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 The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the ...

, 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 Wil () is the capital of the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Wil in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Wil is the third largest city in the Canton of St. Gallen, after the city of St. Gallen and Rapperswil-Jona, a twin city that merged in ...

in the canton of

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website = ...

, son of a Swiss father, Walter Zülle and Wilhelmine, from

Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Bra ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. 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 Laurent Dufaux (born 20 May 1969 in Montreux, Switzerland) is a former professional road cyclist from 1991 to 2004. He was the Swiss National Road Race champion in 1991. Major results ;1990 : 9th Giro dell'Emilia ;1991 : 1st Road race, Natio ...

instead. Zülle then approached

Manolo Saiz Manuel "Manolo" Saiz Balbás (born 16 October 1959 in Torrelavega, Cantabria) is the former team manager of one of the most successful Spanish professional road bicycle racing teams, first called Team ONCE, then Liberty Seguros-Würth, Astana ...

, but was rebuffed because, among reasons, he did not contract riders who wore earrings. Eventually, Saiz softened and Zülle rode for ONCE as a stagaire or apprentice in the

Volta a Catalunya The Volta a Catalunya (; en, Tour of Catalonia, es, Vuelta a Cataluña, link=no) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of ...

. He attacked frequently and finished third. Saiz relented and Zülle signed his first professional contract in September 1991. He remained with ONCE until 1997. Most of its riders were Spanish. Zülle spoke only Swiss-German when he joined but at the end of the

he answered journalists in Spanish.

Festina affair

In 1998, Zülle joined Festina. The team was banned from the 1998 Tour de France amid doping allegations which later became known as the

Festina affair The Festina affair was a series of doping scandals within the sport of professional cycling that occurred during and after the 1998 Tour de France. The affair began when a large haul of doping products was found in a support car belonging to t ...

. Five Festina riders including Zülle admitted taking EPO. Zülle said he took it to satisfy his sponsors. He also said he was deprived of his spectacles during the police interview. On 28 November 1998, Zülle's

haematocrit The hematocrit () (Ht or HCT), also known by several other names, is the volume percentage (vol%) of red blood cells (RBCs) in blood, measured as part of a blood test. The measurement depends on the number and size of red blood cells. It is nor ...

was found to be 52.3%, 2.3% over the limit.

1999–2004

His career coincided with that of Miguel Indurain, five-times

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

winner. Zülle was second in the Tour in 1999. He also won the

and

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse ( en, Tour of Switzerland) is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France ...

, and stages in the Giro d'Italia. Following financial problems for his employer,

Team Coast Team Bianchi was a makeshift team that was put together from the remnants of the Coast team in time for the 2003 Tour de France. Team Coast had been unable to pay the salaries of their riders and Bianchi took over the team and the role of tit ...

, Zülle transferred to on 27 March 2003 in a rare mid-season switch. Zülle retired in 2004, and held a party for his fans in Wil in October that year.

Career achievements

Major results

;1990 : 1st

Flèche du Sud The Flèche du Sud, is a road bicycle race held annually in Luxembourg. It is currently organised as a 2.2 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport dis ...

;1991 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

Grand Prix Guillaume Tell The Grand Prix Guillaume Tell (, "William Tell Grand Prize") was a professional cycling race held annually in Switzerland. It was part of UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were in ...

::1st Prologue, Stage 2 & 4 : 3rd Overall

: 4th

Trofeo Masferrer Trofeo Masferrer was a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Aut ...

;1992 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme The Catalan Cycling Week (''Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme'' in Catalan) was a multi-stage road bicycle race held in Catalonia, Spain. Held annually from 1963 until 2005, it was run as a 2.HC race on the UCI Europe Tour in the second half of March ...

: 1st

Overall

Vuelta a Asturias Vuelta Asturias is a professional cycle road race held in Spain in early May each year. The event was first run in 1925 but has not been held consistently until 1968 to present. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI ...

::1st Stage 1b ( ITT) : 1st Jersey violet

Overall

Vuelta a Burgos Vuelta Ciclista a Burgos is an elite professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the Burgos province of Spain. The men's Vuelta a Burgos has been a multi-day stage race as part of the UCI Europe Tour since 2005. In 2019, a multi-day ...

