2005 UCI ProTour
Encyclopedia
The 2005 ProTour was the first year of the newly introduced UCI
ProTour
system, in which the ProTour teams are guaranteed, and obliged to, participate in the series of ProTour races. In certain ways the ProTour replaced the UCI Road World Cup series of one-day races, which in 2004 was won by one-day specialist Paolo Bettini
for the third time in a row. The beginning of the ProTour saw difficult negotiations with the organizers of the Grand Tours
, the Tour de France
, the Giro d'Italia
and the Vuelta a España
.
Bobby Julich on the top step of the General Classification
, combining his strong prologue individual time trial
performance and good placing in the Mont Faron
queen stage. Sprinter Alessandro Petacchi
shed some weight over the winter and built up a strong base to win the classic Milan – San Remo convincingly, leading to speculation that he will be the undisputed Italian team leader for the World Cycling Championship
in Madrid later in the season.
Belgian
sprinter Tom Boonen
of showed that he was the strongest kasseinfretter, or cobble-eater, by winning both the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris–Roubaix cobbled classics, propelling him to the top of the UCI ProTour rankings and thus earning him the white leaders jersey.
As the spring classics campaign continues, Bettini was plagued with injuries, but fellow one-day specialist Danilo Di Luca
of found his best form in years and won the Vuelta al País Vasco race. With his confidence boosted, he topped his form with wins in both La Flèche Wallonne
and the Amstel Gold Race
, leading many to speculate that he would also win the Liège–Bastogne–Liège. However, Jens Voigt
committed himself to long breakaways in both la Flèche and Liège, and in the later race was joined by Kazakh Alexandre Vinokourov. Together they managed to keep the peloton
behind, and Voigt was beaten in the final sprint by Vinokourov.
, joining Gilberto Simoni
of in igniting the queen mountain stage of Sestriere
. The same race also saw Damiano Cunego
, who finished at the top UCI ranking last year, fall ill. In the end, the descending skills and strong form of Paolo Savoldelli
earned him the maglia rosa
in Milan
.
The 2005 Tour de France
again brought Lance Armstrong
to the win, extending his record for consecutive Tour wins to 7. Despite promises of igniting the race with the trio of Jan Ullrich
, Andreas Klöden
and Vinokourov, the failed to wrestle the race control from Armstrong's Discovery team, and allegations flew abound of internal dispute within the team. Instead Ivan Basso
showed himself as a main contender, though he never seemed to pressure Armstrong. As in the previous editions, Armstrong's team launched a vicious attack on an early mountain stage to discourage other contenders from pursuing the top podium. Spanish
racer Alejandro Valverde
of showed that he is a serious contender for the future by not only staying with Armstrong, but by sprinting away to win the stage at the finale. However, both Valverde and green jersey
contender Tom Boonen were forced to quit due to injuries.
The Vuelta brought an exciting race in which Denis Menchov
was able to stave off attacks by Roberto Heras
and his strong team until the closing days of the race. A choreographed attack by Liberty Seguros climbers, and Heras' thrilling ride down a treacherous descent, finally won him the leader's jersey. However, a doping
scandal erupted two months after the Vuelta. Urine samples taken from Heras after the final time trial proved to be positive for EPO
. Heras was stripped of what had been his record-setting fourth win, and Menchov was elevated to first place.
had the confidence of the entire Belgian team, and won in style in Madrid. Petacchi, despite being the favorite, claimed to have suffered from a cold, and could not keep in contention as the peloton ascended the last climb before the finale. Valverde, having taken the Spanish team leadership after the injury of Óscar Freire
, overcame his own injury to finish second, his second podium placing in race that tactically was not well-suited to his style.
The finale brought an exciting race as Paolo Bettini, having regained his form, was unleashed a little too late by Italian selector Franco Ballerini
and nearly stayed away with Vinokourov in the closing meters of the race.
decided to join fellow sprinter Petacchi in the newly formed . As his last race with the T-Mobile team, Zabel took the sprinters classic Paris–Tours to end his career in style.
Smarting from his disappointment at the World Championships, Bettini won Züri-Metzgete convincingly, with a 40-km solo attack in the rain that was almost derailed by his chain dropping off his chainring after his first acceleration. Proving that he is a better climber than ever before, he won the climbers classic Giro di Lombardia in a three-way sprint with Gilberto Simoni and Fränk Schleck
.
Team classification winner got 20 points, second 19, third 18 etc. Wildcard teams didn't score points, but ProTour teams didn't move up either. For example, no team received 20 points in Vuelta
as team competition was won by Comunidad Valenciana.
Union Cycliste Internationale
Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland....
ProTour
UCI ProTour
The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI . Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, each of whom are required to compete in every round of the series...
system, in which the ProTour teams are guaranteed, and obliged to, participate in the series of ProTour races. In certain ways the ProTour replaced the UCI Road World Cup series of one-day races, which in 2004 was won by one-day specialist Paolo Bettini
Paolo Bettini
Paolo Bettini is an Italian former champion road racing cyclist, and the coach of the Italian national cycling team. Considered the best classics specialist of his generation, and probably one of the strongest of all times, he won gold medals in the 2004 Athens Olympics road race and in the 2006...
for the third time in a row. The beginning of the ProTour saw difficult negotiations with the organizers of the Grand Tours
Grand Tour (cycling)
In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European professional cycling stage races:* Tour de France – Tour of France , held in July* Giro d'Italia – Tour of Italy , held in May...
, the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
, the Giro d'Italia
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
and the Vuelta a España
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...
.
Spring classics
Following tradition, had a strong showing in the early season, with a commanding control of the season opener Paris–Nice, placing AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Bobby Julich on the top step of the General Classification
General Classification
The general classification in bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for bicycle riders in multi-stage bicycle races...
, combining his strong prologue individual time trial
Individual time trial
An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...
performance and good placing in the Mont Faron
Mont Faron
Mont Faron is a mountain overlooking the city and roadstead of Toulon, France. It is 584m high. At its peak is a memorial dedicated to the 1944 Allied landings in Provence , and to the liberation of Toulon....
queen stage. Sprinter Alessandro Petacchi
Alessandro Petacchi
Alessandro Petacchi is an Italian professional road racing cyclist for .A specialist sprinter, Petacchi has won 51 grand tour stages with wins of the points jersey in the Giro d'Italia in 2004, the Vuelta a España in 2005 and the Tour de France in 2010.In 2007 Alessandro was banned from cycling...
shed some weight over the winter and built up a strong base to win the classic Milan – San Remo convincingly, leading to speculation that he will be the undisputed Italian team leader for the World Cycling Championship
World Cycling Championship
The UCI Road World Championships, often referred to as the World Cycling Championships, is the annual world championship for bicycle road racing organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale . The UCI Road World Championships include championships for elite men's road race and individual time trial...
in Madrid later in the season.
Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
sprinter Tom Boonen
Tom Boonen
Tom Boonen is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer who won the 2005 World Road Race Championship. He is a member of the team, and is considered a single-day road race specialist with a strong finishing sprint...
of showed that he was the strongest kasseinfretter, or cobble-eater, by winning both the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris–Roubaix cobbled classics, propelling him to the top of the UCI ProTour rankings and thus earning him the white leaders jersey.
As the spring classics campaign continues, Bettini was plagued with injuries, but fellow one-day specialist Danilo Di Luca
Danilo Di Luca
Danilo Di Luca is an Italian professional road racing cyclist who rode for numerous UCI Professional Continental teams throughout his career including Liquigas-Bianchi and . He holds victories in the Giro di Lombardia in 2001, the 2005 UCI ProTour and won both the Giro d'Italia and the spring...
of found his best form in years and won the Vuelta al País Vasco race. With his confidence boosted, he topped his form with wins in both La Flèche Wallonne
La Flèche Wallonne
La Flèche Wallonne is a major men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Belgium.The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is today normally held mid-week between the Amstel Gold Race and Liège–Bastogne–Liège...
and the Amstel Gold Race
Amstel Gold Race
The Amstel Gold Race is a road bicycle race held in the southern part of the province of Limburg, Netherlands. Since 1989 it has been among the races included in season long rankings tables, as part of the UCI Road World Cup , the UCI ProTour , UCI World Ranking and from 2011 the UCI World Tour...
