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Rein Taaramäe (born 24 April 1987) is an Estonian professional road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Continental team .


Career


Cofidis (2008–14)

Taaramäe turned professional in 2008 for after riding for the team as a stagiaire in late 2007 and winning a stage at the Circuit des Ardennes early in the season. In 2008 he won two stages of the Grand Prix du Portugal and a stage of the Tour de l'Avenir. At the
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...
, Taaramäe competed in the road race and the road time trial. In 2009 he finished third at the Tour de Romandie and eighth at the Tour de Suisse. Taaramäe won both the Estonian National Road Race Championships and the Estonian National Time Trial Championships. He also won the Tour de l'Ain after winning the last stage to Col du Grand Colombier. In 2010 he finished seventh at the Paris-Nice and third at 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 ...
. In 2011, Taaramäe finished 11th overall in the Tour de France. On Stage 14 of the
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 ...
Taaramae and breakaway companion David de la Fuente were the last two riders of a 17-man breakaway, but with to go de la Fuente dropped back to pace teammate Juan José Cobo up the climb allowing Taaramäe to solo to his first ever Grand Tour stage win. He ultimately withdrew from the race prior to its conclusion in Madrid.


Astana (2015)

In August 2014 general manager Alexander Vinokourov announced that Taaramäe had signed a one-year contract with the team for the 2015 season. 2015 began well for Taaramäe with the victory at the
Vuelta a Murcia The Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia () is a road bicycle race held in and around Murcia, Spain. The first four editions were reserved to amateurs. Originally the race was held in early March and consisted of five stages. However, due to Spain's fina ...
. Hopes were high with Grand Tours in mind, especially the Tour de France. At the race, Taaramäe was meant to help Vincenzo Nibali in the mountains. Unfortunately Taaramäe was forced to abandon the race during stage 11 due to illness. After the disappointing Tour, Taaramäe went on to win in style back-to-back in the Vuelta a Burgos and the Arctic Race of Norway in August.


Team Katusha (2016–17)

At the end of August 2015, Taaramäe signed an initial one-year deal with . He was named in the start list for the 2016 Giro d'Italia. He won the 20th stage of the race, becoming the first Estonian to win a stage in the Giro. After a short vacation at home in Estonia, Taaramäe went to win the overall at the Tour of Slovenia, together with a stage win on Stage 2.


Direct Énergie (2018–20)

In his first season with the team, he placed highly at the Vuelta a Aragón (fourth overall; later promoted to third after Jaime Rosón's disqualification) and the Tour de l'Ain (third overall), before being selected for the Tour de France for the first time since
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
. He formed part of the breakaway on the tenth stage, ultimately finishing third – his team's best stage finish of the race – behind Julian Alaphilippe and Ion Izagirre. He finished outside the time limit two days later, ending his race. In September, Taaramäe took four top-four results – second-place finishes at the Coppa Ugo Agostoni and the Tour du Gévaudan Occitanie, third at the Tour du Doubs, and fourth at the Famenne Ardenne Classic. The following year, he finished second overall at the Tour du Rwanda; he had finished second on the third stage behind Merhawi Kudus, and maintained this position for the remainder of the race. He finished third overall at both the Vuelta a Aragón and Tour de l'Ain, and added a further third-place finish at the inaugural Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge. Later in June, he won his fourth Estonian National Time Trial Championships, his first win in the race since 2012. In 2020, Taaramäe won the mountains classification at the Tour du Rwanda, prior to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
-enforced suspension of racing.


Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux (2021–2024)

In September 2020, Taaramäe signed a two-year contract to ride with the team, later renamed , from the 2021 season. He was involved in breakaways at Paris–Nice, 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 ...
, the Tour de Romandie, and 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 ...
; at the Giro d'Italia, he recorded a ninth-place finish on stage four, having just remained clear of a group containing some of the race favourites. He won the Estonian National Time Trial Championships for the fifth time in June, and then finished third overall at the Czech Cycling Tour, with two third-place stage finishes. At the
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 ...
, Taaramäe made an eight-man breakaway on the third stage of the race. With around remaining of the stage, which concluded with a summit finish at Picón Blanco, Taaramäe attacked and soloed to the stage victory. He also assumed the lead of both the mountains and general classifications, becoming the second Estonian rider to lead a Grand Tour, after Jaan Kirsipuu at the 1999 Tour de France. He held the race lead until the fifth stage after a crash, and also rode in support of teammate Odd Christian Eiking, when he held the overall lead later in the race. Taaramäe later signed a one-year contract extension with the team, until the end of the 2023 season. After an eighth-place finish at the 2022 Tour of Oman, Taaramäe made the breakaway on the fourth stage of 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 ...
, finishing third on the stage. He remained third overall for several days, before losing nearly fifteen minutes on the ninth stage, a summit finish at Blockhaus in the Maiella massif. He worked as a domestique for climbers Jan Hirt and Domenico Pozzovivo later in the race, with both finishing inside the top-ten placings in the general classification. He again won the Estonian National Time Trial Championships, and took a further third-place Grand Tour stage finish, on stage eight of the
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 ...
. He started his 2023 season in Oman, recording a fourth-place overall finish at the Tour of Oman, having been dropped on the final climb to Jebel Akhdar. In 2025 season, he moved to a Japanese continental team .