::1st Stage 5 ( ITT) : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

Escalada a Montjuïc The Escalada a Montjuïc (in Catalan, English: ''Scaling of Montjuïc'', Spanish: ''Escalada a Montjuïc'') was a one-day, two-stage road bicycle racing race held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain since 1965. It was held in the middle of October, as ...

::1st Stage 1a : 1st Stage 4 ( ITT)

: 1st Stage 2

Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali The Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali ( en, International Week of Coppi and Bartali), also known as Coppi e Bartali, is an Italian cycle road race. It is run typically in late March over five days in the Emilia-Romagna region of Ital ...

: 3rd

Gran Piemonte The Giro del Piemonte, since 2009 known also as Gran Piemonte, is a semi classic European bicycle race held in the Apennine Mountains, Italy. The race first took place in 1906. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI ...

: 4th Overall

Tour of the Basque Country The Tour of the Basque Country (Officially: ''Itzulia Basque Country'', es, Vuelta al País Vasco, links=no, eu, Euskal Herriko Itzulia) is an annual road cycling stage race held in the Spanish Basque Country in April. It is one of the races ...

: 4th

Grand Prix des Nations The Grand Prix des Nations was an individual time trial (against the clock) for both professional and amateur racing cyclists. Held annually in Cannes, France, it was instituted in 1932 and often regarded as the unofficial time trial championship ...

: 5th

Milano–Torino Milano–Torino is a semi classic European single day cycling race, between the northern Italian cities of Milan and Turin over a distance of 199 kilometres. The event was first run in 1876 making it the oldest classic race in the world. The ev ...

: 9th

Wincanton Classic Wincanton Classic (also known as Leeds International Classic and Rochester International Classic) was a cycling classic taking place in the United Kingdom as part of the UCI Road World Cup. It was first held in 1989 in Newcastle, moving to Brig ...

;1993 : 1st Jersey white

Overall Paris–Nice ::1st Prologue & Stage 7b ( ITT) : 1st

Chur-Arosa The Rhaetian Railway (german: Rhätische Bahn; it, Ferrovia retica; rm, Viafier retica), abbreviated RhB, is a Swiss transport company that owns the largest network of all private railway operators in Switzerland. Headquartered in Chur, the Rh ...

: 1st Josef Voegeli Memorial : 2nd Overall

::1st Stages 1 ( ITT), 6 ( ITT) & 21 ( ITT) : 3rd Overall

: 3rd Overall

Critérium International The Critérium International was a two-day bicycle stage race held in France every spring from 1932 until 2016, typically the last weekend of March. It was formerly known as the Critérium National de la Route, first run in 1932. For many years ...

: 5th Overall

Euskal Bizikleta Euskal Bizikleta (Spanish: ''Bicicleta Vasca'', English: ''Basque Bicycle'') was an annual road cycling stage race held in the Basque Country in June. From 2005 to 2008, the race was organized as a 2.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2009, it ...

: 6th Overall

;1994 : 1st Stage 1 ( ITT)

: 1st Stage 6 ( ITT)

Vuelta a Aragón Vuelta a Aragón is a professional bicycle road race held in Spain in May of each year. The event was first run in 1939, and was not held between 2006 and 2017. The future of the race is uncertain; there had been plans to organise it again, but an ...

: 2nd Overall

Vuelta a La Rioja The Vuelta a La Rioja ( en, Tour of La Rioja) is a regional Spanish road bicycle race held in La Rioja. From 2005 to 2008, it was a 2.1 category race on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing Road ...

: 4th Overall

: 8th Overall

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (; en, Tour of the Valencian Community or Tour of Valencia) is a road cycling stage race held in the Valencian Community (''Comunitat Valenciana''), Spain. Its position in the cycling calendar means it is ofte ...

;1995 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stages 3 & 5b ( ITT) : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stage 2b : 1st Challenge Mallorca : 1st Stage 16

: 2nd Overall

::1st

Points classification ::1st Prologue & Stage 5 ( ITT) : 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 9 : 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 5b ( ITT) : 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 4b ( ITT) : 3rd Overall Paris–Nice ;1996 : 1st Jersey rainbow

Time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and a mixed team relay. Events ...