, leading many to speculate that he would also win the Liège–Bastogne–Liège. However, Jens Voigt
Jens Voigt
Jens Voigt is a German professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . Voigt is known for his propensity to attack, and for his positive racing attitude. He is capable of repeated attacking, holding a high tempo, and breaking away from the peloton...
committed himself to long breakaways in both la Flèche and Liège, and in the later race was joined by Kazakh Alexandre Vinokourov. Together they managed to keep the peloton
Peloton
The peloton , field, bunch or pack is the large main group of riders in a road bicycle race. Riders in a group save energy by riding close near other riders...
behind, and Voigt was beaten in the final sprint by Vinokourov.
Grand tours
Having earned the ProTour white leader's jersey, Di Luca further increased his lead with a stage win and fourth place in the general classification of the 2005 Giro d'Italia2005 Giro d'Italia
The 2005 Giro d'Italia, the 88th running of the race, was held from 7 May to 29 May 2005, consisting of 21 stages for a total of 3,417 km, ridden at an average speed of 37,375 km/h...
, joining Gilberto Simoni
Gilberto Simoni
Gilberto Simoni is an Italian ex-professional road bicycle racer, most recently for . Simoni is twice winner of the Giro d'Italia cycling race...
of in igniting the queen mountain stage of Sestriere
Sestriere
Sestriere is an alpine village in Italy, a comune of the Province of Turin. It is from the French border. Its name derives from Latin: ad petram sistrariam, that is at sixty Roman miles from Turin....
. The same race also saw Damiano Cunego
Damiano Cunego
Damiano Cunego is an Italian professional road racing cyclist who rides for the Italian UCI ProTeam . His biggest wins are the 2004 Giro d'Italia, the 2008 Amstel Gold Race, and the Giro di Lombardia in 2004, 2007, 2008. He finished second in the UCI Road World Championships in 2008 and in the...
, who finished at the top UCI ranking last year, fall ill. In the end, the descending skills and strong form of Paolo Savoldelli
Paolo Savoldelli
Paolo Savoldelli is an Italian former road racing cyclist and winner of the 2002 and 2005 Giro d'Italia....
earned him the maglia rosa
Maglia rosa
The pink jersey is awarded to the leader of the General Classification at the Giro d'Italia. The leader of the GC is the rider who has the fastest time when all the stage results are added together, taking into account time bonuses for high finishes and intermediate sprints...
in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
.
The 2005 Tour de France
2005 Tour de France
The 2005 Tour de France was the 92nd Tour de France, taking place from July 2 to July 24, 2005. It comprised 21 stages over 3592.5 km, the winner's average speed was 41.654 km/h. The first stages were held in the département of the Vendée, for the third time in 12 years. The 2005 Tour was...
again brought Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support...
to the win, extending his record for consecutive Tour wins to 7. Despite promises of igniting the race with the trio of Jan Ullrich
Jan Ullrich
Jan Ullrich is a German former professional road bicycle racer. In 1997, he was the first German to win the Tour de France. He went on to take five second places and a fourth in 2004 and third in 2005. He is considered one of the best time-trialists in the history of the sport...
, Andreas Klöden
Andreas Klöden
Andreas Klöden is a German professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . His major achievements include a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games and second place in the 2004 Tour de France and 2006 Tour de France...
and Vinokourov, the failed to wrestle the race control from Armstrong's Discovery team, and allegations flew abound of internal dispute within the team. Instead Ivan Basso
Ivan Basso
Ivan Basso is an Italian professional road bicycle racer who is currently racing with UCI ProTeam . Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, is among the best mountain riders in the professional field in the 21st century, and is considered one of the strongest stage race riders...
showed himself as a main contender, though he never seemed to pressure Armstrong. As in the previous editions, Armstrong's team launched a vicious attack on an early mountain stage to discourage other contenders from pursuing the top podium. Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
racer Alejandro Valverde
Alejandro Valverde
Alejandro Valverde Belmonte is a Spanish road racing cyclist currently under suspension. He last rode for UCI ProTour team . Valverde's biggest wins have been the 2009 Vuelta a España, the Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2006, 2008 and 2006 UCI ProTour series championship...
of showed that he is a serious contender for the future by not only staying with Armstrong, but by sprinting away to win the stage at the finale. However, both Valverde and green jersey
Green jersey
The green jersey is a term used in road bicycle racing and Grand Tour stage races in particular. The green jersey is a distinctive racing jersey worn by the leader in a subsidiary competition....
contender Tom Boonen were forced to quit due to injuries.
