Levi Leipheimer

Levi Leipheimer

Personal information
Full name	Levi Leipheimer
Born	October 24, 1973 (1973-10-24) Butte, Montana, United States
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	62 kg (136.7 lb; 9.8 st)
Team information
Current team	Omega Pharma-Quick Step
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	All-rounder
Amateur team(s)
1995 1996	F.S. Maestro – Frigas Einstein
Professional team(s)
1997 1998–1999 2000–2001 2002–2004 2005–2006 2007 2008–2009 2010–2011 2012–	Comptel – Colorado Cyclist Saturn US Postal Rabobank Gerolsteiner Discovery Channel Astana Team RadioShack Omega Pharma-Quick Step
Major wins
Grand Tours Tour de France 1 individual stage (2007) 1 Team Time Trial (2009) Vuelta a España 2 individual stages (2008) Stage Races Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (2006) Deutschland Tour (2006) Tour of California (2007, 2008, 2009) Tour de Suisse (2011) Tour of Utah (2010, 2011) USA Pro Cycling Challenge (2011) Vuelta a Castilla y León (2009) Single-Day Races and Classics National Road Race Champion (2007) National Time Trial Champion (1999)
Medal record Competitor for United States Road bicycle racing Olympic Games Bronze 2008 Beijing Men's Road Time Trial
Infobox last updated on January 26, 2012

Levi Leipheimer (born October 24, 1973) is an American professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team Omega Pharma-Quick Step. His major results are winning the 2007–2009 editions of the Tour of California, the 2006 Dauphiné Libéré and the 2005 Deutschland Tour, coming in second in the 2008 Vuelta a España, third in the 2001 Vuelta a España, and having four top-ten finishes in the Tour de France, including third overall in 2007. He lives in Santa Rosa, California with his wife Odessa Gunn, though during the cycling season he primarily lives in Girona, Spain. Leipheimer won the 2007 USA road championship, 1m 11s ahead of Discovery teammate and defending champion George Hincapie.

Leipheimer won the bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games road time trial.

Career

Leipheimer began cycling in 1987 as cross-training for downhill ski racing. He was a competitive skier from ages 12–19, but switched his focus to full-time cycling.

Maestro Frigas and Einstein (1995–1996)

In 1995 Leipheimer won the Tour of Namur as an intern for the British F.S. Maestro – Frigas team.

Doping

On August 18, 1996, Leipheimer, riding for Team Einstein, won the U.S. National Criterium Championships when he lapped the field on the technically demanding Grandview Heights, Ohio, circuit. It was later reported by VeloNews that Leipheimer tested positive for a banned substance at the championship, and a disciplinary panel recommended that he return his title, prize money and jersey. The Leipheimer family, in a letter to the Montana Standard, confirmed the violation and sanction, claiming that Leipheimer had innocently used the allergy medicine Claritin-D, which contains a form of the banned substance ephedrine, to relieve hay fever, and claimed that USA Cycling subsequently relaxed its standards regarding the use of such allergy medicines in competition. Ephedrine itself remains a banned substance when its concentration in urine is greater than 10 micrograms per milliliter.

Colorado Cyclist and Saturn (1997–1999)

Leipheimer turned pro in 1997 with the Colorado Cyclist team. In 1998, he changed teams and was hired by Team Saturn, with which he won the U.S. National Time Trial Championship in 1999.

U.S. Postal (2000–2001)

Leipheimer joined the US Postal team in 2000.

Leipheimer's breakthrough came in the 2001 Vuelta a España, his first Grand Tour. He was riding well in support of team leader Roberto Heras. Going into the final stage, an individual time trial in Madrid, Leipheimer was fifth, trailing his leader, who was third, by about a minute. During that time trial, Leipheimer vaulted over two riders, including Heras, to finish third overall, the first American ever to reach the podium in the Vuelta.