Personal life

He is married to Hanna; at the 2022 Estonian National Time Trial Championships, both won their respective national titles.


Major results

Source: ;2005 : 3rd Overall Course de la Paix Juniors ;2006 : 1st
Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...
, National Under-23 Road Championships : 1st GP Ouest–France Espoirs : 1st Stage 1 Kreiz Breizh Elites ;2007 : 2nd Time trial, UEC European Under-23 Road Championships : 2nd
Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...
, National Road Championships : 2nd Les Boucles du Sud-Ardèche : 3rd Overall Kreiz Breizh Elites : 3rd Paris–Troyes : 5th Overall Circuit des Ardennes ::1st Stage 4 : 5th Boucle de l'Artois ;2008 : 1st Stage 6 ( ITT) Tour de l'Avenir : 3rd Overall Grand Prix du Portugal ::1st Stages 2 & 3 : 8th Overall Circuit de la Sarthe : 9th Tartu GP ;2009 : National Road Championships ::1st
Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...
::1st Road race : 1st Overall Tour de l'Ain ::1st Stage 5 : 1st Mountains classification, Tour of the Basque Country : 3rd Overall Tour de Romandie : 8th Overall Tour de Suisse ;2010 : 3rd Overall
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 ...
: 7th Overall Paris–Nice : 9th Overall Route du Sud : 9th Trofeo Inca ;2011 : 1st
Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...
, National Road Championships : 1st Stage 14
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 ...
: 3rd Overall Critérium International ::1st Young rider classification : 4th Overall Paris–Nice ::1st Young rider classification : 5th Tartu GP : 8th Overall Volta ao Algarve : 10th Overall Circuit Cycliste Sarthe ;2012 : National Road Championships ::1st
Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...
::3rd Road race : 2nd Overall Vuelta a Andalucía : 3rd Overall
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 ...
: 6th Tallinn–Tartu GP : 8th Overall Tour du Poitou-Charentes ;2013 : National Road Championships ::1st Road race ::2nd
Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...
: 3rd Cholet-Pays de Loire ;2014 : 1st Tour du Doubs : 2nd Overall Tour of Turkey ::1st Stage 3 : 6th Overall Tour du Limousin : 8th Overall
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 ...
;2015 : 1st Overall Vuelta a Burgos ::1st Stage 2 ( TTT) : 1st Overall Arctic Race of Norway : 1st
Vuelta a Murcia The Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia () is a road bicycle race held in and around Murcia, Spain. The first four editions were reserved to amateurs. Originally the race was held in early March and consisted of five stages. However, due to Spain's fina ...
: 2nd Road race, National Road Championships : 6th Overall Volta ao Algarve ;2016 : 1st Overall Tour of Slovenia ::1st Stage 2 : 1st Stage 20
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 ...
;2017 : 3rd Road race, National Road Championships : 9th Overall Tour of Guangxi ;2018 : 2nd Coppa Ugo Agostoni : 2nd Tour du Gévaudan Occitanie : 3rd Overall Vuelta a Aragón : 3rd Overall Tour de l'Ain : 3rd Tour du Doubs : 4th Famenne Ardenne Classic ;2019 : 1st
Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...
, National Road Championships : 2nd Overall Tour du Rwanda : 3rd Overall Tour de l'Ain : 3rd Overall Vuelta a Aragón : 3rd Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge ;2020 : 1st Mountains classification, Tour du Rwanda ;2021 : 1st
Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...
, National Road Championships :
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 ...
::1st Stage 3 ::Held after Stages 3–4 ::Held after Stages 3–6 : 3rd Overall Czech Cycling Tour ;2022 : 1st
Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...
, National Road Championships : 8th Overall Tour of Oman ;2023 : 1st
Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...
, National Road Championships : 4th Overall Tour of Oman ;2024 : 1st
Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...
, National Road Championships


Grand Tour general classification results timeline


References


External links


Rein Taaramäe's blog
* * *
Palmarès by cyclingbase.comTaaramae believes in top 10 placing at Tour de France
Cyclingnews.com story in March 2011
Taaramae comes of age, still makes mistakes
Cyclingnews.com story in March 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Taaramae, Rein 1987 births Living people Cyclists from Tartu Estonian male cyclists Estonian Vuelta a España stage winners Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for Estonia Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey stage winners Estonian Giro d'Italia stage winners 21st-century Estonian sportsmen