Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (born 17 September 1977) is an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

-born

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

former professional

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

, who competed as a professional between 2000 and 2013. Flecha had a reputation of being a Classics specialist and to ride with an aggressive style as he was keen on participating in breakaways. His major victories include winning a stage of the

2003 Tour de France The 2003 Tour de France was a multiple stage bicycle race held from 5 to 27 July, and the 90th edition of the Tour de France. It has no overall winner—although American cyclist Lance Armstrong originally won the event, the United States Anti- ...

, successes at the two defunct classics

Züri-Metzgete Züri-Metzgete (Zürich German; en, Championship of Zürich; german: Meisterschaft von Zürich) was a European Classic cycle race held annually in Zürich, Switzerland, and continued as a non-professional mass participation event from 2007 until ...

and

Giro del Lazio The Giro del Lazio is a semi classic European bicycle race held in the region of Lazio, Italy. From 2005 to 2008, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing ...

in 2004, and the

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, previously Omloop Het Volk, is a one-day road cycling race in Belgium, held annually in late February. It is the opening event of the Belgian cycling season, as well as the first race of the year in Northwestern Europe, and ...

in 2010. He was also known for his numerous high placings in important one-day races, most notably

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Monuments' or classics of the ...

, where he finished in the top ten eight times without registering the victory. In the

Grand Tours In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour is one of the three major European professional cycling stage races: Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España. Collectively they are termed the ''Grand Tours'', and all three races are similar in ...

, he was often assigned to a role of

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 Ita ...

Early life

Flecha spent his early years in Argentina. His father died in a car accident when he was four years of age. He moved to Spain with his mother when he was eleven, where they lived in

Sitges Sitges (, , ) is a town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, in Spain, renowned worldwide for its Film Festival, Carnival, and LGBT Culture. Located between the Garraf Massif and the Mediterranean Sea, it is known for its beaches, nightspot ...

, near

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Professional Cycling Career

Early years

He gained fame in 2003 when he became the first rider born in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

to win a

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 ...

stage while riding for . As he rode across the finish line he performed a unique victory salute: he pantomimed releasing an arrow from a bow in homage to his family name ("Flecha" is the Spanish word for "arrow"). Although he said in a French interview, "Je dédie ma victoire a toute mon équipe," (I dedicate my victory to my whole team), it was also reported that he said after the race: ''"My win here is special, and it belongs to me and nobody else!"'' The 2004 season saw him as a co-leader in the Italian team for the

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

and one-day races, with notable finishes in various races from the

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and organi ...

and

Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège, also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five ''Monuments'' of the European professional r ...

, and victories in

and the

. He often shared team leadership with Swiss rider

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 r ...

, with whom he said he was working very well. In Zuri-Metzgete, he won a 30 rider bunch gallop in front of Italian

Paolo Bettini Paolo Bettini (born 1 April 1974 in Cecina, Tuscany, Cecina, Province of Livorno, Livorno, Tuscany) is an Italian former champion road racing cyclist, and the former coach of the Italian national cycling team. Considered the best classic cycle ra ...

. This victory helped him achieve the fifth position of the

2004 UCI Road World Cup The 2004 UCI Road World Cup was the sixteenth and last edition of the UCI Road World Cup. There was no change in the calendar from the 2003 edition, meaning the final seven editions had the same calendar. Davide Rebellin of Gerolsteiner took a co ...

, a classification that was calculated over ten major one-day races.

2005

The following season with Fassa Bortolo in 2005 saw Flecha involved in a controversial finish at

Gent–Wevelgem Gent–Wevelgem, officially Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, is a road bicycle racing, road cycling race in Belgium, held annually since 1934. It is one of the classic cycle races, classic races part of the Flemish Cycling Week, run in late ...

, where he had to settle for second.

Nico Mattan Nico Mattan (born 17 July 1971) is a Belgian former road racing cyclist. His greatest achievement in cycling was winning the Gent–Wevelgem classic in 2005. In 2005 Mattan won the Gent–Wevelgem in a controversial way, as there were claims tha ...

of attacked the leading group with left in the race and only Flecha and

Baden Cooke Baden Cooke (born 12 October 1978) is an Australian retired professional racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2000 and 2013. Early life Born in Benalla, Victoria, Benalla, Victoria, Cooke began competitive cycling at 11. He comp ...

