Charles "Charly" Wegelius (born 26 April 1978 in

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...

, Finland) is a British former professional road racing cyclist. Never a winner of a professional race individually, Wegelius nevertheless made a career out of being a reliable and strong

domestique In road bicycle racing, a domestique is a rider who works for the benefit of their team and leader, rather than trying to win the race. In French, ''domestique'' translates as "servant".However, in French, the term used is ''équipier''. In I ...

, most notably in the mountains.

Career

Early career

Wegelius started his career in France, riding for the

Vendée U Team TotalEnergies () is a professional road bicycle racing team that competes as a UCI ProTeam in UCI Continental Circuits races, and UCI World Tour races when invited as a ''wild card'' entry. In previous years, the team was known as Brioches L ...

team managed by

Jean-René Bernaudeau Jean-René Bernaudeau (born 8 July 1956) is a French former road bicycle racer, who competed professionally from 1978 to 1988. Bernaudeau currently works as the general manager for UCI ProTeam . In 1982, he said that dope controls in cycling we ...

, thanks to the influence of former pro Graham Jones. His team-mates included

Walter Bénéteau Walter Bénéteau (28 July 1972 – 10 December 2022) was a French professional cyclist. He raced in every Tour de France from 2000 until 2006. Career Stage 1 of the 2006 Tour de France started with a seven-man break-away with Bénéteau being ...

, Christian Guiberteau, Roger Hammond, Samuel Plouhinec, and

Janek Tombak Janek Tombak (born 22 July 1976 in Põltsamaa) is an Estonian former professional road cyclist. He won the Estonian national championships twice (2001, 2003) and finished in 10th place at the 2003 UCI Road World Championships. Major results ;1 ...

. He won a number of races in his first season, including beating

Sandy Casar Sandy Casar (born 2 February 1979) is a French former professional racing cyclist, who competed as a professional between 2000 and 2013, all for the team. His greatest results have been winning three stages of the Tour de France, as well the over ...

, who was the brightest prospect in the local area. His biggest result was winning the Under-23 section of the

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 ...

, after which

Le Télégramme ''Le Télégramme'' is a French-language daily newspaper from the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany region of France, based in the commune of Morlaix. It has been founded in 1944 and still exists to this day, although circulation is exper ...

reported that Wegelius was one of the most promising riders of his generation. Wegelius' cycling aspirations suffered an early setback, after being injured in an accident involving an

all-terrain vehicle An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is stra ...

, which resulted in his

spleen The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes .

being removed and the news that he would never cycle again.Cyclingnews talks with Charly Wegelius
Cyclingnews.com Accessed 26 September 2011 He recovered, however, and had his first professional break in 1999, when he rode as a stagiaire for the ill-fated Linda McCartney Racing Team.Wegelius calls time on cycling career
Cyclingnews.com Accessed 26 September 2011 Wegelius participated in the

cycling at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Cycling at the 2002 Commonwealth Games was held in Rivington Park Bolton (road and mountain biking) and Manchester Velodrome (track, located in Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population o ...

, where he finished 5th in the individual time trial and 28th in the road race. He also started the road race at the 2004 Summer Olympics, but failed to finish.

Italian years

Wegelius raced in Italy for a succession of teams between 2000 and 2009. At

Mapei Mapei S.p.A. () is an Italian limited company founded in 1937 in Milan that manufactures chemical products for the building industry. History Innovation and research The company was founded and originally called ''Materiali Autarchici per ...

he was part of a generation of young cyclists that included

Fabian Cancellara Fabian Cancellara (born 18 March 1981), nicknamed "Spartacus", is a Swiss cycling executive, businessman and former professional road racing cyclist who last rode for UCI ProTeam . He was born in Wohlen bei Bern, Switzerland. Cancellara began ...

Luca Paolini Luca Paolini (born 17 January 1977) is an Italian former road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2000 and 2015. He started his sports career in the early 2000s by joining (2000–2002), UCI ProTeam directed by Patrick Lefevere. With ...

