Tadej Valjavec
Tadej Valjavec (born 13 April 1977 in Kranj) is a Slovenian former professional road bicycle racer, who last competed for the Sava team. He is well known as a good climber due to his rides on mountain stages in the Giro d'Italia. Although he has achieved relatively few professional wins in his career, he has consistently performed well in the Grand Tours, with three top ten and four further top 20 finishes.
.jpg) Valjavec at the 2007 Tour de France | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Tadej Valjavec |
| Born | 13 April 1977 Kranj, Yugoslavia |
| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) |
| Weight | 59 kg (130 lb) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Climbing specialist |
| Professional teams | |
| 2000–2003 | Fassa Bortolo |
| 2004–2005 | Phonak |
| 2006–2007 | Lampre–Fondital |
| 2008–2010 | Ag2r–La Mondiale |
| 2011 | Manisaspor |
| 2013 | Sava |
| Major wins | |
| National Road Race Championships (2003, 2007) | |
Doping
On 4 May 2010 Valjavec's name was released as being one of several riders under investigation by the UCI for "irregular blood values".[1] He was provisionally suspended by Ag2r-La Mondiale and pulled from their squad for the impending Giro d'Italia. Team manager Vincent Lavenu stated that should the Slovenian cycling federation sanction him, he would be fired.[2] Valjavec has proclaimed his innocence and claimed an unreported illness is responsible for the values.[3] On 30 July the Slovenian federation officially cleared Valjavec, criticizing the usage of the biological passport in this case stating that it failed to take into account the possible natural reasons for Valjavec's irregular levels. The UCI will likely appeal the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.[4]
On 22 April 2011 The Court of Arbitration for Sport set aside the decision to exonerate the athlete from any doping offense and imposed a two-year ban on him starting on 20 January 2011, as well as the disqualification of all his results obtained between 19 April and 30 September 2009.[5]
Career achievements
Major results
- 2000
- Member Summer Olympics Road Race
- 4th Trofeo Laigueglia
- 2002
- 1st Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda
- 2003
- 1st
- 4th, Overall, Tour de Romandie
- 5th Overall Tour de Suisse
- 2004
9th Overall Giro d'Italia
- 25th Summer Olympics Road Race
- 2005
- 9th Overall Tour de Suisse
- 2007
- 3rd Overall Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta ciclista del Sol
- 2nd Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
- 1st
- 4th Overall Paris–Nice
- 10th La Flèche Wallonne
- 9th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné
- 2008
- 13th Overall Giro d'Italia
- 10th Overall Tour de France
- 35th Summer Olympics Road Race
- 2009
- 9th Overall Giro d'Italia
- 7th Overall Tour de Suisse
- 2010
- 9th GP lugano
- 9th Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato
- 2011
- 2nd Overall Cinturón Ciclista Internacional a Mallorca
- 2013
- 5th Overall Istrian Spring Trophy
- 8th Overall Tour de Slovaquie
- 4th Overall Tour of Slovenia
- 10th GP Kranj
Giro d'Italia record
Vuelta a España record
- 2004: 2nd Stage 16
References
- "UCI Confirm Valjavec investigation". Uci.ch. Archived from the original on 2014-06-24. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
- "Ag2r team manager furious with Valjavec". Cyclingnews.com. 2010-05-03. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
- "Valijavec Claims Innocence". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
- "Valjavec cleared by Slovenian anti-doping agency". Cyclingnews.com. 2010-07-30. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
- Archived April 30, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Tadej Valjavec at Trap-Friis.dk