() had the resources to follow. Flecha then placed an attack of his own and dropped the two men. It looked like he was on his way to success when Mattan got back to him in the last kilometer by using the slipstream produced by the race's cars, which is not allowed, and beat Flecha for the line. A couple of days later, he finished on the third step of the podium in

, a confirmation of his skills in the cobbled classics. He entered the

Roubaix Velodrome The Roubaix Velodrome (officially Vélodrome André-Pétrieux) is a velodrome in Roubaix, Nord, France. It was opened in 1936 and has hosted the finish of the one-day " monument classic" cycling race Paris–Roubaix since 1943. The race moved to ...

with

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 ...

and

George Hincapie George Anthony Hincapie (born June 29, 1973) is an American former racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 1994 and 2012. Hincapie was a key domestique of Lance Armstrong. Hincapie was also a domestique for Alberto Contador in 2007 an ...

, but his sprinting speed was not sufficient to get the win. rider

Egoi Martínez Egoi Martínez de Esteban (born 15 May 1978 in Etxarri-Aranatz, Navarre) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2001 and 2013. In his first Tour de France, Martínez finished 41st overall at ...

said in an interview that in a race "one should have a head and an attitude like the one Juan Antonio Flecha has," in tribute to his perseverance and positive attitude in racing. When the Fassa Bortolo team closed down after the 2005 season, Flecha moved on to

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

team . In 2007, Flecha took 2nd in the prestigious

race by winning the sprint contested between the 4 riders who were chasing the winner, Aussie

Stuart O'Grady Stuart O'Grady (born 6 August 1973) is a retired Australian professional road bicycle racer, who rode as a professional between 1995 and 2013. A former track cyclist, O'Grady and Graeme Brown won a gold medal in the Men's Madison at the 2004 S ...

().

2008

In 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 r ...

, Flecha displayed his sense of humor as he stole the "Elk Man"'s American flag and rode playfully with it for 200 meters. In October, he grabbed his first victory since joining the team in the four-stage race

Circuit Franco-Belge Circuit may refer to: Science and technology Electrical engineering * Electrical circuit, a complete electrical network with a closed-loop giving a return path for current ** Analog circuit, uses continuous signal levels ** Balanced circu ...

. He was fourth at 18 seconds before heading in to the final stage, which was contested in heavy rain and cold temperatures. He escaped from a group of 24 riders with

Sébastien Rosseler Sébastien Rosseler (born 15 July 1981) is a Belgian professional road racing cyclist who rides for Veranclassic-Doltcini. Between 2012 and 2013, Rosseler competed with UCI ProTeam . Born in Verviers, Wallonia, Belgium, Rosseler currently resides ...

of and finished in second position of the stage, putting enough time between him and the former leader

Jürgen Roelandts Jürgen Roelandts (born 2 July 1985) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2008 and 2020, for the , and squads. He now works as a directeur sportif for his final professional team, . Career In 201 ...

() to be awarded the overall classification win.

2009

Flecha took the third step of the podium in the

, formerly known as the Omloop Het Volk. He was part of a group of chasers who caught the two escapees

Heinrich Haussler Heinrich Haussler (born 25 February 1984) is an Australian road racing cyclist of German heritage, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He has won 2 stages in Grand Tours during his career, one at the 2005 Vuelta a España and another at th ...

() and

Sebastian Langeveld Sebastian Langeveld (born 17 January 1985) is a Dutch professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career His biggest win to date was the 2011 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad with where he beat Juan Antonio Flecha in a photo ...

() in the final meters, as the duet didn't want to cooperate. Haussler's teammate

Thor Hushovd Thor Hushovd (born 18 January 1978) is a Norwegian former professional road bicycle racer. He is known for sprinting and time trialing; Hushovd is a three-time Norwegian national road race champion (2004, 2010, 2013), and was the winner of th ...

won the sprint as Flecha finished third while a crash occurred in the finale, implicating Langeveld and

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 s ...

(). In the third stage of Paris-Nice, he was outsprinted by

Sylvain Chavanel Sylvain Chavanel''Procycling'', UK, November 2008 (born 30 June 1979) is a French former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2000 and 2018 for the , , and two spells with the / team. His brother Sébastien Chavanel ...

and took second place, while he was part of a break of seven riders. Flecha participated in the cobbled classic

, and was in a good position to seek victory as he was in the leading group with five competitors, Tom Boonen,

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 ...

and

Johan Van Summeren Johan Vansummeren (born 4 February 1981) is a Belgian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2004 and 2016 for the , , and teams. Biography Vansummeren was born, raised, and resides in Lommel, Flanders, Belgiu ...

. About away from the Roubaix velodrome, Flecha crashed in a left bend on the Carrefour de l'Arbre, a particularly tough cobbled section. He could not rejoin the leaders and finished sixth, while Boonen won the event. With again no victories in the 2009 season, Flecha declined a new offer from team Rabobank. He felt it was time for a new challenge.

