Gert Steegmans (born 30 September 1980 in Hasselt) is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

former professional road bicycle racer who last rode for

UCI ProTeam UCI most commonly refers to: * University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States * Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling UCI may also refer to: * Uganda Cancer In ...

. He was noted for a strong finishing sprint and could compete in the sprint with fellow Belgian cyclist, and teammate,

Tom Boonen Tom Boonen (; born 15 October 1980) is a Belgian former road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2002 and 2017 for the and teams and a professional racing driver who currently competes in Belcar, having previously competed in ...

Career overview

Although Steegmans was already known in Belgium, he gained more popularity outside Belgium as he piloted

Robbie McEwen Robbie McEwen (born 24 June 1972) is an Australian former professional road cyclist. McEwen is a three-time winner of the Tour de France points classification and, at the peak of his career, was considered the world's fastest sprinter. He la ...

to two stage wins during the

2006 Tour de France The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between the 1st and the 23rd of July. It was won by Óscar Pereiro following the disqualification of Floyd Landis. Due to the United ...

. During the second stage of the

2007 Tour de France The 2007 Tour de France the 94th running of the race, took place from 7 to 29 July. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and Spain. It was ...

, a Liquigas rider fell sideways in the last 3 kilometres causing others to fall. Around 20 riders fell blocking the entire road and leaving approximately 30 riders to sprint for the victory, eventually taken by Steegmans in his home country ahead of his compatriot and teammate

, who took over the green jersey by coming second in the stage. On 6 July 2008, it was announced Steegmans signed a two-year contract with . In the

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 ...

, he won the prestigious stage at

Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is l ...

. Team Tinkoff later folded under that name, and the management and ridership re-emerged as . Steegmans made headlines in the weeks leading up to the 2009 Tour de France with his refusal to sign an anti-doping agreement which Team Katusha was trying to get all its riders to sign. The agreement called for any rider who tested positive for a doping substance to pay a fine of five times their annual salary. Steegmans persisted in his refusal even after an ultimatum handed down by the team, which resulted in his not being selected for Katusha's Tour de France squad. Katusha and Steegmans dissolved his contract on 5 August after Steegmans' continuing refusal to sign the anti-doping charter.

Team RadioShack Team RadioShack was a professional road bicycle racing team, with RadioShack as the title sponsor, the creation of which was announced on July 23, 2009. Lance Armstrong co-owned and led the team, which raced in the Grand Tours and the UCI ProTour ...

announced that he would be joining the team in 2010 starting with the

Tour Down Under The Tour Down Under (branded as the Santos Tour Down Under under a partnership arrangement) is a cycling race in and around Adelaide, South Australia, and is traditionally the opening event of the UCI World Tour and features all 19 UCI World ...

in late January. On 7 March 2010, during the time-trial for the Paris–Nice race, he was injured in a

whirlwind A whirlwind is a weather phenomenon in which a vortex of wind (a vertically oriented rotating column of air) forms due to instabilities and turbulence created by heating and flow (current) gradients. Whirlwinds occur all over the world and i ...

accident, breaking a

collarbone The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the right ...

. In December 2014 Steegmans was announced as a member of for the 2015 season. After struggling with injuries, he announced his immediate retirement in July 2015.

Personal

Steegmans is married to former runway model and Tour de France

podium girl A podium (plural podiums or podia) is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek ''πόδι'' (foot). In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podiums can also be use ...

Laura Leturgie, and they have one child, daughter Maélya (born on 6 June 2011).

Major results

;1996 : 1st MaillotBélgica

National Under-17 Road Race Championships ;1998 : 1st MaillotBélgica

National Under-19 Time Trial Championships ;2000 : 4th GP Wielerrevue : 7th Hasselt–Spa–Hasselt ;2002 : 1st MaillotBélgica

National Under-23 Time Trial Championships : 1st Zesbergenprijs Harelbeke : 8th Hasselt–Spa–Hasselt ;2003 : 8th Rund um den Flughafen Köln/Bonn ;2004 : 5th Grote Prijs Jef Scherens ;2005 : 1st Nationale Sluitingsprijs : 1st Stage 1

Tour de Picardie The Tour de Picardie was a professional multi-stage cycle road race that was held between 1936 and 2016 in Picardy, France. In its last twelve editions, it was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a s ...

