Alessandro Ballan
Encyclopedia
Alessandro Ballan is an Italian
professional road bicycle racer for UCI Professional Continental team , and is a former world champion. Although he possesses a frame that is usually more associated with climbing, Ballan has established himself as a leading spring classics
contender in recent years. His nickname, Bontempino, is a diminutive reference to Guido Bontempi
, to whom he bears a resemblance.
and Gianluca Bortolami
. In 2005, Ballan was given the opportunity to aim for high placings in the spring classics and achieved a stage victory and second overall in the Three Days of De Panne
, along with sixth place in the Ronde van Vlaanderen
, having attacked the leading group with 37 km to go. Later in the season, he achieved his first ProTour victory in taking stage 4 of the Eneco Tour of Benelux.
In 2006, Ballan started his spring classics campaign as a highly rated contender, given his performances in 2005 and his success in the warm-up races in winning the Trofeo Laigueglia
, a second place to Tom Boonen
in the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
and third overall at the Tirreno–Adriatico. Ballan was a leading protagonist in the classics: he took fifth at the Ronde van Vlaanderen and followed this with third at Paris–Roubaix, following the disqualifications of Peter Van Petegem
, Vladimir Gusev and Leif Hoste
. Later in the season, Ballan further proved his talent with a second placing in stage 12 of the Tour de France
and a third place overall in the Tour de Pologne. Ballan finished in sixth place in the individual rankings of the 2006 UCI ProTour
.
In 2007 Ballan suffered a broken collarbone during Tirreno–Adriatico. Despite this injury, Ballan worked hard in Milan – San Remo, although Ballan's teamleader Daniele Bennati
did not win the race. Nearly two weeks later, Ballan won the Three Days of De Panne
after an escape during stage 1. Ballan did not win the stage, but beat his nearest opponent Luca Paolini
during the closing time trial, in which Ballan finished 10. On April 8, Ballan won the Ronde van Vlaanderen in a close sprint finish ahead of local favourite Leif Hoste
of Belgium
. Ballan is the first Italian to win the Ronde van Vlaanderen and the Three Days of De Panne
in the same season. On 19 August he won the Vattenfall Cyclassics
with an attack in the final kilometer, holding off all of the sprinters, including former winner Oscar Freire
and hot young German sprinter Gerald Ciolek
, to take his second one-day classic of the season.
His spring of 2008 wasn't as prolific as 2007 although he was involved in the decisive break of Paris–Roubaix and rode hard to a third place behind past winners Tom Boonen
and Fabian Cancellara
together with whom he entered the famous Roubaix veledrome losing out in a sprint to the line. This came a week after a fourth place in defence of his Ronde van Vlaanderen crown. He again opted to skip his home tour - the Giro d'Italia
, but raced in both the other grand tours - Tour de France
and Vuelta a España
, winning a mountain stage and wearing the leader's jersey in the latter.
In September 2008 Ballan won the UCI Road Race World Championships. In a race in which 2007 champion and Italian team mate Paolo Bettini
was favourite, Ballan was again involved in the decisive break on the final lap of the undulating Varese circuit. From a group of 12 riders, including 2 Italia team mates Damiano Cunego
and Davide Rebellin
, Ballan attacked from 1500 metres out and held off the sprint to win by 3 seconds in front of his home crowd.
As if suffering from the Rainbow jersey curse, Ballan was diagnosed with cytomegalovirus
in March 2009 and as a result was unable to contest that year's Spring Classics and Giro. During the Tour he also performed mediocre, only coming into the picture in the 19th stage as part of a breakaway which was caught before the finish line.
In August 2009, he won the Tour of Poland
. Ballan signed with for the 2010 season.
Ballan was under investigation for doping and had been subsequently suspended by the BMC cycling team. He was later cleared by BMC and allowed to race again on May 28.
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
professional road bicycle racer for UCI Professional Continental team , and is a former world champion. Although he possesses a frame that is usually more associated with climbing, Ballan has established himself as a leading spring classics
Classic cycle races
The classic cycle races are one-day professional cycling road races in the international calendar. Most of the events, all run in western Europe, have been fixtures on the professional calendar for decades and the oldest ones date back to the 19th Century. They are normally held at roughly the same...
contender in recent years. His nickname, Bontempino, is a diminutive reference to Guido Bontempi
Guido Bontempi
Guido Bontempi is an Italian former road bicycle racer. Bontempi's career highlights include winning the spring's classic Gent–Wevelgem two times and a total of 16 stages in the Giro d'Italia throughout his career. He also won six stages in the Tour de France and four stages in the Vuelta a España...
, to whom he bears a resemblance.
Career
Ballan turned professional in 2004 with the Lampre team. Despite a decent amateur career, Ballan was not sought after by professional teams, and required a little bit of help to secure a professional contract. In his first season, Ballan worked as a domestique for Romāns VainšteinsRomans Vainsteins
Romāns Vainšteins is a former professional road bicycle racer from Latvia. He won the road race at the 2000 world cycling championship in Plouay, France...
and Gianluca Bortolami
Gianluca Bortolami
Gianluca Bortolami is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist. Bortolami's greatest feats was capturing the monumental classic Ronde van Vlaanderen in 2001 and winning the 1994 UCI Road World Cup season championship....