2010

In 2010, he joined . At the beginning of the season, he participated in his squad's victory at the

Team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ( ...

of the

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 first ...

. He got his first major one-day race victory with his new team in the

, becoming the first Spanish rider to win the event. He counter-attacked

Philippe Gilbert Philippe Gilbert (born 5 July 1982) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, who is best known for winning the World Road Race Championships in 2012, and for being one of two riders, along with Davide Rebellin, to have won the three ...

on a cobbled section before making a solo effort for the finish. He dedicated the win to his team and to his former teammate

Frank Vandenbroucke Frank Vandenbroucke is the name of: *Frank Vandenbroucke (politician) (born 1955), Belgian politician *Frank Vandenbroucke (cyclist) Frank Vandenbroucke (6 November 1974 – 12 October 2009) was a Belgian professional road racing cyclist. After ...

who died in October 2009. In March he took the third step of the podium in the

E3 Prijs Vlaanderen E3 Saxo Bank Classic, previously known as E3 BinckBank Classic, E3 Harelbeke, Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke and E3-Prijs Vlaanderen, is an annual road cycling race in Flanders, Belgium. The race starts and finishes in Harelbeke, covering 203 kil ...

behind eternal classic rivals

and

. The three of them had broken clear with more than to cover and cooperated to keep the chasers at bay, until Cancellara launched an attack with 2 kilometers remaining and won the race with a sizable gap. Flecha was out sprinted by Boonen for the second place. Two weeks later at

, he took another third place after breaking away from the chasers with

in a vain attempt to reach Cancellara. The latter escaped shortly before the cobbled sector

Mons-en-Pévèle Mons-en-Pévèle () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department * Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle The Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle (or Pevelenberg) was fought on 18 August 1304 betwee ...

and would be untouchable on that day, while Hushovd's sprinting speed proved too much for Flecha. Tom Boonen was upset that Flecha and the chasing group didn't bring back Cancellara in a concerted effort and made comments to that effect, but he didn't follow Flecha and Hushovd when they attacked. Flecha went on to compete in the

in service of his leader

Bradley Wiggins Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE (born 28 April 1980) is a British former professional road and track racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2016. He began his cycling career on the track, but later made the transition to r ...

, who struggled in the mountains and finished 24th overall. However, Flecha earned the

Combativity award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional sport, professional form of ...

stage 13 ''Stage 13'' is a 30-minute American anthology television series produced and directed and hosted by Wyllis Cooper Wyllis Oswald Cooper (January 26, 1899 – June 22, 1955) was an American writer and producer. He is best remembered for cre ...

, where he animated the race thanks to a long escape with Pierrick Fedrigo of and 's

. The trio was reeled in at the foot of the final climb.

2011

At the very short prologue of the

, Flecha survived a scare when a gust of wind knocked down some steel barriers as he was sprinting for the line. He managed to stay upright after skillfully negotiating the steel bars, with his back wheel slipping on the metallic surface. Despite the incident, he took the fourth place of the stage, and later on the fourth place of the whole Tour, 26 seconds down on

Mark Renshaw Mark Renshaw (born 22 October 1982) is a retired Australian racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2004 and 2019 for the , , , , and teams. His most notable wins are the general classification of the 2011 Tour of Qatar, and the one-d ...

(). In February, Flecha looked to repeat his win of 2010 at the

. In wet conditions, he broke away from a group containing some race favorites on the Paaderstraat, with about to go, and caught the only man in front of him, 's

. Flecha launched an attack with to cover, but Langeveld bridged the gap. The two were set to battle it out in the sprint, with Langeveld refusing to take pulls and Flecha going so far as to roll on the sidewalk to force his opponent to do some work in the front. Langeveld finally prevailed by a few inches on the line. At the

's ninth stage, Flecha was involved in a dramatic crash after he was sideswiped by a

France Télévisions France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (former ...

car, causing fellow breakaway rider,

Johnny Hoogerland Johnny Hoogerland (born 13 May 1983) is a Dutch former professional cyclist, who rode professionally between 2004 and 2016 for the Van Hermet–Eurogifts, , , , and squads. Due to the prominent bull-tattoo on his arm and his roots from the peni ...

to crash into a barbed wire fence. He was treated on his bike for an injured elbow and finished the stage. He shared the

with Hoogerland for that stage. Flecha subsequently won a criminal case brought against the car's driver in the year after the crash and was awarded 10,000 Euros. On stage 16, Flecha attacked relentlessly trying to create a break during the first stages of the race, developing an average power of 297 watts over the whole race.

