Zülle
Alex Zülle (born 5 July 1968) is a Swiss former professional road bicycle racer. During the 1990s he was one of the most successful cyclists in the world, winning the 1996 and 1997 Vuelta a España, taking second place in the 1995 and the 1999 Tour de France. He was world time-trial champion in Lugano in 1996. Biography Early career Zülle was born and brought up in Wil in the canton of St. Gallen, son of a Swiss father, Walter Zülle and Wilhelmine, from Brabant, Netherlands. As a child he wanted to be a skier but at 18 he was injured in an accident. He began cycling in the Netherlands for rehabilitation before giving up because it was too windy. His father, having bought cycling equipment, persuaded him to give cycling another go when they returned to Switzerland. After several years as a successful amateur, Zülle turned professional in 1991. He approached the former sporting director of the Swiss team, Helvetia, Paul Köchli, but Köchli signed Laurent Dufaux instea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bjarne Riis
Bjarne Lykkegård Riis (; born 3 April 1964), nicknamed ''The Eagle from Herning'' ( da, Ørnen fra Herning), is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer who placed first in the 1996 Tour de France. For many years he was the owner and later manager of the Oleg Tinkov associated Russian UCI WorldTeam . Other career highlights include placing first in the Amstel Gold Race in 1997, multiple Danish National Championships, and stage wins in the Giro d'Italia. On 25 May 2007, he admitted that he placed first in the Tour de France using banned substances, and he was no longer considered the winner by the Tour's organizers. In July 2008, the Tour reconfirmed his victory but with an asterisk label to indicate his doping offences. Career Born in Herning, Riis began cycling at local club Herning CK. When he was not selected for the 1984 Summer Olympics, former cyclist Kim Andersen advised Riis to start his professional career not in Italy, but in Luxembourg. His professional car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fabio Baldato
Fabio Baldato (born 13 June 1968) is an Italian former racing cyclist. In 2008, he was the oldest rider in a ProTour team. His cycling career ended when he crashed heavily in the Eneco Tour. He also competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 1996 Summer Olympics. Major results ;1986 : 1st Road race, National Junior Road Championships ;1989 : 6th Gran Premio della Liberazione ;1990 : 1st Trofeo Città di Castelfidardo ;1991 : 6th Trofeo Pantalica ;1992 : 5th Omloop Het Volk : 10th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne ;1993 : Giro d'Italia ::1st Stages 4, 16 & 21 : 1st Stage 3a Ronde van Nederland : 1st Stage 1 Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme : 10th Paris–Tours ;1994 : Paris–Nice ::1st Stages 2 & 4 : 2nd Paris–Roubaix : 6th Tour of Flanders : 6th Milan–San Remo : 7th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen ;1995 : Tour de France ::1st Stage 1 ::Held after Stage 1 : 1st Stage 8a Paris–Nice : 1st Stage 1 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana : 1st Stage 2 Tour Méditerranéen : 1st Stage 2 Three Day ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Málaga
Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most populous in Spain. It lies on the Costa del Sol (''Coast of the Sun'') of the Mediterranean, about east of the Strait of Gibraltar and about north of Africa. Málaga's history spans about 2,800 years, making it one of the oldest cities in Europe and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. According to most scholars, it was founded about 770BC by the Phoenicians as ''Malaka'' ( xpu, 𐤌𐤋𐤊𐤀, ). From the 6th centuryBC the city was under the hegemony of Ancient Carthage, and from 218BC, it was ruled by the Roman Republic and then empire as ''Malaca'' (Latin). After the fall of the empire and the end of Visigothic rule, it was under Islamic rule as ''Mālaqah'' ( ar, مالقة) for 800 years, but in 1487, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeroen Blijlevens
Jeroen Johannes Hendrikus Blijlevens (born 29 December 1971) is a retired road bicycle racer from the Netherlands, who was a professional rider from 1994 to 2004. He most recently worked as a directeur sportif for UCI Women's WorldTeam , and has also worked as a cycling co-commentator at Eurosport Netherlands. Nicknamed ''Jerommeke'', he was one of Holland's leading sprinters in the 1990s, claiming a total of 11 stage victories across the three Grand Tours (Tour de France, Vuelta a España and Giro d'Italia). He won a total number of 74 races in his professional career. Biography Blijlevens was born in Gilze en Rijen, North Brabant in 1971, as a son of a shoe sales man. In 1990, he won his first race as an amateur. He scored nineteen victories as an amateur, and at the end of 1993 was signed by Cees Priem for . Blijlevens showed good results in his first years, and in 1995 was selected to ride the Tour de France, where he won the fifth stage. Blijlevens, not a good climber, lef ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Almería
Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city grew wealthy during the Islamic era, becoming a world city throughout the 11th and 12th centuries. It enjoyed an active port that traded silk, oil and raisins. Etymology The name "Almería" comes from the city's former Arabic name, ''Madīnat al-Mariyya'', meaning "city of the watchtower". As the settlement was originally port or coastal suburb of Pechina, it was initially known as ''Mariyyat al-Bajjāna'' (''Bajjāna'' being the Arabic name for Pechina). History The origin of Almería is connected to the 9th-century establishment of the so-called Republic of Pechina (Bajjana) some kilometres to the north, which was for a time autonomous from the Cordobese central authority: the settlement of current-day Almería initially developed as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Steels