: 6th Overall Circuit Franco-Belge ;2006 : 1st Stage 2

: 1st Stage 3 Four Days of Dunkirk : 2nd 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 Stages 3 & 4 : 3rd

Scheldeprijs The Scheldeprijs is a cycling race in Flanders and the Netherlands which starts in Terneuzen, crosses the Scheldt River, and finishes in Schoten. Until 2018 it was held entirely in Belgium. The event, ranked as a 1.HC race on the UCI Europe Tour, ...

: 5th Overall

Tour of Belgium The Tour of Belgium ( nl, Ronde van België; french: Tour de Belgique) is a five-day bicycle race which is held annually in Belgium, and is part of the UCI ProSeries. It was held annually between 1908 and 1981, except during both world wars. Bet ...

::1st Stage 5 : 6th Doha GP : 6th Omloop Het Volk : 6th

Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne is an annual single-day road cycling race in Belgium. It is held one day after Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, on the last Sunday of February or the first of March, and completes the opening weekend of the Belgian cycling season ...

;2007 : 1st Overall Circuit Franco-Belge ::1st Stages 2 & 4 : 1st Tour de Rijke : 1st Stage 2

: 1st Stage 1

: 1st Stage 3

Three Days of De Panne 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...

: 1st Stage 4 Four Days of Dunkirk : 1st Stage 1 (TTT)

Tour of Qatar The Tour of Qatar was an annual professional cycling stage race held in Qatar. First organized in 2002, the event was part of the UCI Asia Tour until 2016. The 2017 edition was to have seen the event upgraded to the UCI World Tour for the firs ...

: 3rd

: 5th

;2008 : Paris–Nice ::1st Stages 1 & 2 : 1st Stage 21

: 1st Stage 2 Four Days of Dunkirk : 1st Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen : 1st Trofeo Calvià : 1st Profronde van Friesland : 1st

Halle–Ingooigem Halle–Ingooigem is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in June in West Flanders, Belgium. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competi ...

: 2nd

Paris–Brussels The Brussels Cycling Classic (known until June 2013 as Paris–Brussels) is a semi classic European bicycle race, one of the oldest races on the international calendar. History Paris–Brussels was first run on 12 August 1893 as an amateur eve ...

: 3rd Trofeo Cala Millor : 4th

Trofeo Mallorca The Challenge Vuelta Ciclista a Mallorca ( en, Tour of Majorca, ca, Challenge Volta Ciclista a Mallorca) is a series of four (five until 2012) professional one day road bicycle races held on the Spanish island of Mallorca in late January or earl ...

;2009 : 1st Stage 2

Vuelta a Andalucía The Vuelta a Andalucía (Tour of Andalusia) or Ruta del Sol (Route of the Sun) is a regional Spanish road bicycle race first held in 1925. Since 2005, it has been a 2.1 category race on the UCI Europe Tour. The race became a part of the new UCI ...

: 1st

Katusha Team Blo
"Trofeo Mallorca 2009: Double win for Katusha "
2009-02-08. Retrieved on 2009-02-08. ;2010 : 3rd Paris–Tours : 4th Binche–Tournai–Binche : 8th

Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen (Championship of Flanders) or Koolskamp Koerse is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in September in Koolskamp (part-municipality of Ardooie), West Flanders, Belgium. Since 2005, the race is organized as a ...

: 9th Overall Circuit Franco-Belge ;2011 : 1st

Nokere Koerse Nokere Koerse is a European semi classic single day cycle race held in the Belgian region of Flanders. Since 2005, the race has been organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. Starting in 2016 it was a 1.HC event. The Nokere Koerse was cr ...

: 10th Overall

;2012 : 4th Overall

;2014 : 3rd Overall

: 4th

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Steegmans, Gert Belgian male cyclists Belgian Tour de France stage winners Tour de France Champs Elysées stage winners Flemish sportspeople 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Hasselt Cyclists from Limburg (Belgium)