2012

At the beginning of the year, Flecha took the third place overall at the

, thanks to a good placing on the

fourth stage Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

, as it was the only stage that didn't conclude in a mass sprint apart from the short team time trial. Back in Europe, he finished third in the

, signing a podium finish for the fourth year in a row in this classic. He followed a strong attack by 's

Sep Vanmarcke Sep Vanmarcke (born 27 July 1988) is a Belgian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . In August 2021 he was named to the start list for the Vuelta a España, his seventh Grand Tour. Career Vanmarcke was born in ...

on the cobbled sector 'Lange Munte' with Tom Boonen. Flecha tried his luck in the final kilometers but was outsprinted by the pair, with Vanmarcke taking the win. He had to withdraw from the Tirreno-Adriatico because of a fracture to the

metacarpal bone In human anatomy, the metacarpal bones or metacarpus form the intermediate part of the skeletal hand located between the phalanges of the fingers and the carpal bones of the wrist, which forms the connection to the forearm. The metacarpal bones ar ...

in his hand suffered in training. According to

Danny Nelissen Daniel ("Danny") Wilhelmus Maria Nelissen (born 10 November 1970 in Sittard, Netherlands) is a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer and former sports commentator at Eurosport. He won the 1995 amateur world championship and was named ''D ...

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, its international sports unit, it operates two ...

, it was the result of some sheninagans with a motorist. JAF paris roubaix

Flecha healed in time to be able to participate to

, looking for a victory as he finished in the ''top 10'' of the

Classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

six times in the last 7 years, without ever winning it. He was part of a small group including his teammate

Mathew Hayman Mathew Hayman (born 20 April 1978) is an Australian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2000 and 2019 for the , and teams. During his career, Hayman was an experienced and respected domestique, as he typical ...

who tried to bring back

from his solo breakaway initiated with to race, but they could not get to him. He entered the velodrome in

Roubaix Roubaix ( or ; nl, Robaais; vls, Roboais) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial commune in the Nord department, which grew rapidly in the 19th century ...

with two fellow escapees, but two other riders joined them as they were circling the track for the final kilometer of racing. A sprint ensued and Flecha took the fourth place of the Hell of the North race. Flecha got another notable result in June, coming in fourth place of the mostly flat

Ster ZLM Toer The ZLM Tour is a cycling race held over five stages, held in the southern Netherlands and Belgium as a 2.Pro race on the UCI ProSeries The UCI ProSeries is the second tier men's elite road cycling tour. It was inaugurated in 2020. The serie ...

, a

2.1 The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world's governing body in the sport of bicycle racing, classifies races according to a rating scale. The rating is represented by a code made of two or three parts and indicates both the type or style ...

rated stage race. His teammate

Mark Cavendish Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Isle of Man, Manx professional Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . As a Track cycling, track cyclist he specialises in the Madison (cycling), madison, po ...

won the event. In the

, Flecha rode in support of his leader,

Chris Froome Christopher Clive Froome ɹɪs fɹuːm (born 20 May 1985) is a Kenyan/British Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He has won seven Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours: four editions of the Tour de ...

. In

Stage 13 ''Stage 13'' is a 30-minute American anthology television series produced and directed and hosted by Wyllis Cooper Wyllis Oswald Cooper (January 26, 1899 – June 22, 1955) was an American writer and producer. He is best remembered for cre ...

, he broke away with six other men after the first hour of racing. The breakaway made it through and Flecha finished third, four seconds behind

Steve Cummings Stephen Philip Cummings (born 19 March 1981) is an English former racing cyclist Cycle sport is Competition, competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, ...

of the squad. He won the Combativity award for his efforts. Flecha left Team Sky at the end of the year and signed a one-year contract to ride with in 2013. He stated that the change of teams will give him more freedom to attack and be himself rather than giving up personal ambitions as was the case with Team Sky.

2013

Flecha's first significant result of the 2013 campaign came in the

race, where he attacked early with to cover. He was joined and was part of the lead group when

Peter Sagan Peter Sagan (; born 26 January 1990) is a Slovak professional road bicycle racer who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . Sagan had a successful junior cyclo-cross and mountain bike racing career, winning the junior cross-country race at the 2008 ...

soloed to victory, and he took the 5th place in the ensuing sprint containing 9 riders. He once again finished in the ''top 10'' of

, taking the eight place as part of a small group that finished 39 seconds in arrears of the winner, Fabian Cancellara. In April, the Dutch newspaper

Volkskrant ''de Volkskrant'' (; ''The People's Paper'') is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium-sized c ...

published a story where Flecha is alleged to have undergone blood transfusions with doctor

Eufemiano Fuentes Eufemiano Fuentes (born 1955) is a Spanish sports doctor who was implicated in the Operación Puerto doping case. Biography Fuentes was once an athlete. He then became the team doctor of Team ONCE, Amaya and Kelme. The former Kelme rider Jes� ...

