Gert Steegmans
 Steegmans at Four Days of Dunkirk in 2008 |
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gert Steegmans | ||
| Born | 30 September 1980 Hasselt, Belgium |
||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Weight | 84 kg | ||
| Team information | |||
| Current team | Omega Pharma-Quick Step | ||
| Discipline | Road | ||
| Role | Rider | ||
| Rider type | Sprinter | ||
| Professional team(s) | |||
| 2003–2006 2007–2008 2009 2010 2011– |
Lotto-Domo Quick Step-Innergetic Team Katusha Team RadioShack Quick Step |
||
| Major wins | |||
|
|||
| Infobox last updated on 5 January 2012 |
|||
Gert Steegmans (born 30 September 1980 in Hasselt) is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer who rides for UCI ProTeam Omega Pharma-Quick Step. He has a strong finishing sprint and can compete in the sprint with fellow Belgian cyclist, and team-mate, Tom Boonen.
Contents |
[edit] Career overview
Although Steegmans was already known in Belgium, he gained more popularity outside Belgium as he piloted Robbie McEwen to two stage wins during the 2006 Tour de France.
During the second stage of the 2007 Tour de France, a Liquigas rider fell sideways in the last 3 kilometres causing others to fall. Around 20 riders fell blocking the entire road and leaving approximately 30 riders to sprint for the victory, eventually taken by Steegmans in his home country ahead of his compatriot and team-mate Tom Boonen, who took over the green jersey by coming second in the stage.
On 6 July 2008, it was announced Steegmans signed a two-year contract with Tinkoff Credit Systems.[1] In the Tour de France, he won the prestigious stage at Champs-Élysées. Team Tinkoff later folded under that name, and the management and ridership re-emerged as Team Katusha.
Steegmans made headlines in the weeks leading up to the 2009 Tour de France with his refusal to sign an anti-doping agreement which Team Katusha was trying to get all its riders to sign. The agreement called for any rider who tested positive for a doping substance to pay a fine of five times their annual salary. Steegmans persisted in his refusal even after an ultimatum handed down by the team, which resulted in his not being selected for Katusha's Tour de France squad.[2] Katusha and Steegmans dissolved his contract on 5 August after Steegmans' continuing refusal to sign the anti-doping charter.[3] Team RadioShack announced that he would be joining the team in 2010 [4] starting with the Tour Down Under in late January.[5]
On 7 March 2010, during the time-trial for the Paris–Nice bicycle race, he was injured in a whirlwind accident, breaking a collarbone.[6]
[edit] Palmares
- 1996
- 1st
U-17 Road Race Champion - 1998
- 1st U-19 Time Trial Champion
- 2002
- 1st U-23 Time Trial Champion
- 1st Zesbergenprijs Harelbeke
- 2005
- 1st Nationale Sluitingprijs
- 1st Stage 1 Tour de Picardie
- 2006
- 1st Stage 3 Tour of Algarve
- 1st Stage 4 Tour of Algarve
- 1st Stage 2 Tour de Picardie
- 1st Stage 3 Four Days of Dunkirk
- 2nd Overall Tour of Belgium
- 1st Stage 5
- 2007
- 1st Tour de Rijke
- 1st Stage 2 Tour de France
- 1st Stage 1 Volta ao Algarve
- 1st Stage 3 Three Days of De Panne
- 1st Overall Circuit Franco-Belge
- 1st Stage 2
- 1st Stage 4
- 2008
- 1st Stage 21 Tour de France
- 1st Stage 1 Paris–Nice
- 1st Stage 2 Paris–Nice
- 1st Stage 2 Four Days of Dunkirk
- 1st Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen
- 1st Trofeo Calvia
- 2009
- 1st Stage 2 Vuelta a Andalucía
- 1st Trofeo Mallorca [7]
- 2010
- 3rd Paris–Tours
- 2011
- 1st Nokere Koerse
[edit] References
- ^ AFP: Gert Steegmans to ditch Quick.Step for Tinkoff
- ^ Stokes, Shane (2009-06-22). "Steegmans won't sign Katusha's anti-doping agreement". Cycling News. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/steegmans-wont-sign-katushas-anti-doping-agreement. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
- ^ Cycling News (2009-08-05). "Steegmans, Katusha dissolve contract". Cycling News. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/steegmans-katusha-dissolve-contract. Retrieved 2009-08-06.
- ^ "RadioShack Cycling announcements continue". http://www.bikeworldnews.com/index.php/2009/08/26/radio-shack-cycling-announcements-continue/. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
- ^ Gregor Brown (2009-11-14). "Armstrong in Bruyneel's early Tour Down Under team selection". Cycling News. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/armstrong-in-bruyneels-early-tour-down-under-team-selection. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
- ^ "Belgian rider in whirlwind crash". BBC News. 2010-03-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/8554713.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
- ^ Katusha Team Blog "Trofeo Mallorca 2009: Double win for Katusha ", 2009-02-08. Retrieved on 2009-02-08.