Dario Cioni Dario David Cioni (born 2 December 1974) is a retired English-born Italian professional road bicycle racer. Career Mountain bike career Cioni began his career as a professional mountain bike racer at the age of 19. He found success early ...

Rinaldo Nocentini Rinaldo Nocentini (born 25 September 1977) is an Italian former professional racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 1999 and 2019 for the , , Formaggi Pinzolo Fiavé, , and teams. In the 2009 Tour de France, his first participati ...

Filippo Pozzato Filippo "Pippo" Pozzato (born 10 September 1981) is an Italian former road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2000 and 2018 for the , , , , , , and two spells with the / teams. A northern classics specialist, Pozzato finished in se ...

Leif Hoste Leif Hoste (born 17 July 1977) is a retired Belgian professional road racing cyclist, who last rode for UCI Professional Continental Team team . Born in Kortrijk, Hoste's career highlights included winning two stages and the overall title at the ...

, Bernhard Eisel, Allan Davis, and Michael Rogers. Wegelius took part in his first

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...

, Mapei's last, at the

2002 Vuelta a España The 57th edition of the ''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 2002. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of , and was won by Ait ...

. After the team's sponsor pulled out at the end of 2002, Wegelius moved to the smaller

De Nardi De Nardi was a professional cycling team based in Italy. Founded under a Slovak license, they helped nurture talented young riders. In 2003, the merged with Team Colpack-Astro, and took on Colpack as a co-sponsor. In 2005, Italian hotel group ...

team, which raced on the Italian domestic scene. They were invited to the Giro d'Italia in 2003 and 2004. In 2004, Wegelius notably helped

Serhiy Honchar Serhiy Gonchar ( uk, Сергій Гончар; born 3 July 1970) is a Ukrainian former professional road racing cyclist. He won the World Time Trial Championship in 2000. Due to a temporary spelling error in his passport, he is often incorre ...

to an unexpected second place, often driving the leading group up the difficult mountain stages.

World Championship controversy

Wegelius was involved in controversy in 2005 when he and teammate

Tom Southam Tom Southam (born 28 May 1981) is a British former competitive cyclist from Penzance, Cornwall who competed professionally between 2003 and 2011. He represented Great Britain in five World Championships and rode in several UCI ProTour events. S ...

chose not to ride to protect Roger Hammond, their team leader, in the World Championship road race, and instead took instructions from the Italian team for a fee. Wegelius later repaid the costs associated with his participation in the event, and was never selected to represent his national team again. He later said that he regretted the incident.Charly Wegelius retires from cycling

Cycling Weekly ''Cycling Weekly'' is a British cycling magazine. It is published by Future and is devoted to the sport and pastime of cycling. It used to be affectionately referred to by British club cyclists as "The Comic".

Accessed 26 September 2011

Giro d'Italia

Having been on the

Liquigas-Bianchi Cannondale Pro Cycling Team (), previously known as Liquigas, was an Italian professional road bicycle racing team in the UCI ProTour. History The team was formed at the start of the UCI ProTour in 2005. the team was co-title sponsored by Ital ...

team since they reached the top level of cycling, Wegelius was a key domestique in the Giro d'Italia supporting Dario Cioni,

Danilo Di Luca Danilo Di Luca (born 2 January 1976) is a former Italy, Italian professional road racing cyclist, best known for winning the 2007 Giro d'Italia, but also for several positive doping tests, the last of which resulting in a lifetime ban from the sp ...

, and Stefano Garzelli. Wegelius competed in every Giro d'Italia between 2003 and 2010, and successfully supported Di Luca to victory in 2007, which was ironically the only Giro Wegelius failed to finish.

Participation in the Tour de France

Having previously ridden in the Giro d'Italia and the

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 ...