. The news outlet alleges that the rider codenamed "Clasicomano" and "33" in the Operacion Puerto case is Flecha. Flecha denied the allegations and his team stood by him and promised to investigate further. The Vacansoleil team folded at the end of the season and Flecha decided to retire. His last race was the

Tour of Beijing The Tour of Beijing was an annual professional stage bicycle road race held in Beijing, China. History Its first edition took place in October 2011, as the penultimate event in the 2011 UCI World Tour The 2011 UCI World Tour was the third editi ...

in October.

Television career

Flecha is often featured as a co-host to

extra programming, sometimes riding the key points of the course by bike, prior to the riders, with an integrated camera and stopping along the way to share his comments. He also interviews riders after the race.

Career achievements

Major results

;2001 : 1st Stage 4

Vuelta a Aragon Vuelta, Spanish for "lap" or "roundtrip", is used in the name of a number of cycling races in Spanish speaking countries, as well as a few other contexts: Cycling races * Vuelta a Andalucía * Vuelta a Aragón, Spain * Vuelta a Asturias, Spain * ...

: 1st Stage 3

Euskal Bizikleta Euskal Bizikleta (Spanish: ''Bicicleta Vasca'', English: ''Basque Bicycle'') was an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race held in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country in June. From 2005 to 2008, the race was organ ...

;2002 : 4th

Klasika Primavera The Klasika Primavera ( en, Spring classic) is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in April in Amorebieta, Spain. Since 2005, the race is organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road ...

;2003 : 1st Stage 11

: 3rd

;2004 : 1st Züri–Metzgete : 1st

: 5th UCI World Cup : 5th Overall

Tour of Luxembourg The Tour de Luxembourg is an annual stage race in professional road bicycle racing held in Luxembourg. The Tour de Luxembourg is classified as a 2.Pro race, the highest rating below the World Tour, by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), t ...

: 7th

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. ...

;2005 : 1st Stage 4

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 often ...

: 2nd

: 3rd

: 4th

GP di Prato The Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in Prato, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycl ...

: 9th

HEW Cyclassics The Hamburg Cyclassics (currently known as the Bemer Cyclassics for sponsorship purposes) is an annual one-day professional and amateur road bicycle race, cycling race in and around Hamburg, Germany. Although the route varies, its distance is alw ...

;2006 : 2nd GP Ouest–France : 4th

: 4th

Brabantse Pijl The Brabantse Pijl ( en, Brabant Arrow, french: italic=yes, Flèche Brabançonne or ''Flèche Branconne'') is a Flanders Classics road bicycle race held annually in Flemish Brabant and in Walloon Brabant, Belgium. Since 2005, the race has been or ...

: 5th Overall

: 6th Overall

Eneco Tour The Benelux Tour (previously known as the Eneco Tour and the BinckBank Tour) is a road bicycle racing stage-race that is part of the UCI World Tour. The race was established in 2005 and was originally known as the Eneco Tour, named after the orig ...

;2007 : 2nd

: 2nd

Omloop Het Volk Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, previously Omloop Het Volk, is a one-day Road bicycle racing, road cycling race in Belgium, held annually in late February. It is the opening event of the Belgian cycling season, as well as the first race of the year in Nort ...

;2008 : 1st Overall

: 3rd

;2009 : 3rd

: 6th

: 6th Overall

;2010 : 1st

: 3rd

: 8th

Strade Bianche The Strade Bianche is a road bicycle race in Tuscany, Central Italy, starting and finishing in Siena. First held in 2007, it is raced annually on the first or second Saturday of March. The name ''Strade Bianche'' (Italian for ''White Roads'') st ...

Stage 13

;2011 : 2nd

: 4th Overall

: 9th

Stage 9

;2012 : 2nd Overall Tour de l'Eurometropole : 3rd Overall

: 3rd

: 4th

: 4th Overall

Combativity award Stage 13

;2013 : 5th

: 6th Overall

Danmark Rundt Danmark Rundt is a Danish stage race for professional road bicycle racers organized as a part of the UCI Continental Circuits. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, PostNord, and the race is therefore also known as PostN ...

: 8th

Stage 12

Combativity award Stage 16

Monuments results timeline

References

External links

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Juan Antonio Fleacha's profile on Cycling Base
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flecha, Juan Antonio Argentine male cyclists Argentine emigrants to Spain People from Junín, Buenos Aires Spanish male cyclists Spanish Tour de France stage winners Sportspeople from Buenos Aires Province 1977 births Living people Cycling announcers Cyclists from Catalonia