Rabobank (2002–2004)

The Dutch team Rabobank then recruited him as leader. In 2002, his first year with the new team, he finished eighth in his first Tour de France. In 2003 he crashed in the first week and abandoned the race.

Leipheimer represented the United States in the 2004 Athens Olympics road race, but did not finish. He finished ninth in the Tour de France of that year.

Gerolsteiner (2005–2006)

In a time trial, riding for the German pro team Gerolsteiner in 2005

Riding for the German team Gerolsteiner, Leipheimer finished 6th in the Tour de France. On August 23, 2005, Leipheimer won the Deutschland Tour by 31 seconds, ahead of T-Mobile Team's Jan Ullrich and Gerolsteiner teammate Georg Totschnig. He had solidified his lead by defeating Ullrich in stage four on the Rettenbachferner, the highest climb in European racing that year at 8,760 feet (2,670m).

In August 2010, Leipheimer was accused of having suspect blood values during the 2005 Tour de France by Hans-Michael Holczer, his former team manager at Gerolsteiner, who was promoting his new book Garantiert Positiv (Guaranteed Positive, in English). According to Holczer, Leipheimer showed blood values that indicated a "high probability of blood manipulation" and were so suspicious that one UCI official suggested that he should be withdrawn from the race. Holczer said that he refused to withdraw Leipheimer because the team was "facing total bankruptcy" due to the sponsor's nervousness about the team's involvement in other doping scandals.

In February 2006, Leipheimer was a favorite to win the inaugural Tour of California. He took the leader's golden jersey on the first day by winning the prologue to San Francisco's Coit Tower, but George Hincapie took it after stage two thanks to a 10-second bonus in the sprint in San José. Leipheimer won the competition for best climber, taking sixth place overall, but Floyd Landis won the overall competition.

Leipheimer returned to form in June at the 2006 Dauphiné Libéré. He took third place in the individual time trial and then took the overall lead with a dominant performance on the stage to Mont Ventoux. He became the first American to win the Dauphiné since Armstrong in 2003.

Leipheimer was considered a contender in the 2006 Tour de France after the favorites (including Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich) were suspended because of the Operación Puerto doping case. Because of this and Armstrong's retirement, none of the top five riders from 2005 competed in 2006, and Leipheimer, who had been sixth, was the highest-placed rider returning. However, a stage 7 time trial described as the worst of Leipheimer's career, put him five minutes behind the leader, in the middle of the pack, making a top 10 finish a challenge. Further losses in the first mountain stage hurt further, and made a top 20 finish questionable. But in stage 11, with five difficult climbs, Leipheimer produced a strong second place with the same time as stage winner, Denis Menchov, and the new race leader, Floyd Landis. This took Leipheimer from 58th to 13th, 5:39 behind Landis. His final position was 12th, 18 and half minutes behind winner Floyd Landis.

Team Discovery (2007)

Leipheimer re-signed with Tailwind Sports Corp. and Capital Sports & Entertainment, managing companies for the U.S. Postal and, later, the Discovery Channel cycling teams. Leipheimer was team leader in the 2007 Tour of California. He repeated his prologue win on the same course, won the stage 5 time trial, and led the race from start to finish. In the Paris-Nice race, he supported teammate Alberto Contador, who won. He placed third in the 2007 Tour de France, 31 seconds behind the winner, Contador. Leipheimer also won stage 19, the last individual time trial. Discovery Channel disbanded at the end of the season.

The Astana years (2008–2009)

Leipheimer joined Astana, managed by Johan Bruyneel, former manager of U.S. Postal and Discovery Channel. Astana was banned from the 2008 Tour de France on 13 February 2008 because of doping scandals in the 2007 Tour, although all involved in those scandals had been replaced. Leipheimer created a website to petition for admittance to the 2008 Tour.

Leipheimer won the 2008 Tour of California. At the last minute, Astana was admitted to the Giro di Italia, and Leipheimer finished 18th, helping teammate Contador to victory. He won the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in the road time trial. Leipheimer won both time trials of the 2008 Vuelta a España, leading the race after the first stage, and placing second overall behind Contador.

