Tadej Valjavec (born 13 April 1977 in

Kranj Kranj (, german: Krainburg) is the third-largest city in Slovenia, with a population of 37,941 (2020). It is located approximately northwest of Ljubljana. The centre of the City Municipality of Kranj and of the traditional region of Upper Carniol ...

) is a

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

n 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 last competed for the Sava team. He is well known as a good climber due to his rides on mountain stages in the Giro d'Italia. Although he has achieved relatively few professional wins in his career, he has consistently performed well 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 ...

, with three top ten and four further top 20 finishes.

Doping

On 4 May 2010 Valjavec's name was released as being one of several riders under investigation by the UCI for "irregular blood values". He was provisionally suspended by Ag2r-La Mondiale and pulled from their squad for the impending Giro d'Italia. Team manager

Vincent Lavenu Vincent Lavenu (born 12 January 1956) is a French former professional road bicycle racer and is currently the general manager of UCI WorldTeam . Professional career Born in Briançon, Hautes-Alpes, Lavenu had been competing as an amateur in Fran ...

stated that should the Slovenian cycling federation sanction him, he would be fired. Valjavec has proclaimed his innocence and claimed an unreported illness is responsible for the values. On 30 July the Slovenian federation officially cleared Valjavec, criticizing the usage of the biological passport in this case stating that it failed to take into account the possible natural reasons for Valjavec's irregular levels. The UCI will likely appeal the case to the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its co ...

. On 22 April 2011 The Court of Arbitration for Sport set aside the decision to exonerate the athlete from any doping offense and imposed a two-year ban on him starting on 20 January 2011, as well as the disqualification of all his results obtained between 19 April and 30 September 2009.

Career achievements

Major results

;1994 : 1st Overall Giro di Basilicata :8th Road race, UCI Junior Road World Championships ;1995 : 1st Overall Giro di Basilicata ;1998 : 3rd

GP Kranj GP Kranj is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in June in Kranj, Slovenia. Since 2007, 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 competitions which were i ...

;1999 :1st Overall

Giro Ciclistico d'Italia Giro d'Italia Giovani Under 23, also known as Baby Giro, Girobio or Giro Ciclistico d'Italia, is an Italian road bicycle racing amateur stage race created in 1970. Giro d'Italia Giovani Under 23 is the most important race on Italy's U23 calendar, ...

:2nd Overall

Tour de Slovénie Tour of Slovenia is a stage race cycling race held in Slovenia. Between 2005 and 2018, it was organised as a 2.1 race on the UCI Europe Tour. The 2019 edition was classified as a 2.HC race. It became part of the UCI ProSeries in 2020. Winners ...

;2000 :3rd Overall

Grand Prix du Midi Libre The Grand Prix du Midi Libre (referred to as just Midi Libre) was a multiple-stage road cycling course in the south of France. The race, named after the newspaper that organized it, was first organized in 1949 and was an important preparation cou ...

:4th

Trofeo Laigueglia The Trofeo Laigueglia is an early season road bicycle race held annually in Liguria, Italy. From 2005 to 2014, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is held about ten days after the opening to the Italian season, the Gr ...

:7th

Tour du Haut Var The Tour du Haut Var ( en, Tour of the Haut Var) is an early-season two-day road bicycle race in the Var department region in the south of France. Until 2008 it was run as a one-day race, part of the UCI Europe Tour. In 2009, the race transformed ...

;2001 :5th Road race, National Road Championships :7th

GP Industria & Commercio 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 bicyc ...

:8th

Tre Valli Varesine The Tre Valli Varesine is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Varese, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is usually the first and most important race of Trittico Lombardo, which c ...

;2002 :1st Overall

Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda The Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda ( en, Lombardic Cycling Week) is an Italian cycle road race. In 2007, the race was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions w ...

:6th Overall

Giro del Trentino The Tour of the Alps is an annual professional cycling stage race in Italy and Austria. First held in 1962, it was named Giro del Trentino ( en, Tour of Trentino) until 2016, and run over four stages in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region o ...

:7th

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 Gimond ...

:10th Overall

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 ...

;2003 :1st MaillotEslovenia

Road race, National Road Championships :3rd

Giro di Toscana The Giro di Toscana is a road bicycle race held annually in Tuscany, Italy. From 2005 to 2014, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race was not held in 2015. On 4 April 2016 it was announced that the race will r ...

:5th Overall

:6th

:10th 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. Betw ...

:10th

Trofeo Matteotti Trofeo Matteotti is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in Pescara, 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 bicycle racing competitions which ...

;2004 :4th 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. I ...

:9th Overall Giro d'Italia ;2005 :6th Overall

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 to ...

:9th Overall

:10th Overall

;2006 :8th Overall

Tour of Slovenia Tour of Slovenia is a stage race cycling race held in Slovenia. Between 2005 and 2018, it was organised as a 2.1 race on the UCI Europe Tour. The 2019 edition was classified as a 2.HC race. It became part of the UCI ProSeries in 2020. Winners ...

:10th

Trofeo Melinda Trofeo Melinda was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy. After 2005, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It was created after the disappearance of Giro dell'Umbria, held be ...

;2007 :1st MaillotEslovenia

Road race, National Road Championships :2nd 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 often ...

:3rd 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 ...

:4th Overall

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the Col d'Èze overlookin ...

:7th 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 bicycle racing, road cycling stage race held in the Basque Country (autonomous community) ...

:9th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré :10th

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 ...

;2008 :10th Overall

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 ...

;2009

:7th Overall

:9th Overall Giro d'Italia

;2010 :9th

GP Lugano The Gran Premio di Lugano ( en, Grand Prix of Lugano) is a road bicycle race held annually in Lugano, Switzerland. Prior to 1981 it was held as an individual time trial but in recent years it has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe ...

:9th

Gran Premio Industria e Commercio 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 bicy ...

;2010 :8th

Gran Premio dell'Insubria-Lugano Gran Premio dell'Insubria-Lugano was a single day race in the historic region of Insubria, Switzerland. The race was established in 2009 as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race replaced the former Gran Premio di Chiasso The Gran Premio d ...

:9th

;2011 :2nd Overall Cinturón Ciclista Internacional a Mallorca ;2013 :4th Overall

:5th Overall

Istrian Spring Trophy Istrian Spring Trophy ( hr, Istarsko proljeće) is a stage road bicycle race held annually in the Croatian part of the Istria peninsula. The race was first organized in 1961 as a small competition reserved to local cyclists. In 2000, it was opened ...

:8th Overall

Tour de Slovaquie 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 ...

:10th

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Valjavec, Tadej 1977 births Living people Slovenian male cyclists Olympic cyclists for Slovenia Cyclists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Kranj Doping cases in cycling Slovenian sportspeople in doping cases