The Vuelta brought an exciting race in which Denis Menchov
Denis Menchov
Denis Nikolayevich Menchov , born 25 January 1978 in Oryol, is a professional Russian road bicycle racer for . He is a general classification rider and a climber. In 2005 he won the Vuelta a España, which he won for a second time in 2007...
was able to stave off attacks by Roberto Heras
Roberto Heras
Roberto Heras Hernández is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer who won the Vuelta a España a record-tying three times. He broke the record with a fourth win in 2005, but was disqualified for taking EPO. In June 2011, Heras successfully appealed the disqualification in the civil court...
and his strong team until the closing days of the race. A choreographed attack by Liberty Seguros climbers, and Heras' thrilling ride down a treacherous descent, finally won him the leader's jersey. However, a doping
Doping (sport)
The use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport is commonly referred to by the term "doping", particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The use of performance enhancing drugs is mostly done to improve athletic performance. This is why many sports ban the use of performance...
scandal erupted two months after the Vuelta. Urine samples taken from Heras after the final time trial proved to be positive for EPO
Erythropoietin
Erythropoietin, or its alternatives erythropoetin or erthropoyetin or EPO, is a glycoprotein hormone that controls erythropoiesis, or red blood cell production...
. Heras was stripped of what had been his record-setting fourth win, and Menchov was elevated to first place.
World championships
Belgian Tom BoonenTom Boonen
Tom Boonen is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer who won the 2005 World Road Race Championship. He is a member of the team, and is considered a single-day road race specialist with a strong finishing sprint...
had the confidence of the entire Belgian team, and won in style in Madrid. Petacchi, despite being the favorite, claimed to have suffered from a cold, and could not keep in contention as the peloton ascended the last climb before the finale. Valverde, having taken the Spanish team leadership after the injury of Óscar Freire
Óscar Freire
Óscar Freire Gómez is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer, riding for the UCI ProTeam Rabobank. He is one of the top sprinters in road bicycle racing, having won the world championship a three times, equalling Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbergen and Eddy Merckx...
, overcame his own injury to finish second, his second podium placing in race that tactically was not well-suited to his style.
The finale brought an exciting race as Paolo Bettini, having regained his form, was unleashed a little too late by Italian selector Franco Ballerini
Franco Ballerini
Franco Ballerini was an Italian road racing cyclist.Born in Florence, his greatest exploits as a rider came with his two victories in the cycling classic Paris–Roubaix, riding for the Mapei cycling team. In 1993 he was beaten on the line by Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle in an exciting Paris–Roubaix finale...
and nearly stayed away with Vinokourov in the closing meters of the race.
Summer and Autumn Classics
Having been left off the Tour de France lineup, Erik ZabelErik Zabel
Erik Zabel is a former German professional road bicycle racer who last raced with Milram. With over 200 professional wins he is considered by some one of the greatest German cyclists and best cycling sprinters of history...
decided to join fellow sprinter Petacchi in the newly formed . As his last race with the T-Mobile team, Zabel took the sprinters classic Paris–Tours to end his career in style.
Smarting from his disappointment at the World Championships, Bettini won Züri-Metzgete convincingly, with a 40-km solo attack in the rain that was almost derailed by his chain dropping off his chainring after his first acceleration. Proving that he is a better climber than ever before, he won the climbers classic Giro di Lombardia in a three-way sprint with Gilberto Simoni and Fränk Schleck
Fränk Schleck
Fränk René Schleck is a Luxembourgish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . At the start of 2005, Schleck was joined by his younger brother Andy on , and they split the 2005 national championships between them, with Fränk winning the road race and Andy winning the time trial...
.
