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2009 Vuelta A España
The 2009 Vuelta a España was the 64th Vuelta a España. The event took place from 29 August to 20 September 2009. For only the second time in the race's history, it began away from Spanish soil, with the race not in fact reaching Spain until Stage 5. The 2009 Vuelta has been described as having an easy start and a hard finish. This is because of the short individual time trial and three perfectly flat stages in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium (along with another in Spain in the race's first week), and eight of the final fourteen stages being mountain stages, with four mountaintop finishes. The race was won by Spain's Alejandro Valverde who claimed his first grand tour victory. Teams 29 teams sought places in the race, of which 21 were initially invited to compete. , one of two UCI ProTour teams omitted from the list of invited teams, appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and were subsequently granted the right to enter. are thus the only ProTour team absent from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2009 UCI World Ranking
The 2009 UCI World Ranking was the first edition of the ranking system launched by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), replacing the rankings previously part of the UCI ProTour, with which it would be merged in 2011 to form the UCI World Tour. The series started with the Tour Down Under's opening stage on 20 January, and consists of 13 stage races and 11 one-day races, culminating in the Giro di Lombardia on 17 October. All events except the Tour Down Under took place in Europe. The individual ranking was topped by Alberto Contador, who took the lead after his win in the Tour de France and was assured of winning the classification when second-placed Alejandro Valverde was absent from the final race of the series. Contador's team took the team title, with Valverde again second as leader of , and with a third Spaniard, Samuel Sánchez, completing the top three in the individual classification, Spain won the national rankings by a wide margin over second placed Italy. Events ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Individual Time Trial
An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials (TTT). ITTs are also referred to as "the race of truth", as winning depends only on each rider's strength and endurance, and not on help provided by teammates and others riding ahead and creating a slipstream. Individual time trial are usually held on flat or rolling terrain, although sometimes they are held up a mountain road (in Italian: ''cronoscalata'' "chrono climbing"). Sometimes the opening stage of a stage race is a very short individual time trial called a prologue (8 km or less for men, 4 km or less for women and juniors). Starting times are at equal intervals, usually one or two minutes apart. The starting sequence is usually based on the finishing times ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Borut Božič
Borut Božič (born 8 August 1980) is a Slovenian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2004 and 2018 for the , , , , , and teams. Considered a sprinter in the mold of Óscar Freire, Božič's career highlights include winning the 2007 Tour de Wallonie, victory in the first stage of the 2009 Tour de Pologne (plus two days in the leader's jersey), winning the sixth stage of the 2009 Vuelta a España, and winning stage five of the 2011 Tour de Suisse. Božič worked as a directeur sportif for the team up to October 2019 but in that month was issued with a 2-year ban for his links to the doping ring uncovered by '' Operation Aderlass''. Early life Born in Idrija, Božič got his start in cycling at age 10, despite growing up in a family with no connection to the sport. Though his friends cycled, his dad was a football player – so he looked to his compatriot Valter Bonca for inspiration. Božič is married to Klemintina, with whom he has a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xàtiva
Xàtiva (, es, Játiva ) is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right (western) bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways. It is located 25 km west of the Mediterranean Sea. During the Al-Andalus Islamic era, Arabs brought the technology to manufacture paper to Xàtiva. In the 12th century, Xàtiva was known for its schools, education, and learning circles. Islamic scholar Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi's last name refers to Xàtiva where he lived and died. After the Reconquista by Northern Christian kingdoms and the following Christian repopulation, the city became the cradle of one of the most powerful and controversial families of the Renaissance, the House of Borgia, which produced Popes like Callixtus III (Alfonso de Borgia) and Alexander VI (Rodrigo de Borgia). History Xàtiva (''Saetabis'' in Latin) was famous in Roman times for its linen fabrics, mentioned by the Latin poets Ovid and C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vinaròs
Vinaròs () is a city located in eastern Spain and the capital of the Baix Maestrat in the province of Castelló. It is in the border between the Valencian Country and Catalonia. Vinaròs is a fishing harbour and tourist destination. History The first historical record of Vinaròs is in 1233, when the Moorish hamlet of ''Binarlaros-Ibn Arus'' in eastern al-Andaluz was captured by King James I of Aragon. It was under rule of the Knights templar order between 1294 and 1311, and of the order of Montesa during the 14th century. The town grew during the 16th and 17th centuries, when fortifications and navy yards were built, and attained great prosperity during the following two centuries, due to its involvement in ship building and Valencian wine trade. The town suffered a strong decline in the early 20th century as a consequence of the spread of phylloxera in the regions vineyards, which devastated wine production. Today, the prosperity of Vinaròs is bound to tourism and fishin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tarragona
Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tarragonès and Catalonia. Geographically, it is bordered on the north by the Province of Barcelona and the Province of Lleida. The city has a population of 201,199 (2014). History Origins One Catalan legend holds that Tarragona was named for ''Tarraho'', eldest son of Tubal in c. 2407 BC; another (derived from Strabo and Megasthenes) attributes the name to ' Tearcon the Ethiopian', a seventh-century BC pharaoh who campaigned in Spain. The real founding date of Tarragona is unknown. The city may have begun as an Iberian town called or , named for the Iberian tribe of the region, the Cossetans, though the identification of Tarragona with Kesse is not certain. William Smith suggests that the city was probably founded by the Phoenicians, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of and has a population of more than 11.5 million, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of . Belgium is part of an area known as the Low Countries, historically a somewhat larger region than the Benelux group of states, as it also included parts of northern France. The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven. Belgium is a sovereign state and a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. Its institutional organization is complex and is structured on both regional ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liège
Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from borders with the Netherlands (Maastricht is about to the north) and with Germany (Aachen is about north-east). In Liège, the Meuse meets the river Ourthe. The city is part of the '' sillon industriel'', the former industrial backbone of Wallonia. It still is the principal economic and cultural centre of the region. The municipality consists of the following districts: Angleur, , Chênée, , Grivegnée, Jupille-sur-Meuse, Liège, Rocourt, and Wandre. In November 2012, Liège had 198,280 inhabitants. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of 1,879 km2 (725 sq mi) and had a total population of 749,110 on 1 January 2008. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greg Henderson
Gregory Henderson (born 10 September 1976) is a New Zealand former professional track and road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2017. His career includes winning the scratch race at the 2004 world championships and, in road cycling, winning the points competition at the Tour de Georgia in 2005 and 2008. Henderson rode in five Olympic Games and completed 11 Grand Tours. He also competed in four Commonwealth Games and was a four-time medallist, including winning gold in the points race in 2002. During an important part of his career, he served as André Greipel's main lead-out man, and they were colleagues at both and later . In addition to 17 New Zealand track and road titles and eight World Cup track golds, Henderson has been New Zealand Track Cyclist of the Year (2001, 2002, 2003) and Athlete of the Year, Otago, New Zealand (2001, 2002, 2003). Career Track cycling At the 1998 Commonwealth Games Henderson won bronze medals in the points race and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Venlo
Venlo () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg, about 50 km east of the city of Eindhoven, 65 km north east of the provincial capital Maastricht, and 45 km north west of Düsseldorf in Germany. The municipality of Venlo counted 101,578 inhabitants as of January 2019.Statistics Netherlands (CBS), Retrieved on 6 March 2019. History Early history Roman and Celtic coins have been found in Venlo; it was speculated to have been the settlement known as ''Sablones'' on the Roman road connecting Maastricht with Xanten, but the little evidence there is concerning the location of Sablones speaks against this thought while there is no evidence in support of it. Blerick, on the west bank, was known as ''Blariacum''. Documents from the 9th century mention Venlo as a trade post; it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zutphen
Zutphen () is a city and municipality located in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It lies some 30 km northeast of Arnhem, on the eastern bank of the river Ijssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel. First mentioned in the 11th century, the place-name appears to mean "south fen" ( in modern Dutch). In 2005, the municipality of Zutphen was merged with the municipality of Warnsveld, retaining its name. In , the municipality had a population of . History In about 300 AD, a Germanic settlement was the first permanent town on a complex of the low river dunes. Whereas many such settlements were abandoned in the early Middle Ages, Zutphen, on its strategic confluence of IJssel and Berkel, stayed. After the incorporation of the IJssel lands in Charlemagne's Francia, Zutphen became a local centre of governance under the Count of Zutphen. The Normans raided and ravaged it in 882. Afterwards, a circular fortress was built to protect the budding town against Viking ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gerald Ciolek
Gerald Michael Ciolek (born 19 September 1986) is a German former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2016. He currently works as a directeur sportif for UCI Continental team . Career Ciolek started racing at senior events in May 2005, with , where he had a very successful season. He won the German National Road Race Championships aged 18, the youngest ever rider to do so. Ciolek was able to overcome seasoned sprinters Erik Zabel and Robert Förster without help from any team mates, ending the twelve-year domination of T-Mobile. Besides winning the national championship, he secured three stage victories and the points competition at the Tour de Hongrie, and a stage victory at the Mainfranken Tour. In 2006, Ciolek completed his training at the Ford Motor Company and was able to turn professional and devote his career to cycling. Through the season, he rode strongly and secured a number of high placings in important races to prove he could ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