Tom Steels (born 2 September 1971) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, specialising in sprint finishes and one-day races. He was one of the top sprinters in the peloton. Steels competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, in the Men's 1000 metres Time Trial, finishing 19th. Steels began his professional cycling career in 1994 with the Vlaanderen 2002 team, winning eight times in his first two seasons. His breakthrough was after he signed with Mapei in 1996. That year he won Omloop Het Volk, and Gent–Wevelgem. In 1997, he rode in his first Tour de France, and looked capable of a stage win after coming second on Stage 2. However, during the sprint for the finish for the sixth stage he found himself blocked and boxed in by other sprinters and in frustration threw his water bottle at another rider, an offence for which he was disqualified from that year's Tour. As a result, he earned the nickname "Tom Bidon". His best season was 1998 when he won the natio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one third of the total population of the Region). The total population of the metropolitan area is 672,773 in 2020, covering an urban area of 1,230.9 km2. It is located on the Segura River, in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. It has a climate with hot summers, mild winters, and relatively low precipitation. Murcia was founded by the emir of Cordoba Abd ar-Rahman II in 825 with the name ''Mursiyah'' ( ar, مرسية). It is now mainly a services city and a university town. Highlights for visitors include the Cathedral of Murcia and a number of baroque buildings, renowned local cuisine, Holy Week procession, works of art by the famous Murcian sculptor Francisco Salzillo, and the ''Fiestas de Primavera'' (Spring Festival). The city, as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albacete
Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, the area around the city is known as Llanos de Albacete, Los Llanos. Halfway between Madrid and the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast, it enjoys connections by motorway, railway (including AVE), and air (Albacete Airport). With a population of 174,336 (2020), it is the largest municipality of Castilla–La Mancha. The municipality of Albacete is also the seventh-largest in Spain by total area, being . Albacete is the seat to the regional High Court of Justice of Castile-La Mancha, High Court of Justice. The origins of the city are uncertain, with the earliest proof of settlement dating to the time of Al-Andalus, when the settlement was originally named (), meaning "The Flat" in Arabic language, Arabic, re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicola Minali
Nicola Minali (born 10 November 1969 in Isola della Scala, Veneto) is an Italian former road bicycle racer. He won a total of twelve stages in Grand Tours, including the prestigious Champs-Élysées stage in 1997 Tour de France. He also won the Paris–Tours classic twice. His name was on the list of doping tests published by the French Senate on 24 July 2013 that were collected during the 1998 Tour de France and found positive for EPO when retested in 2004. He is the father of racing cyclist Riccardo Minali. Major results ;1993 : 1st Stage 2 Three Days of De Panne ;1994 : 1st Stage 5 Tour de France :Tour de Romandie ::1st Stages 2 & 5 : 1st Stage 2 Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme ;1995 : 1st Paris–Tours : Vuelta a España ::1st Stages 1, 6 & 11 : 1st Stage 6 Giro d'Italia : Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme ::1st Stages 2, 4 & 5 : Tirreno–Adriatico ::1st Stages 3 & 6 : Danmark Rundt ::1st Stages 1, 4 & 6 : 1st Stage 3 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana : 1st Stage 1 Vuelta a Ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cuenca, Spain
Cuenca () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. It is the capital of the province of Cuenca. Etymology Its name may derive from the Latin ''conca'' meaning "river basin", referring to the gorge of the rivers Júcar and Huécar. It may also be derived from the now-ruined Arab castle, Kunka. Other alternative original names have been suggested, including "Anitorgis", "Sucro" or "Concava". The city of Cuenca is also known as the "Eagle's Nest" because of its precarious position on the edge of a gorge. History When the Iberian peninsula was part of the Roman Empire, there were several important settlements in the province, such as Segobriga, Ercavica and Gran Valeria. However, the place where Cuenca is located today was uninhabited at that time. When the Muslims captured the area in 714, they soon realized the value of this strategic location and they built a fortress (called ''Kunka'') between two gorges dug between ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biagio Conte
Biagio Conte (born 7 April 1968 in Palermo) is an Italian former professional cyclist, who competed professionally from 1996 to 2003. He currently works as a directeur sportif for UCI Continental team . Major results ;1991 : 1st Trofeo Zsšdi : 1st Stage 8 Peace Race ;1993 : 1st Trofeo Zsšdi ;1994 : 5th Gran Premio della Liberazione ;1995 : 1st Giro del Belvedere : 1st Trofeo Città di Castelfidardo : 3rd Gran Premio Industria e Commercio Artigianato Carnaghese ;1996 : 1996 Vuelta a España, Vuelta a España ::1st Stages 1 & 14 : 1st Stage 4 Trofeo dello Stretto : 2nd Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi : 3rd Trofeo Città di Castelfidardo : 6th Giro dell'Etna ;1997 : 1st Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi : 1st Giro dell'Etna : 2nd Coppa Ugo Agostoni : 3rd Nice–Alassio, Alassio Cup : 3rd 1997 Milan–San Remo, Milan–San Remo : 3rd Giro del Piemonte : 4th Overall Giro di Puglia : 5th Trofeo Pantalica : 6th Grand Prix de Wallonie : 7th 1997 Paris–Tours, Paris–Tours : 9th Trofeo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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