2005 ProTour results
| Date | Race | Country | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 6–13 | Paris–Nice | |||
| March 9–15 | Tirreno–Adriatico | |||
| March 19 | Milan – San Remo | |||
| April 3 | Ronde van Vlaanderen | |||
| April 5–9 | Vuelta al País Vasco | |||
| April 6 | Gent–Wevelgem | |||
| April 10 | Paris–Roubaix | |||
| April 17 | Amstel Gold Race | |||
| April 20 | La Flèche Wallonne | |||
| April 24 | Liège–Bastogne–Liège | |||
| April 26 – May 1 | Tour de Romandie | |||
| May 7–29 | Giro d'Italia 2005 Giro d'Italia The 2005 Giro d'Italia, the 88th running of the race, was held from 7 May to 29 May 2005, consisting of 21 stages for a total of 3,417 km, ridden at an average speed of 37,375 km/h... |
|||
| May 16–22 | Volta a Catalunya | |||
| June 5–12 | Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré | |||
| June 11–19 | Tour de Suisse | |||
| June 19 | Eindhoven Team Time Trial | team event | ||
| July 2–24 | Tour de France 2005 Tour de France The 2005 Tour de France was the 92nd Tour de France, taking place from July 2 to July 24, 2005. It comprised 21 stages over 3592.5 km, the winner's average speed was 41.654 km/h. The first stages were held in the département of the Vendée, for the third time in 12 years. The 2005 Tour was... |
|||
| July 31 | HEW Cyclassics | |||
| August 3–10 | Eneco Tour of Benelux | |||
| August 13 | Clásica de San Sebastián | |||
| August 15–23 | Deutschland Tour | |||
| August 27–18 | Vuelta a España | |||
| August 28 | GP Ouest-France | |||
| September 12–18 | Tour de Pologne | |||
| September 25 | Road World Championships | |||
| October 2 | Züri-Metzgete | |||
| October 9 | Paris–Tours | |||
| October 15 | Giro di Lombardia |
2005 ProTour Points System
| Tour de France | Giro d'Italia Vuelta a España |
Milan – San Remo Ronde van Vlaanderen Paris–Roubaix Liège–Bastogne–Liège Giro di Lombardia Lesser stageraces |
Lesser one-day races | World Cycling Championship | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Classement | |||||
| 1 | 100 | 85 | 50 | 40 | 50 |
| 2 | 75 | 65 | 40 | 30 | 40 |
| 3 | 60 | 50 | 35 | 25 | 35 |
| 4 | 55 | 45 | 30 | 20 | |
| 5 | 50 | 40 | 25 | 15 | |
| 6 | 45 | 35 | 20 | 11 | |
| 7 | 40 | 30 | 15 | 7 | |
| 8 | 35 | 26 | 10 | 5 | |
| 9 | 30 | 22 | 5 | 3 | |
| 10 | 25 | 19 | 1 | 1 | |
| 11 | 20 | 16 | |||
| 12 | 15 | 13 | |||
| 13 | 12 | 11 | |||
| 14 | 9 | 9 | |||
| 15 | 7 | 7 | |||
| 16 | 5 | 5 | |||
| 17 | 4 | 4 | |||
| 18 | 3 | 3 | |||
| 19 | 2 | 2 | |||
| 20 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Stage wins (if applicable) | |||||
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 2 | 2 | |||
| 3 | 1 | 1 | |||
2005 ProTour Individual Rankings
| Rider | Team | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 229 | ||
| 2 | 171 | ||
| 3 | 151 | ||
| 4 | 140 | ||
| 5 | 139 | ||
| 6 | 136 | ||
| 7 | 131 | ||
| 8 | 130 | ||
| 9 | 130 | ||
| 10 | 129 | ||
| 11 | 128 | ||
| 12 | 111 | ||
| 13 | 110 | ||
| 14 | 109 | ||
| 15 | 107 | ||
2005 ProTour Team Rankings
Team classification winner got 20 points, second 19, third 18 etc. Wildcard teams didn't score points, but ProTour teams didn't move up either. For example, no team received 20 points in Vuelta
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...
as team competition was won by Comunidad Valenciana.
2005 ProTour Nation Rankings
| Country | Points | |
|---|---|---|
| >- | >- | >- | >- | >- | >- | >- | >- | >- | 153 |
| >- | >- | >- | >- | >- | >- | >- | >- | >- | >- | >- | >- | 1 |