Urs Freuler (born 6 November 1958 in

Bilten Bilten is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Bilten is part of the municipality of Glarus Nord. History Bilten is first mentioned in 1050 as ''Billitun''. Geography Bilten has an ar ...

Canton of Glarus The canton of Glarus (german: Kanton Glarus rm, Chantun Glaruna; french: Canton de Glaris; it, Canton Glarona) is a canton in east central Switzerland. The capital is Glarus. The population speaks a variety of Alemannic German. The majority of ...

) is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

cyclist, who raced professionally between 1980 and 1997, during which he won 124 victories. He was named Swiss Sports Personality of the Year in 1982 and 1983. He was born in

. As an amateur, he was the champion of his country in several categories and also achieved fame in international competitions. He was a racer of great speed, who participated both in road races as well as track cycling. In the latter, he was the world champion in the keirin twice and the points race eight times and victor in 21 six-day races. On the road, he was victorious in numerous stages and criteriums. He competed in the team pursuit event at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

. In 1981, Freuler was riding for a personal sponsor, when the TI–Raleighcycling team had problems to form a team for the

1981 Tour de France The 1981 Tour de France was the 68th edition of the Tour de France, taking place between 25 June and 19 July. The total race distance was 24 stages over . It was dominated by Bernard Hinault, who led the race from the sixth stage on, increasing h ...

. The rules allowed for the Raleigh team to hire cyclists who were not riding for a cycling team, and Freuler was added to the Tour squad. Because Freuler, as a still young professional and with contracts for a full winter season of Six Days coming up, his team leader Peter Post and Freuler agreed that Freuler, although capable of taking on mountain stages, had to leave the race before the Alps would be visited. Freuler, who acted as a replacement for sprinter Jan Raas, was able to win with TI–Raleighthe two

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 ( ...

s and stage 7, and left the race in stage 15. After that he never started in the Tour again,. Freuler, for the chief part of his career riding for Italian teams, did win in another of the three Grand Tours, the Giro d'Italia, from 1982 to 1989. In

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

he won three stages, in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

he won four stages and in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

he once again claimed three stage victories. In total he won 15 stages in the Giro and also claimed the points classification in 1984.

Major results

Track

* World champion of points race in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, and 1989 * World champion of Keirin in 1983 and 1985 * European champion of

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...

in 1981 * 21 six-day races from 1981 to 1994, with

Patrick Sercu Patrick Sercu (27 June 1944 – 19 April 2019) was a Belgian cyclist who was active on the road and track between 1961 and 1983. On track, he won the gold medal in the 1 km time trial at the 1964 Summer Olympics, as well as three world titl ...

, Robert Dill-Bundi, Hans Känel, René Pijnen,

Daniel Gisiger Daniel Gisiger (born 9 October 1954, in Baccarat) is a retired Swiss road and track cyclist. He grew up in Bienne, in RC Olympia Biel-Bienne. One of his strongest disciplines was the road time trial where he twice won the prestigious Grand Pri ...

, Horst Schütz, Dietrich Thurau, Roman Hermann, Danny Clark,

Olaf Ludwig Olaf Ludwig (born 13 April 1960 in Gera, Bezirk Gera) is a former German racing cyclist. His career began at the SG Dynamo Gera / Sportvereinigung (SV) Dynamo. As an East German, he raced as an amateur until reunification of Germany allowed him ...

Remig Stumpf Remig Stumpf (25 March 1966 – 14 May 2019)Carsten Wolf Carsten Wolf (born 26 August 1964) is an East German racing cyclist, who competed for the SC Dynamo Berlin / Sportvereinigung (SV) Dynamo The Sportvereinigung Dynamo () (''Dynamo Sports Association'') was the sport association of the securit ...

in 1994. * Swiss champion in 1 km time trial in 1981, 1983, 1986, and 1987 * Swiss champion of points race in 1981, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992 * Swiss champion of individual pursuit in 1985

Road

;1981 : 1st Stage 7

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 ...

: 1st Stage 7a

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 ...

: Tour de Romandie :: 1st Prologue & Stage 1 ;1982 : 1st Stage 2

: 1st Stage 3 Giro di Sardegna : Giro d'Italia :: 1st Stages 4, 5 & 10 : 3rd

Nice–Alassio Nice–Alassio was a professional one-day road cycling race that was held from 1979 until 1997. It was known as Monte Carlo–Alassio from 1993 to 1996 and the Alassio Cup in 1997. The race was held in February as a preparation race for Milan–Sa ...

: 5th

Grand Prix of Aargau Canton Grand Prix of Aargau Canton (german: Grosser Preis des Kantons Aargau) is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Aargau canton, one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. The race consists of fifteen laps around the Swiss town of G ...

;1983 : 1st Stage 3

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 ...

:: 1st Stages 5a & 10 : 2nd Overall Giro di Sardegna :: 1st Stage 2 ;1984 : Giro d'Italia :: 1st Points classification :: 1st Stages 2, 7, 8 & 11 : 3rd Trofeo Baracchi : 7th Milano–Torino : 9th Grand Prix des Nations : 9th Critérium des As ;1985 : 1st

: 1st Stage 10b

: 1st Stage 3

: 1st Stage 4b

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 sport, cycle Road bicycle racing, road race. It is run typically in late March over five days in t ...

: Giro d'Italia :: 1st Stages 1, 13 & 21 : 4th Milano–Torino : 6th Overall

Giro di Puglia The Giro di Puglia ( en, Tour of Apulia) was a road bicycle racing stage race A race stage, leg, or heat is a unit of a race that has been divided in several parts for the reason such as length of the distance to be covered, as in a multi-da ...

:: 1st Stage 2 : 8th

Milan–San Remo Milan–San Remo (in Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it is t ...

;1986 : 1st

Grand Prix Pino Cerami Grand Prix Pino Cerami is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in April in Hainaut, Belgium. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. Giuseppe 'Pino' Cerami, after whom the race is named, is a former Belg ...

: 1st Prologue Giro d'Italia : 1st Stage 4 Tirreno–Adriatico : 1st Stage 1

: 6th Giro di Campania ;1987 : 1st Stage 9 Giro d'Italia : 1st Stage 10

: 1st Stage 3

;1988 : 1st Stage 21a Giro d'Italia : 1st Stage 10

: 1st Stage 1

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 ...

: 1st Stage 2

Étoile de Bessèges The Étoile de Bessèges () is an early-season five-day road bicycle racing stage race held annually around Bessèges, in the Gard department of the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. First organized in 1971 as a one-day race, it became a sta ...

;1989 : 1st Stage 10

: 1st Stage 2 Tirreno–Adriatico : Giro d'Italia :: 1st Stages 7 & 11 : Tour de Romandie :: 1st Stages 3a & 6 : 2nd

: 2nd

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 Paris–Roubaix ;1990 : 1st Stage 3

Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme The Catalan Cycling Week (''Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme'' in Catalan) was a multi-stage road bicycle race held in Catalonia, Spain. Held annually from 1963 until 2005, it was run as a 2.HC race on the UCI Europe Tour in the second half of March. ...

: Tour de Romandie :: 1st Stages 2a & 6

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Freuler, Urs 1958 births Living people People from the canton of Glarus Swiss male cyclists Swiss Tour de France stage winners Swiss Giro d'Italia stage winners Tour de Suisse stage winners UCI Track Cycling World Champions (men) Olympic cyclists for Switzerland Cyclists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Swiss track cyclists