: 1st

Overall

::1st Stage 15 : 1st MaillotVolta

Overall

::1st Prologue, Stages 3 ( ITT) & 6 ( ITT) : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stage 3 & 5b ( ITT) : 1st

GP Miguel Indurain Gp or GP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * Gameplanet (New Zealand), a New Zealand video game community * GamePolitics.com, a blog about the politics of computer and video games * ''GamePro'', a monthly video game magazine * ...

: 1st Prologue

: 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 4b ( ITT) : 7th

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

: 8th Overall

;1997 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stage 21 ( ITT) : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stage 5b ( ITT) : 2nd Overall

: 2nd Overall

: 2nd

: 3rd

La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is today normally held mid-week betw ...

: 5th Overall

Vuelta a Murcia The Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia ( en, Tour of Murcia) is a road bicycle race held in and around Murcia, Spain. The first four editions were reserved to amateurs. Originally the race was held in early March and consisted of five stages. However, d ...

;1998 : Giro d'Italia ::1st Prologue, Stages 6 & 15 ( ITT) : 2nd Overall

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...

::1st Stage 4b ( ITT) : 3rd Overall

: 3rd Overall

::1st Stage 5b ( ITT) : 4th Overall Paris–Nice : 5th

Grand Prix Eddy Merckx Grand Prix Eddy Merckx was a cycle race around Brussels, where Eddy Merckx was born. It was held between 1980 and 2004, disappearing after the creation of the UCI ProTour in 2005. The race was initially an individual time trial An individual tim ...

(with

Christophe Bassons Christophe Bassons (born 10 June 1974) is a French former professional road racing cyclist. His career ended when he spoke out about doping in the Tour de France. Origins Christophe Bassons was born in Mazamet, France, in the Tarn department. ...

) : 8th Overall

::1st Stage 21 ( ITT) ;1999 : 1st

À travers Lausanne À travers Lausanne was a professional road cycling race held annually in Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian- ...

: 1st Stage 13

: 2nd Overall

: 6th Breitling Grand Prix (with José Vicente García : 10th

;2000 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

Volta ao Algarve The Volta ao Algarve (Portuguese; en, Tour of the Algarve) is a road bicycle racing stage race held annually in the Algarve, Portugal. Since 2017, it has been organised as a 2.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race became part of the new UCI ...

::1st Stage 4 ( ITT) : 1st Stage 1 ( ITT)

: 4th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré : 7th Overall

;2001 : 1st Stage 4 Paris–Nice : 3rd Overall

: 9th Overall

;2002 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Prologue : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stage 5 ( ITT) : 2nd Overall

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stage 4 & 5 ( ITT) : 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 2 : 4th

GP Triberg-Schwarzwald The GP Triberg-Schwarzwald was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in June in Triberg im Schwarzwald, Germany. From 2005 to 2009 it was part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competiti ...

: 5th

Deutschland Tour The Deutschland Tour (English: ''Tour of Germany'' and sometimes ''Deutschland-Rundfahrt'' in German) is the most important multi-stage road bicycle race in Germany. Initially the race was held in May/June, but from 2005 until 2008 it was moved t ...

;2003 : 3rd Overall

Vuelta a Castilla y León The Vuelta Ciclista a Castilla y León is a professional road bicycle stage race held in Castile and León, Spain. Since 2005, Vuelta a Castilla y León has been a part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bi ...

: 7th Overall

;2004 : 5th Overall

General classification results timeline

References

External links

* , some content available in English * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zulle, Alex Swiss male cyclists 1968 births Living people Vuelta a España winners Olympic cyclists of Switzerland Cyclists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2000 Summer Olympics UCI Road World Champions (elite men) Tour de France prologue winners Swiss Giro d'Italia stage winners Doping cases in cycling Swiss Vuelta a España stage winners Swiss sportspeople in doping cases People from Wil Tour de Suisse stage winners Sportspeople from the canton of St. Gallen

Biography

Early career

Festina affair

1999–2004

Career achievements

Major results

General classification results timeline

See also

References

External links