Leipheimer began 2009 by winning the Tour of California for the third consecutive year. He broke away during the final climb of stage 2 and led after the stage. Leipheimer won stage 6, the Solvang individual time trial. Astana teammate Lance Armstrong, in his second race after retirement, rode for Leipheimer. Leipheimer won the 2009 SRAM Tour of the Gila. He rode with Astana teammates Chris Horner and Armstrong, who finished second. UCI regulations meant the three rode as team Mellow Johnny's, the name of Armstrong's bike shop, instead of Astana. Horner finished eighth.

In May, Leipheimer rode for Astana in the Giro d'Italia and finished sixth overall, the team's best placement. Later, the second place finisher Danilo Di Luca tested positive for a banned substance and was stripped of his title, moving Leipheimer up to a fifth place finish in the records.

Riding with Astana in the 2009 Tour de France, Leipheimer broke a wrist in a crash near the end of stage 12, when he was fourth overall, abandoning the race.

Team RadioShack (2010–2011)

Leipheimer moved to Team RadioShack for 2010, staying with Armstrong and others from Astana's 2009 team. He won his second straight SRAM Tour of the Gila in April. At the 2010 Tour de California, facing stiff competition from Dave Zabriskie (Garmin-Transitions) and eventual winner Michael Rogers (HTC-Columbia), Leipheimer had to settle for third place overall, breaking his three-year streak of victories. Strong performances by Rogers and Zabriskie in the penultimate Los Angeles time trial put Leipheimer 25 seconds behind going into the final stage, a challenging 84 mile circuit race in the mountainous terrain of Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, and Agoura Hills. Leipheimer was a marked man, and that coupled with a mechanical issue on the last lap requiring a new bike left him unable to make up the 25 seconds, despite a strong RadioShack team (sans Armstrong, who had crashed out a few days before) and several late attacks by Leipheimer.

Leipheimer was favored to lead the team in California again for 2011, but became the team's chief domestique instead, riding in support of Chris Horner's eventual victory, after the latter posted a stronger time on mountainous stage four into San Jose. While riding for Horner, Leipheimer also won the very challenging stage finishing at Mount Baldy ski area, his first road stage victory in any Tour of California, and was second in the individual time trial. In his next race, the Tour of Switzerland, Leipheimer conquered an early time deficit to eventually best the leading rider Damiano Cunego, winning the overall race by 4 seconds in a nail-biting final time trial stage.

In the first annual USA Pro Cycling Challenge Levi entered fresh off his Tour Of Utah victory by grabbing the yellow jersey on the first stage as well as a stage one victory. He would go on to lose his yellow jersey after a struggling climb up stage 2, who was won by former team mate George Hincapie. In an Epic stage 3, where the riders saw a vintage time trial in Vail mirroring the route in the original Coors Classic of the late '80s, Levi put on a brilliant show and gained his yellow jersey back, as well as a second place finish in the stage. He would hold onto his yellow jersey and claim the overall victory of the 2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge.

Omega Pharma-Quick Step (2012)

Leipheimer joined Patrick Lefevere's Omega Pharma-Quick Step team for the 2012 season.

Personal life

Leipheimer met Canadian professional cyclist Odessa Gunn at a World Cup event in Philadelphia in 1997. Leipheimer sent her a plane ticket to visit him in California, and, as Gunn put it, "I never left." They married in 2000 and live in Santa Rosa, California.

He and his wife are well-known animal lovers, and as of 2009, had six cats and two dogs. They are working to establish an animal refuge they will call Freedom Hill and state that they raise money for various animal welfare causes.

In 2009, he founded and led the King Ridge GranFondo, a recreational benefit bicycle ride based in Santa Rosa, California. Thousands of cyclists showed up for this inaugural event. As of May 2010, 5,500 cyclists had already registered for the October 2010 ride, with fewer than 500 spots still available.