, Wegelius made his

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 ...

début in the 2007 edition. By finishing 45th, he was the best placed British rider in the general classification at 1 hour, 41 minutes and 5 seconds behind yellow jersey winner

Alberto Contador Alberto Contador Velasco (; born 6 December 1982) is a Spanish former professional cyclist. He is one of the most successful riders of his era, winning the Tour de France twice ( 2007, 2009), the Giro d'Italia twice (2008, 2015), and the V ...

. He received a call-up to participate in the

2009 Tour de France The 2009 Tour de France was the 96th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on 4 July in the principality of Monaco with a individual time trial which included a section of the Circuit de Monaco. The race visite ...

as a replacement for Thomas Dekker, who was ruled out following a positive

drug test A drug test is a technical analysis of a biological specimen, for example urine, hair, blood, breath, sweat, or oral fluid/saliva—to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites. Major applications of dr ...

. He finished 60th in the general classification, 1 hour, 14 minutes and 25 seconds behind the winning Contador. Wegelius also began the

2010 Tour de France The 2010 Tour de France was the 97th edition of the Tour de France cycle race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on with an 8.9 km prologue time trial in Rotterdam, the first start in the Netherlands since 1996. The race visited th ...

. However, much to his disappointment, he had to pull out after suffering from a sickness. It was his last participation in the Tour de France, as he retired after the 2011 Giro di Padania. Following his retirement, he joined the then Garmin–Cervélo team as

Directeur sportif A ''directeur sportif'' (French for sporting director, although the original French term is often used in English-language media; plural ''directeurs sportifs'') is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event. It is se ...

Personal life

Wegelius is the son of Christopher Wegelius, a Finnish former banker and the most successful

show jumper Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ...

ever to have represented Finland. His mother was English-born Elizabeth Jane Murray. Wegelius moved, as a small boy, with his mother, to England. He grew up in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

. Wegelius was educated at

Bootham School Bootham School is an independent Quaker boarding school, on Bootham in the city of York in England. It accepts boys and girls ages 3–19, and had an enrolment of 605 pupils in 2016. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The schoo ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

from 1989 to 1994. Wegelius has a wife, Camilla, and two sons. They live in Finland.

Career achievements

Major results

;1995 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

Junior Tour of Wales The Junior Tour of Wales is an annual cycle race for junior male riders, held around Brynmawr, Blaenau Gwent, Wales. First held in 1981, the race is the final round of the British Cycling Junior Road Series – and as such attracts the best jun ...

;1999 : 2nd Silver medal europe

European Under-23 Time Trial Championships : 2nd Overall

Okolo Slovenska Okolo Slovenska ( en, Tour of Slovakia; french: Tour de Slovaquie) is an annual road cycling stage race in Slovakia. Founded in 1954, since 2017 it has been rated as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is a stage race that usually includes f ...

: 3rd

Liège–Bastogne–Liège U23 The U23 Liège–Bastogne–Liège or Liège–Bastogne–Liège Espoirs is a cycling race in Belgium, held eight days before the cycling classic, the Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège, also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The O ...

: 4th

Manx Trophy The Manx Trophy or Isle of Man International Road Race is a bicycle road race run annually on the Isle of Man. In the 1960s the race attracted the world's top professional cyclists including Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx. Th ...

: 5th

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 ...

, National Road Championships ;2002 : 5th Time trial,

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

;2004 : 5th Road race, National Road Championships ;2005 : 3rd Overall

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 ...

;2006 : 5th

Giro dell'Appennino The Giro dell'Appennino is a semi classic European bicycle race held in the Apennine Mountains, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. Famous riders like Fausto Coppi, Francesco Moser, Felice ...

;2007 : 1st Stage 1 ( TTT) Giro d'Italia ;2008 : 1st Stage 1b ( TTT)

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 ...

;2011 : 10th Coppa Papà Carlo

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wegelius, Charly 1978 births Living people Commonwealth Games competitors for England Cyclists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games British male cyclists English male cyclists Olympic cyclists for Great Britain Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Cycling writers Sportspeople from Espoo English people of Finnish descent People educated at Bootham School