Michael Albasini (original) (raw)
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Swiss road bicycle racer
Michael Albasini
 Albasini at the 2009 Tour of Austria, a race he would win overall. |
|
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Nickname | Alba |
| Born | (1980-12-20) 20 December 1980 (age 44)Vevey, Switzerland |
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) |
| Weight | 65 kg (143 lb) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Puncheur |
| Amateur teams | |
| 2000–2002 | VC Mendrisio |
| 2001 | Fassa Bortolo (stagiaire) |
| Professional teams | |
| 2003–2004 | Phonak |
| 2005–2008 | Liquigas–Bianchi |
| 2009–2011 | Team Columbia–High Road |
| 2012–2020 | GreenEDGE[1][2] |
| Major wins | |
| Grand Tours Tour de France 1 TTT stage (2013) Vuelta a España 1 individual stage (2011) Stage races Volta a Catalunya (2012) Tour of Austria (2009) Tour of Britain (2010) Tour des Fjords (2018) One-day races and Classics Tre Valli Varesine (2014) Grand Prix of Aargau Canton (2011, 2013) | |
Michael Albasini (born 20 December 1980) is a Swiss former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2003 and 2020, for the Phonak, Liquigas, HTC–Highroad and Mitchelton–Scott teams.[3]
Professional career
[edit]
Albasini began his career in 2003 with Phonak, moved to Liquigas–Bianchi at the beginning of 2005, and signed with Team Columbia–High Road for the 2009 season. From 2012 until his retirement, Albasini rode with the Australian professional cycling team GreenEDGE.[4]
In 2012, Albasini met success at the UCI World Tour race Volta a Catalunya. The six-stage event contained no time trials, and Albasini took the lead by triumphing on the very first stage over Anthony Delaplace from Saur–Sojasun, getting a 42 seconds overall lead.[5] On the very next stage, he was part of a select group of about 20 riders that were led to the line by Bradley Wiggins after a day in the mountains and he outsprinted his rivals, taking his second win in a row.[6] He held on to his advantage on the following hilly stages, winning the overall classification by 1 minute and 30 seconds over second-placed Samuel Sánchez of Euskaltel–Euskadi.[7]
In 2015, Albasini took a prestigious podium placing at the La Flèche Wallonne, coming in third place atop the Mur de Huy behind Alejandro Valverde and Julian Alaphilippe.[8] He later won the second stage of the Tour de Romandie, having the better in the sprint of a group of 49 riders who had survived the climb and descent of the Col de la Vue des Alpes.[9] He repeated the feat the very next day in Porrentruy, winning by a couple of bike lengths over Julian Alaphilippe.[10] He had to abandon the Tour de France on Stage 5, suffering from a broken arm after a crash.[11]
In October 2019, Albasini announced that he would retire from the sport after the 2020 Tour de Suisse.[12] Following that race's cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland, Albasini announced that he intended to extend his career to the end of the 2020 season.[13]
Grand Tour general classification results timeline
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Classics results timeline
[edit]
Legend
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
- ^ "Mitchelton-Scott finalise 25-rider roster for 2019". Cyclingnews.com. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
- ^ "Wins from January to October: Mitchelton-Scott men confirm roster and goals for 2020". Mitchelton–Scott. New Global Cycling Services. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ^ "Michael Albasini to become Swiss national coach in 2021". Cyclingnews.com. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ Aubrey, Jane (5 September 2011). "Albasini joins GreenEdge in an "easy decision"". Cycling News. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ^ Atkins, Ben (19 March 2012). "Michael Albasini solos to Volta a Catalunya opener". VeloNation. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
- ^ "Albasini wins second straight stage at Catalunya". Cycling News. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
- ^ "Albasini takes win in Catalunya". Yahoo! Eurosport. TF1 Group. 25 March 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
- ^ "Valverde wins La Fleche Wallonne 2015". Cyclingnews.com. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
- ^ "Tour de Romandie: Albasini wins stage 2". Cyclingnews.com. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- ^ Spencer Powlison (30 April 2015). "Take two: Albasini wins second Romandie stage, wearing yellow". VeloNews. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ^ "Albasini abandons, fractures for heroic Matthews". Cycling Quotes. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
- ^ "Michael Albasini announces 2020 mid-season retirement". Cyclingnews.com. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ^ "Albasini prolongs career so he can retire on the road". Cyclingnews.com. 27 May 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.