Neil Stephens (born 1 October 1963 in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

) is an Australian former

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 ...

. He won the Australian national road race title in 1991 and 1994. He is 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 winner and is one of the relatively few riders to have completed the three Grand Tours ( Giro d'Italia,

and

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 ...

) in a calendar year, as well as being the first Australian to complete the feat. He was involved in the Festina doping scandal in

1998 Tour de France The 1998 Tour de France was the 85th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The race was composed of 21 stages and a prologue. It started on 11 July in Ireland before taking an anti-clockwise route through France to finis ...

. He claimed that he took EPO but believed he was taking vitamin supplements intravenously. In late 2007, announced that Neil Stephens would be the team's new sport director. Stephens was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(OAM) in the

1996 Australia Day Honours The 1996 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 1996 by the Governor General of Australia, Bill Hayden. The Australia Da ...

for his service to cycling and the

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

in September 2000 in recognition of his Tour de France stage win.

Major results

;1986 :1st and Fastest Time Alex Roberts "100" Mile one day Classic Mount Gambier South Australia :1st, Overall,

Herald Sun Tour The Herald Sun Tour is an Australian professional bicycle race held in Melbourne and provincial Victoria, sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The first tour was held in October 1952 as a six-day event. It is now held annually ...

;1988 :1st, Stage 10,

Milk Race The Tour of Britain is a multi-stage cycling race, conducted on British roads, in which participants race across Great Britain to complete the race in the fastest time. The event dates back to the first British stage races held just after the S ...

;1990 :1st, Stage 13,

:1st, Stage 5,

Volta a Portugal The Volta a Portugal ( en, Tour of Portugal), also known as Volta a Portugal em Bicicleta ( en, Tour of Portugal on Bicycle), is an annual multi-stage road bicycle racing competition held in Portugal. The competition takes place during a two-week s ...

;1991 :

National Road Race Championship :1st,

GP Villafranca de Ordizia Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia – Clásica de Ordizia is a Spanish professional cycle road race held in Ordizia, Basque Country. The first edition was held in 1922. Since 2005, the race has been organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour ...

;1992 :1st,

Trofeo Calvia 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 ear ...

(

Vuelta a 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 ...

) ;1993 :1st,

:1st, Stage 3,

Bicicleta Vasca 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 w ...

;1994 :1st,

;1995 :

National Road Race Championship :1st,

:1st, Overall,

Tasmania Summer Tour ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

::1st, Prologue & Stage 3 ;1996 :1st, Overall,

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 P ...

:1st, Stage 5,

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 bicycle racing, road cycling stage race held in the Basque Country (autonomous community) ...

;1997 :1st, Stage 17,

;1998 :1st, Stages 3 & 5,

Tasmania Summer Tour ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

References

External links

Palmarès by cyclingbase.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Neil 1963 births Living people Australian male cyclists Sportspeople from Canberra Olympic cyclists of Australia Cyclists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Australian Tour de France stage winners Sportsmen from the Australian Capital Territory Doping cases in Australian cycling Cyclists from the Australian Capital Territory Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal