Joaquim Rodríguez Oliver (born 12 May 1979) is a Spanish cyclist, who competed 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 form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The ...

between 2001 and 2016 for the , , and teams. Following his retirement from road racing, Rodríguez has competed in

mountain bike racing Mountain bike racing (shortened MTB or ATB racing) is the competitive cycle sport discipline of mountain biking held on off-road terrain. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) recognised the discipline relatively late in 1990, when it sanctione ...

and formed his own mountain bike racing team, Andbank–La Purito. Rodríguez recorded notable results included fourteen Grand Tour stage victories, and five overall podium placings: second places at the

2012 Giro d'Italia The 2012 Giro d'Italia was the 95th edition of Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started in the Danish city of Herning, and ended in Milan. The complete route of the 2012 Giro d'Italia was announced in mid October. For the fir ...

and the

2015 Vuelta a España The 2015 Vuelta a España was a three-week Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tour cycling stage race, cycling race. The race was the 70th edition of the Vuelta a España and took place principally in Spain, although two race stage, stages took place ...

, and third-place finishes at the

2010 Vuelta a España 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to s ...

, the

2012 Vuelta a España 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, Numeral (linguistics), numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest Positive number, positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in o ...

and the

2013 Tour de France The 2013 Tour de France was the 100th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. It started on the island of Corsica on 29 June and finished on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 21 July. The Tour consisted ...

. He also finished first in the UCI world rankings in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, and won

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

such as the

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. It is part of the UCI World Tour. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is ...

and the

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia (), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Cycling monument, Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cycli ...

twice (

and

). He also won stage races including the

Volta a Catalunya The Volta a Catalunya (; Tour of Catalonia, ) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of the Basque Country. The race has had ...

twice (

and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

), the 2015 Tour of the Basque Country and the

2011 Vuelta a Burgos The 2011 Vuelta a Burgos (''2011 Tour of Burgos'') was the 33rd edition of the Vuelta a Burgos, an annual bicycle race which tours the province of Burgos. Beginning in Villarcayo on 3 August, it concluded at the Lagunas de Neila on 7 August. The 6 ...

Personal life and early career

Rodríguez was born in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...

, the son of an amateur rider in the 1960s, and later lived in

Parets del Vallès Parets del Vallès () is a municipality situated 23 km north of Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain, in the south-west of the comarca of Vallès Oriental, and 7 km from its capital Granollers. It covers an area of 8,98 km2, and has approx ...

. Some years later he moved to the Basque country to ride for Iberdrola, an amateur team associated with the professional cycling team . His nickname in the professional

peloton In a road Cycle sport, bicycle race, the peloton (, originally meaning ) is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close (drafting (racing), drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The ...

is ''Purito'', Spanish for ''little

cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and Fermentation, fermented tobacco leaves made to be Tobacco smoking, smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct comp ...

'', a name he was given in an early season training camp during his first year as a professional with . When some of his teammates stepped up the pace on a small climb, he passed them making a hand

gesture A gesture is a form of nonverbal communication or non-vocal communication in which visible bodily actions communicate particular messages, either in place of, or in conjunction with, speech. Gestures include movement of the hands, face, or othe ...

appearing to be smoking a cigar, suggesting he was climbing without much effort. The gesture was not welcomed by his teammates, who made him smoke a real cigar as a

hazing Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...

ritual A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

later in the evening.

Professional career

ONCE (2000–2003)

In 2001 he turned professional with after riding for the team in late 2000 as a stagiaire. In 2001, during his first season as a professional, he won the

Escalada a Montjuïc The Escalada a Montjuïc (in Catalan, English: ''Scaling of Montjuïc'', Spanish: ''Escalada a Montjuïc'') was a one-day, two-stage road bicycle racing race held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain since 1965. It was held in the middle of October, as ...

, a race held in

. In 2003 he won the sixth stage of the

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional road bicycle racing, 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 ...

, while he also won

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 with at the

and

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, 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'Ital ...

Saunier Duval–Prodir (2004–2005)

In 2004 he joined and won the

Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme The Catalan Cycling Week (''Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme'' in Catalan language, Catalan) was a stage race, 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 ...

, a

stage race A race stage, leg, or heat is a unit of a racing, race that has been divided in several parts for the reason such as length of the distance to be covered, as in a multi-day race, multi-day event. Usually, such a race consists of "ordinary" stages ...

held in

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

. The following year he won

Subida a Urkiola Subida a Urkiola is a one-day cycling race in Durango, Biscay in the Basque Country whose starts in Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

and the

Mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used. While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest p ...

of the

, while he finished second in the

Clásica de San Sebastián The Donostia-Donostia Klasikoa — Clásica San Sebastián-San Sebastián (San Sebastián Classic) is a one-day professional men's bicycle road race in northern Spain that has been held every summer since 1981 in San Sebastián. It is the m ...

and the

Vuelta a Burgos Vuelta Ciclista a Burgos is an elite professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the Burgos (province), Burgos province of Spain. The men's Vuelta a Burgos has been a multi-day stage race as part of the UCI Europe Tour since 2005. In ...

Caisse d'Epargne (2006–2009)

After joining in 2006, he won the fifth stage of

. In 2007 he won the

Spanish National Road Race Championships The Spanish National Road Race Championships are held annually to decide the Spanish cycling champions in the road race discipline, across various categories. The event was first held in 1897 and was won by a Portuguese rider, José Bento Pesso ...

and also won the

Klasika Primavera The Klasika Primavera () 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. Established in 1946 as ''Gran Premio de Primavera'', it is now he ...

and

Prueba 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 ...

. In 2008 he won a stage to

Montelupone Montelupone is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about south of Ancona and about northeast of Macerata. Montelupone borders the following municipalities: Macerata, Montecosaro, Morroval ...

at the third stage of

Tirreno–Adriatico Tirreno–Adriatico, nicknamed the "Race of the Two Seas", is an elite road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race in Italy, run between the Tyrrhenian Sea, Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coasts. Traditionally held in the early part of th ...

atop a climb with sections over 20% in gradients which had many cyclists coming in after him get off and run while carrying their bikes or zig-zag up the climb since it was so steep, but he was one of the few who powered up the difficulty while riding a straight line. He also finished eighth at the

Amstel Gold Race Amstel Gold Race may refer to: * Amstel Gold Race (men's race) The Amstel Gold Race is a one-day classic cycle races, classic road bicycle race, road cycling race held annually since 1966 Amstel Gold Race, 1966 in the province of Limburg (Netherl ...

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 ''Cycling monument, Monuments'' of the Eur ...

. Later in the season he finished sixth in the

. In 2009 he repeated his stage victory at Montelupone, in

, while he ended second in

. The second half of the season was marked by a stage win at the

, a seventh place in the overall classification of the

and a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

in the World Road Race Championships in

Mendrisio Mendrisio (; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Mendrisio (district), Mendrisio in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Ticino in Switzerland. Mendrisio is the seat of the Accademia di Architettura di Mendris ...

, Switzerland.

Katusha (2010–2016)

2010

In 2010 he joined the Russian , which guaranteed him a position at the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

and a leading role in certain races throughout the season. Early in the season Rodríguez won the

, the UCI ProTour race held around

, and later won the

GP Miguel Induráin The Grand Prix Miguel Induráin (), formerly the "Grand Prix Navarre" is a Spanish one-day road bicycle race. History The race was inaugurated in 1951, but was limited to local competition. It was rebranded after Spanish cyclist Miguel Indurái ...

and a stage at the

Tour of the Basque Country The Tour of the Basque Country (Officially: ''Itzulia Basque Country'') is an annual road cycling stage race held in the Spanish Basque Country in April. It is one of the races that make up the UCI World Tour calendar. As the Basque Country is ...

, where he eventually finished third. He also ended second behind

Cadel Evans Cadel Lee Evans (; born 14 February 1977) is an Australian former professional racing cyclist who competed professionally in both mountain biking and road bicycle racing. A four-time Olympian, Evans is one of three non-Europeans – along with ...

. At the

he won the stage to Mende, which featured an uphill finish to the ''Côte de la Croix Neuve'', with the finish line at the

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

of the . Rodríguez finished eighth at the Tour de France. He continued his strong performance during the season with a fifth place at the

and a fourth place in the overall classification at the

, winning the stage to Peña Cabarga. He was the leader in the race until the final 48 km time-trial in stage 17 in Peñafiel when he lost it to Nibali. Rodríguez topped the

UCI World Ranking The UCI men's road racing world rankings are a points system used to rank men's road cycling riders. Points are awarded based on results in UCI sanctioned races, with points varying widely based on the importance and prestige of the race. The ...

at the end of the season.

2011

In 2011 he won a stage at the

and finished second behind

Philippe Gilbert Philippe Gilbert (born 5 July 1982) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, who is best known for winning the 2012 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, World Road Race Championships in 2012, and for being one of two rid ...

at both the

and

. He later finished fifth at the

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

and won the stages to

Le Collet d'Allevard Le Collet d'Allevard is a ski resort in the Belledonne range of the French Alps, located in the department of Isère in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, approximately from Allevard. The ski area extends over the communes of Allevard and La Chap ...

and La Toussuire in the

Critérium du Dauphiné The Critérium du Dauphiné, before 2010 known as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, is an annual cycle sport, cycling road bicycle racing, road race in the Dauphiné region in the southeast of France. The race is run over eight days during ...

, where he won the points and mountains classifications and finished fifth overall. He skipped the

to concentrate on the races at the end of the season, mainly the

, where he was considered a possible candidate for winning the race. He started the second half of the season by finishing fourth at the

and winning the overall classification and a stage at the

. He started the Vuelta a España with stage victories at Valdepeñas de Jaén and

San Lorenzo de El Escorial San Lorenzo de El Escorial, also known as El Escorial de Arriba, is a town and municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain, located to the northwest of the region in the southeastern side of the Sierra de Guadarrama, at the foot of Moun ...

, where he captured the leader's jersey, but soon faded and eventually finished the race nineteenth overall. He ended the season with a third place at the

2012

On 18 April 2012, he won

in Belgium with a superb climb on the Mur de Huy and finished second in the

. Rodríguez took his good form into the

where he won two stages and finished second overall to Canadian

Ryder Hesjedal Eric Ryder Hesjedal (; born December 9, 1980) is a Canadian retired professional racing cyclist who competed in mountain biking and road racing between 1998 and 2016. Hesjedal won a silver medal at the 1998 Junior, 2001 Under-23, and Elite world ...

. He was always competitive with the general classification contenders in the high mountains, and held the ''maglia rosa'' coming into the final

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also trac ...

, where he lost 47 seconds to Hesjedal, therefore losing the overall lead by 16 seconds. However, he won the points classification jersey, with a slim lead of one point (139 to 138) over

Mark Cavendish Sir Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Manx people, Manx retired professional cyclist. As a Track cycling, track cyclist he specialised in the Madison (cycling), madison, points race, and scratch race disciplines; as a road racer he ...

. On the

, Rodríguez almost took the win on

stage 3 Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

, but

Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (born 25 April 1980) is a Spanish cyclist, who competed as a professional in road bicycle racing from 2002 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2022, and now competes in gravel cycling for the Movistar Team Gravel Squad. During ...

popped up on his right to steal the victory in a photo finish, and snatched the red jersey. On the next stage, a big crash occurred involving Valverde. Rodríguez took the lead in the overall classification, arriving with the remnants of the bunch atop the climb of the Orduña. He took the sixth stage, the majority of it was flat but the riders had to tackle with two Category 3 climbs near the conclusion, the line being situated atop the last one, the Fuerte del Rapitán in

Jaca Jaca (; in Aragonese language, Aragonese: ''Chaca'' or ''Xaca'') is a city of northeastern Spain in the province of Huesca (province), Huesca, located near the Pyrenees and the border with France. Jaca is an ancient fort on the Aragón (river), ...

. With remaining,

Chris Froome Christopher Clive Froome, (; born 20 May 1985) is a British professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . He has won seven Grand Tours: four editions of the Tour de France (in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017), one Giro d' ...

launched an attack which only Rodríguez could follow, before passing the rider and grabbing both the victory and the twelve-second time bonus. The scenario repeated itself on stage 12, where Rodríguez escaped from the lead group with

Alberto Contador Alberto Contador Velasco (; born 6 December 1982) is a Spanish former professional cyclist. He is one of the most successful riders of his era, winning the Tour de France twice (2007, 2009), the Giro d'Italia twice (2008, 2015), and the Vuelta ...

on the final difficulty of the day, the very steep climb Mirador de Ézaro. The pair broke away in a section that had a gradient approaching 20%, and Rodríguez soon powered away from Contador to take his second stage of the Vuelta with an eight-second margin over Contador. On the mountainous stage 14, Rodríguez played the same trick on Contador again on the final climb, with Contador attacking with two kilometers to go and looking very likely to take the victory. Rodríguez got back to him, his rival attacked again and Rodríguez surged ahead to take the win. Disaster struck for him on stage 17, where Contador slipped into a breakaway and went on to win the stage solo, as Rodríguez could not respond and was relegated to third place overall. Despite his attacks on the penultimate stage in the steep climb of Bola del Mondo, Rodríguez could not improve his third placing although he gained some time on Contador. Rodríguez went to Italy to compete in the

, where he had the opportunity to take the first place in the

2012 UCI World Tour The 2012 UCI World Tour was the fourth edition of the ranking system launched by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in 2009. The series started with the Tour Down Under's opening stage on 17 January, and consisted of 14 stage races, 14 one-da ...

detained by

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

. He did exactly that by winning the race under heavy rain and temperatures oscillating around . He attacked on the final difficulty of the day, the Villa Vergano climb. He arrived at the top of the difficulty alone and descended to

Lecco Lecco (, , ; ) is a city of approximately 47,000 inhabitants in Lombardy, Northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco''). The Bergamasqu ...

, claiming the victory with a gap of 9 seconds.

2013

In 2013, Rodríguez started his season winning stage 4 in the Tour of Oman, where he ended up finishing fourth overall. He later won stage five of

and went on to finish fifth overall, after following an attack from

Peter Sagan Peter Sagan (; born 26 January 1990) is a Slovak former professional cyclist who competed in road bicycle racing and mountain bicycle racing. Sagan had a successful junior cyclo-cross and mountain bike racing career, winning the junior cross-c ...

and

Vincenzo Nibali Vincenzo Nibali (; born 14 November 1984) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional from 2005 to 2022. He is one of seven cyclists who have won all three of cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours i ...

on stage 6 and gaining time on his rivals. Rodríguez rode the

and

, where at both races he finished second behind Dan Martin. Rodríguez later aimed for a high finish in the

. In the Tour, Rodríguez had a quiet start and after the first time trial on stage 11, Rodríguez was eleventh overall, over five minutes behind the race leader. Rodríguez picked up his form on stage 15 in which he finished fourth on

Mont Ventoux Mont Ventoux (; ) is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France, located some northeast of Carpentras, Vaucluse. On the north side, the mountain borders the department of Drôme. At , it is the highest mountain in the region and h ...

, moving him into the top ten. He later finished third on the uphill time trial stage. On stage 18, he moved into the top five after finishing fifth on

Alpe d'Huez L'Alpe d'Huez () is a ski resort in Southeastern France at . It is a mountain pasture in the central French Western Alps, in the Communes of France, commune of Huez, which is part of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-R ...

, gaining a minute on race leader

. On the mountainous stage 20 to

Annecy Annecy ( , ; , also ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, regi ...

–

Semnoz Semnoz () is a mountain of Haute-Savoie, France. It lies in the Bauges range. It has an altitude of above sea level. The mountain is crossed by the D41/D110 road near to the Crêt de Chatillon at an altitude of . Tour de France The penultimate s ...

, he finished second behind

Nairo Quintana Nairo Alexánder Quintana Rojas, Order of Boyacá, ODB, (born 4 February 1990) is a Colombian racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Nicknamed "Nairoman" and "El Cóndor de los Andes", Quintana is a specialist climber, known fo ...

. However, Rodríguez managed to move into a podium position in the final general classification after gaining over a minute over Alberto Contador and Roman Kreuziger. After the Tour de France, he took a long break and then came as the leader of at the start of the

, a race he twice finished on the podium in the past. One of the favorites at the start of the race, Rodríguez won the 19th stage and finished fourth in the overall classification, more than three minutes behind winner

Chris Horner Christopher Brandon Horner (born October 23, 1971) is an American retired professional Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 1996 and 2019. A current resident of Bend, Oregon, Horner dominated the American ro ...

. Afterwards, he raced the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, where he came short of winning the rainbow jersey, after being caught by eventual winner

Rui Costa Rui Manuel César Costa (; born 29 March 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who is the 34th president of sports club S.L. Benfica. He also succeeded Luís Filipe Vieira as president of the club's SAD board of directors. ...

in the last kilometer. One week later, Rodríguez took revenge for his defeat at the

, winning for the second consecutive year with a perfectly timed attack on the Villa Vergano climb.

2014

Rodríguez's first race of the season was the

Tour de San Luis Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which ...

, where he finished 71st, without making an impact in the mountains. After this, Rodríguez went to the

Dubai Tour The Dubai Tour was an annual professional road bicycle racing race stage, stage race held in Dubai, which began in 2014 as part of the UCI Asia Tour. It merged with the Abu Dhabi Tour to become the UAE Tour from 2019. History The race was classif ...

and the Tour of Oman, where he eventually finished fourth, behind

Tejay van Garderen Tejay van Garderen (born August 12, 1988) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2008 and 2021 for the , , and . Following his retirement as a cyclist, van Garderen became a directeur sportif for ...

, and

Rigoberto Urán Rigoberto Urán Urán, Colombian military decorations, ODB (born 26 January 1987) is a Colombian former road racing cyclist who competed as a professional from 2006 to 2024. During his professional career, Urán has taken fifteen victories, inc ...

. For the first time in four years, Rodríguez skipped

, choosing instead to prepare for the Ardennes Classics on the Teide on

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

. He then came back to racing in the

, where he won the third stage and the general classification, for the second time in his career. Rodríguez was forced to quit the

after a serious crash in stage six where he suffered a broken rib and fractured thumb. He finished the

just off the podium, in fourth place overall.

2015

Rodríguez started his season somewhat late and quietly by taking thirteenth place overall in

. He mounted on the third step of the podium twice in stages of that race. He had his first win of the season on a mountainous third stage of the

, outsprinting

and

Sergio Henao Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (born 10 December 1987) is a Colombian racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Continental team . He previously competed for , and . Early life Henao was born in Rionegro (Antioquia), Rionegro in 1987, the same year that th ...

after a descent in Zumarraga. He repeated his winning ways on the very next day, on the

queen stage This is a glossary of terms and jargon used in cycling, mountain biking, and cycle sport. For ''parts of a bicycle'', see List of bicycle parts. 0–9 ; 27.5 Mountain bike: A mountain bike with wheels that are approximately in diameter and ...

, winning the sprint after the final climb. In the final time trial, Rodríguez finished second overall to overtake race leader Henao by 13 seconds to win the race overall. In the Ardennes Classics, Rodríguez finished fourth at

. He then took a podium spot at

as he was outsprinted by

and

Julian Alaphilippe Julian Alaphilippe (; born 11 June 1992) is a French professional road cyclist, former cyclo-cross racer and two-time UCI World Road Champion, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . He is the brother of racing cyclist Bryan Alaphilippe. Career E ...

. In the

, Rodríguez won the third stage finishing atop the

Mur de Huy The Mur de Huy () is a high hill located in Huy, Wallonia, Belgium. It is also known as ''le Chemin des Chapelles'' () because of the seven chapels along its route. This climb is famous for being part of the route of La Flèche Wallonne professio ...

. Rodríguez also won the twelfth stage atop the Plateau de Beille, his first Tour de France win on a mountain stage.

2016

Rodríguez struggled in the early part of the season, partly due to illness, however he recovered somewhat with a fifth place in the

. His stated aim for the

was to achieve a top ten finish in the general classification, and his bid started strongly, holding third place overall after the first stage in the Pyrenees. On the first rest day of the Tour, Rodríguez announced that he would retire from competition at the end of the season, confirming that he was hoping to compete in the

Rio Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

and the

before the end of the year. Subsequently, his performances dipped somewhat in the second week of the race, dropping him down to 12th in the general classification following a couple of bad days. However he rallied in the final week, going on the attack on the final mountain stage to

Morzine Morzine (; ), alternatively known as Morzine-Avoriaz (), is an alpine commune on the Swiss border in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is located in the French-Swiss Chablais historical ...

in treacherous weather to move up to his final overall position of seventh. On the final stage, Rodríguez was granted the honour of leading the peloton onto the

Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an Avenue (landscape), 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 ...

to mark his final appearance in the race. After the Tour, he headed to the

, where he finished fourth and was awarded the prize for most aggressive rider. After the race he told the media that the Clásica was his final competition in Spain, ruling out participation in the

, whilst Katusha directeur sportif

Xavier Florencio Xavier Florencio Cabré (born December 26, 1979, in Tarragona, Catalonia) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is ...

described Rodríguez's ride in San Sebastián as being his last for the team. Rodríguez finished fifth in the Olympic road race in his first Olympic appearance. After the race he confirmed that he would retire immediately, rather than continuing to the end of the year. However, in September it was reported that Katusha would enter Rodríguez into the Trittico di Autunno classics and the

Abu Dhabi Tour The Abu Dhabi Tour was a men's Road bicycle racing#Stage races, cycling stage race that took place in the United Arab Emirates, held annually between 2015 Abu Dhabi Tour, 2015 and 2018 Abu Dhabi Tour, 2018. In 2019, the Abu Dhabi Tour merged with ...

before the end of the year, with his contract with the team not expiring until 31 December. He failed to finish in all three Trittico di Autunno races, his final race being the Il Lombardia.

Bahrain–Merida

In October 2016, it was announced that Rodríguez would join for the 2017 season, initially as one of the team's riders before joining the squad's backroom staff from 2018 onwards. However, Rodríguez announced his retirement once again, in December 2016. He joined the squad's backroom staff, becoming an ambassador for the team.

Major results

Source: ;2001 (2 pro wins) : 1st Overall

::1st Stage 1a : 3rd

: 8th Clásica a los Puertos de Guadarrama ;2002 : 6th

;2003 (2) :

::1st Stages 1 ( TTT) & 8 ::Held after Stages 2–3 ::Held after Stages 2–3 & 8 : 1st Stage 6

: 1st Stage 1 ( TTT)

: 3rd Overall

: 8th Overall

: 9th

Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli The Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli (also known as GP Beghelli) is a late season men's road bicycle race held annually in Monteveglio, near the city of Bologna, Italy. From 2005 to 2013, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe T ...

: 10th

Trofeo Calvià The Challenge Vuelta 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 early February. The event is used as an early season preparatory ...

;2004 (1) : 1st Overall

: 3rd Overall

: 6th 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 ...

: 10th Overall

;2005 (1) : 1st Jersey granate

: 1st

: 2nd Overall

: 2nd

: 3rd Overall

: 4th

: 10th

;2006 (2) : 1st Stage 5

: 3rd Overall

::1st Stage 1a : 3rd

;2007 (3) : 1st Road race, National Road Championships : 1st

: 1st

: 2nd

: 5th Overall

Tour du Limousin Tour du Limousin is a 4-day road bicycle race held annually in Limousin, France. It was first held in 1968 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle raci ...

: 8th

: 9th Overall

: 10th Overall

;2008 (1) : 1st Stage 3

: 3rd

: 5th

: 6th Road race,

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and , a UCI Road World Championships ...

: 6th Overall

: 8th

;2009 (2) : 1st Stage 4

: 1st Stage 2

: 2nd

: 3rd

Road race,

: 6th

Japan Cup The is one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan. It is contested on the last Sunday of November, post time of 15:40 at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters (about miles) run under weight for age conditions with ...

: 7th Overall

;2010 (5) : 1st

: 1st Overall

: 1st

: 2nd

: 3rd Overall

::1st Stage 5 : 3rd Overall

::1st Stage 14 ::Held after Stages 10 & 16 ::Held after Stages 14–19 : 5th

: 6th Overall

::1st Stage 12 : 6th Overall

: 9th Overall

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse () 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, which is on the calend ...

;2011 (7) : 1st Overall

::1st Points classification ::1st Stage 2 :

::1st Stages 5 & 8 ::Held after Stages 8 ::Held after Stages 6, 8–16 & 18–20 : 1st Stage 1

: 2nd

: 3rd

UCI World Tour The UCI WorldTour is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an annual ranking system based upon perfor ...

: 3rd

Circuito de Getxo The Circuito de Getxo () is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in July in Getxo Getxo () (Spanish: ''Guecho'') is a town located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basq ...

: 3rd

: 4th Overall

: 5th Overall

::1st Points classification ::1st Jersey white dots on red

Mountains classification ::1st Stages 6 & 7 : 6th

: 6th

Giro dell'Emilia The Giro dell'Emilia is a late season road bicycle race held annually in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. First run in 1909, the race is considered a classic cycle race, and is traditionally grouped with the Giro del Piemonte and Giro di Lombard ...

: 9th

;2012 (10) : 1st

: 1st

: 2nd Overall

::1st

Points classification The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points c ...

::1st Stages 10 & 17 ::Held after Stages 10–13 & 15–20 : 2nd Overall

::1st Stages 4 & 5 : 3rd Overall

::1st Stages 6, 12 & 14 ::Held after Stages 4–16 ::Held after Stages 9 & 12–20 ::Held after Stages 4–20 : 4th

Milano–Torino Milano–Torino is a semi classic European single day cycling race, between the northern Italian cities of Milan and Turin over a distance of 199 kilometres. The event was first run in 1876 making it the oldest classic race in the world. The ...

: 6th Overall

::1st Stage 6 : 7th Overall Tour of Oman : 8th

;2013 (4) : 1st

: 1st

: 2nd

Road race,

: 2nd Overall

: 2nd

: 3rd Overall

: 4th Overall

::1st Stage 19 : 4th Overall Tour of Oman ::1st Stage 4 : 5th Overall

::1st Stage 5 : 6th

;2014 (2) : 1st Overall

::1st Stage 3 : 3rd

: 4th Overall Tour of Oman : 4th Overall

: 5th

: 8th

::Held after Stages 10–12, 14–15 ;2015 (6) : 1st Overall

::1st Points classification ::1st Stages 3 & 4 :

::1st Stages 3 & 12 ::Held after Stages 3–5, 18 : 2nd

: 2nd Overall

::1st Combination classification ::1st Stage 15 ::Held after Stage 16 ::Held after Stages 15–20 : 3rd

: 4th

: 5th

: 8th Overall

;2016 : 4th

: 5th Road race,

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

: 5th Overall

: 7th Overall

: 8th

;2019 : 1st Jersey blue Cape Epic

Overall Masters Cape Epic (with

José Antonio Hermida José Antonio Hermida Ramos (born August 24, 1978 in Puigcerdà, Girona) is a Spanish Bicycle racing, cyclist of Catalonia (Spain), Catalan origin specializing in competitive mountain bike, mountain biking. He won the silver medal at the 2004 Su ...

)

General classification results timeline

Classics results timeline

Major championships results timeline

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Joaquim Spanish male cyclists 1979 births Living people Cyclists from Barcelona Spanish Vuelta a España stage winners Spanish Tour de France stage winners Spanish Giro d'Italia stage winners 2010 Tour de France stage winners Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for Spain UCI World Tour winners