Major results

Levi Leipheimer winning Stage 5 of the Tour of California in 2007.

Levi Leipheimer at the 2008 Tour of California (Prologue).

1995

1st Overall Tour de la province de Namur

1997

1 Stage of Cascade Cycling Classic

Prologue Tour de Toona

1998

1st Overall Tour de Beauce

1st Stage 3

1999

1st National Time Trial Champion

1st Overall Tour de Beauce

1st Stage 3

2nd Pan American Games Men's Road Race

3rd Sea Otter Classic

2000

1st Stage 2 Circuit Franco-Belge

2001

1st Stage 5 Redlands Bicycle Classic

1st Mountains Classification

1st Stage 1 Sea Otter Classic

2nd Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León

3rd Overall Vuelta a España

2002

1st Overall Route du Sud

1st Stage 3 ITT

8th Overall Tour de France

2003

8th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné

2004

1st Stage 4 Setmana Catalana

9th Overall Tour de France

2005

1st Overall Deutschland Tour

1st King of the Mountains classification

1st Stage 4

2nd Overall Tour de Georgia

3rd Overall Dauphiné Libéré

6th Overall Tour de France

2006

1st Overall Dauphiné Libéré

2nd Overall Deutschland Tour

1st Stage 5

6th Overall Tour of California

1st Prologue

1st King of the Mountains

12th Overall Tour de France

Combativity award, stage 18, Tour de France

2007

Champion, USA Cycling Professional Tour

1st National Road Race Champion

1st Overall Tour of California

1st Prologue

1st Stage 5 ITT

1st Copperopolis Road Race

1st Stage 4 ITT, Tour de Georgia

1st Stage 5 Tour de Georgia

1st Stage 3 ITT, Tour of Missouri

2nd Overall Deutschland Tour

3rd Overall Tour de France

1st Stage 19 ITT

2008

1st Overall Tour of California

1st Stage 5 ITT

1st Overall Cascade Cycling Classic

1st Clásica a los Puertos de Guadarrama

2nd Overall Vuelta a España

1st Stage 5

1st Stage 20

3rd Overall Tour de Georgia

3rd Overall Dauphiné Libéré

1st Prologue ITT

3rd Individual Time Trial, 2008 Beijing Olympics

4th UCI Road World Championships Time Trial

2009

1st Stage 4 TTT Tour de France

1st Overall Tour of California

1st Stage 6 ITT Tour of California

1st Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León

1st Stage 2 ITT

1st stage 2 Sea Otter Classic

1st Overall Tour of the Gila

1st Stage 1

1st Stage 3 ITT

5th Overall Giro d'Italia

2010

1st Overall Tour of the Gila

1st Stage 1

1st Overall Tour of Utah

1st Stage 2

1st Leadville Trail 100 MTB (record time)

3rd Overall Tour of California

2011

1st Overall 2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge

1st Stage 1

1st Stage 3

1st Overall Tour de Suisse

1st Overall Tour of Utah

2nd Stage 3

2nd Stage 5

2nd Overall Tour of California

1st Stage 7

2nd Stage 6

3rd Overall Vuelta a Andalucía

5th Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec

8th Overall Paris–Nice

2012

1st Overall Tour de San Luis

1st Stage 4 (ITT)

Grand Tour General Classification results timeline

Grand Tour	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Giro	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	18	5	-	-
Tour	-	8	WD	9	6	12	3	-	WD	12	31
Vuelta	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-

WD=Withdrew

External links

• Official Site
• Levi Leipheimer's U.S. Olympic Team bio
• USA Cycling biography
• Levi Leipheimer's Astana Team bio
• Levi Leipheimer at 2009 Tour of California video
• Levi Leipheimer Twitter page

Sporting positions
Preceded by George Hincapie	USA National Road Race Champion 2007	Succeeded by Tyler Hamilton