Filip Meirhaeghe
 Filip Meirhaeghe at the start of Omloop het Volk in 2007. |
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| Full name | Filip Meirhaeghe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 5 March 1971 Ghent, Belgium |
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| Current team | Landbouwkrediet-Colnago | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Road, Mountain bike | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| Infobox last updated on 27 May 2009 |
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Filip Meirhaeghe (born 5 March 1971[1] in Ghent[2]) is a Belgian racing cyclist. His primary focus was in mountain bike racing, however, he has also taken part in elite road, cyclo-cross and track cycling. He has won four Mountain Bike World Championships medals,[3] one Olympic medal and a total of eleven mountain bike World Cup events. In the final years of his racing career he raced for the bicycle manufacturer Specialized Bicycle Components on the mountain bike and for the professional team Domina Vacanze-Elitron on the road.
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[edit] Positive test results
On 29 July 2004, just before the 2004 Summer Olympics, Meirhaeghe admitted to having used EPO. He tested positive during the World Cup in Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec (Canada) and unlike most racers did not argue the validity of the test. During a press conference he admitted he used EPO simply because of his desire to win gold at the Olympic Games in Athens. He also announced at that time he would stop racing and retire.[4] He wrote a book called Positief, which tells the story of his life as an athlete and the consequences of his positive test. (issued by Davidsfonds - Dutch only).
[edit] End of retirement
Filip was suspended from professional racing based on his positive test result until 14 January 2006. On 1 January 2006 he announced he would resume racing. He signed a three year contract to race for Landbouwkrediet-Colnago on the road and Versluys-Landbouwkrediet-Sportstech on mountain bikes. He made his come back during the beach-race of Oostduinkerke (Belgium).[5] He retired again in September 2009.[3]
[edit] Major racing achievements
- 2000 Summer Olympics
- Silver: 2000 - Sydney (AUS)[4]
- Mountain Bike World Championships
- Gold: 2003 - Lugano (SUI)[3]
- Silver: 2002 - Kaprun (AUT)
- Bronze: 1998 - Mont Sainte-Anne (CAN)
- Bronze: 1999 - Åre (SWE)
- Mountain Bike World Cup
- Winner: 2002
- European XC MTB Championships
- Champion: 2000
- Belgian XC MTB Championships
- Champion: 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001
- Belgian Downhill National Championships
- Champion 1994
- Paris–Roubaix mountain bike
- Winner: 1997, 2002
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Rider Profile: Filip Meiraeghe". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ^ "Filip Meirhaeghe". Le Site du Cyclisme. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ^ a b c George, Sue. "Meirhaeghe retires effective immediately". cyclingnews.com. 10 September 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ^ a b "Meirhaeghe tests positive, admits guilt, retires". VeloNews. 29 July 2004. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ^ "First Edition Cycling News for January 1, 2006: Meirhaeghe back at Landbouwkrediet-Colnago". cyclingnews.com. 1 January 2006. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
