Mikel Astarloza
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau | ||
| Born | November 17, 1979  Spain |
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| Team information | |||
| Current team | Euskaltel-Euskadi | ||
| Discipline | Road | ||
| Role | Rider | ||
| Professional team(s) | |||
| 2002–2006 2007–2009 2011– |
AG2R Prévoyance Euskaltel-Euskadi Euskaltel-Euskadi |
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| Major wins | |||
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| Infobox last updated on July 21, 2009 |
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Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (born November 17, 1979 in Gipuzkoa, Basque Country) is a Basque professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam Euskaltel-Euskadi.
In 2003 he won his first race, when he finished just in front of Lennie Kristensen in the overall rankings of the Tour Down Under. He has taken part in all editions of the Tour de France since 2003, and won stage 16 of the 2009 Tour to record his second professional stage win in any competition (for the Euskaltel team), with his 9th position overall in 2007 as his next best attempt. His cousin Íñigo Chaurreau is also a professional cyclist.
On 26 June 2009 he tested positive on Recombinant Erythropoietin (EPO), for which he was suspended by the UCI on 31 July 2009.[1] Arstaloza denied using EPO, saying that it was "sporting suicide" to use illegal performance-enhancing drugs.[2] On May 15, 2010, he was formally handed a two-year ban by the Spanish Cycling Federation. Astarloza continually claimed his innocence, and Euskaltel-Euskadi stated that they would rehire him once the ban ended.[3] He indeed rejoined the Basque team in August 2011, at the Vuelta a Burgos.[4]
[edit] Palmarès
- 2003
- 1st overall, Tour Down Under
National Time Trial Championship - 3rd- 2005
- 7th, Bayern-Rundfahrt
- 2007
- 10th overall, Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
- 7th overall, Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
- 9th overall, Tour de France
- 2008
- 4th overall, Vuelta a Andalucía
- 4th, Klasika Primavera
- 6th overall, Vuelta al Pais Vasco
- 5th overall, Tour de Romandie
- 7th overall, Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
- 16th overall, Tour de France
- 28th overall, Vuelta a España
- 2009
- 4th, Klasika Primavera
11th overall, 2009 Tour de France
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/385507/mikel-astarloza-suspended-after-epo-positive.html
- ^ "Spanish rider denies taking EPO". BBC Sport. 2009-08-04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/8183836.stm. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
- ^ http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/astarloza-suspended-for-two-years-for-epo
- ^ http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/astarloza-returns-after-two-year-ban
[edit] External links
- Mikel Astarloza profile at Cycling Archives
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