. In 2005, Ballan was given the opportunity to aim for high placings in the spring classics and achieved a stage victory and second overall in the Three Days of De Panne
Three Days of De Panne
The Three Days of De Panne is a mid-week, three-day stage race before the Ronde van Vlaanderen in De Panne in West Flanders, Belgium. It is rated 2.HC by the UCI and is part of the UCI Europe Tour.- Winners :...
, along with sixth place in the Ronde van Vlaanderen
Ronde van Vlaanderen 2005
These are the results for the 2005 edition of the Tour of Flanders cycling classic, which saw the emergence of Tom Boonen in the Flemish classics. This edition was run under clear skies and good weather....
, having attacked the leading group with 37 km to go. Later in the season, he achieved his first ProTour victory in taking stage 4 of the Eneco Tour of Benelux.
In 2006, Ballan started his spring classics campaign as a highly rated contender, given his performances in 2005 and his success in the warm-up races in winning the Trofeo Laigueglia
Trofeo Laigueglia
The Trofeo Laigueglia is an early season road bicycle race held annually in Liguria, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is held about ten days after the opening to the Italian season, the Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi.-Palmarès:...
, a second place to 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...
in the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
The E3 Harelbeke is an annual cycling race in the Flanders area of Belgium. The race starts and finishes in Harelbeke over 210 kilometres. The event is organised by the Hand in Hand Cycling Club of Harelbeke and is ranked 1.HC on the UCI Continental calendar....
and third overall at the Tirreno–Adriatico. Ballan was a leading protagonist in the classics: he took fifth at the Ronde van Vlaanderen and followed this with third at Paris–Roubaix, following the disqualifications of Peter Van Petegem
Peter van Petegem
Peter van Petegem is a former professional road racing cyclist. Van Petegem last rode for Quick Step-Innergetic, in 2007. He lived in Horebeke. He was a specialist in spring classics, one of ten riders to win the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris–Roubaix in the same season...
, Vladimir Gusev and Leif Hoste
Leif Hoste
Leif Hoste is a Belgian professional road racing cyclist since 1998. He rides on the UCI ProTour for . His career highlights include winning two stages and the overall title at the 2006 Three Days of De Panne, the 2001 and 2006 Belgian national time trial championships, and a second place finish...
. Later in the season, Ballan further proved his talent with a second placing in stage 12 of the Tour de France
2006 Tour de France
The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd Tour de France, taking place from July 1 to July 23, 2006. It was won by Óscar Pereiro following the disqualification of apparent winner Floyd Landis....
and a third place overall in the Tour de Pologne. Ballan finished in sixth place in the individual rankings of the 2006 UCI ProTour
2006 UCI ProTour
The 2006 UCI ProTour was the second year of the UCI ProTour system, in which the ProTour teams are guaranteed, and obliged to, participate in the series of ProTour races....
.
In 2007 Ballan suffered a broken collarbone during Tirreno–Adriatico. Despite this injury, Ballan worked hard in Milan – San Remo, although Ballan's teamleader Daniele Bennati
Daniele Bennati
Daniele Bennati is an Italian road racing cyclist specializing in fast sprint finishes. He currently rides for UCI ProTeam . He turned professional in 2002, when he joined the team and wore zebra stripes as part of Mario Cipollini’s leadout train...
did not win the race. Nearly two weeks later, Ballan won the Three Days of De Panne
Three Days of De Panne
The Three Days of De Panne is a mid-week, three-day stage race before the Ronde van Vlaanderen in De Panne in West Flanders, Belgium. It is rated 2.HC by the UCI and is part of the UCI Europe Tour.- Winners :...
after an escape during stage 1. Ballan did not win the stage, but beat his nearest opponent Luca Paolini
Luca Paolini
Luca Paolini is an Italian road bicycle racer who rides for UCI ProTeam . Paolini's home was searched in a doping investigation which was called Operazione Athena - however it appears that no evidence was found that led to any conviction of involvement in doping.- Major achievements...
during the closing time trial, in which Ballan finished 10. On April 8, Ballan won the Ronde van Vlaanderen in a close sprint finish ahead of local favourite Leif Hoste
Leif Hoste
Leif Hoste is a Belgian professional road racing cyclist since 1998. He rides on the UCI ProTour for . His career highlights include winning two stages and the overall title at the 2006 Three Days of De Panne, the 2001 and 2006 Belgian national time trial championships, and a second place finish...
of Belgium
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...
. Ballan is the first Italian to win the Ronde van Vlaanderen and the Three Days of De Panne
Three Days of De Panne
The Three Days of De Panne is a mid-week, three-day stage race before the Ronde van Vlaanderen in De Panne in West Flanders, Belgium. It is rated 2.HC by the UCI and is part of the UCI Europe Tour.- Winners :...
in the same season. On 19 August he won the Vattenfall Cyclassics
Vattenfall Cyclassics
The Vattenfall Cyclassics is an annual one-day pro and amateur cycling race in and around Hamburg. Although it is a race with a short history, it is nevertheless reckoned as a classic. It started as an unimportant race in 1996, but because of the fast growing popularity of cycling in Germany, it...
with an attack in the final kilometer, holding off all of the sprinters, including former winner Oscar 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...
and hot young German sprinter Gerald Ciolek
Gerald Ciolek
Gerald Michael Ciolek is a German professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . In 2005, Ciolek won the German National Championship road race at age 18, the youngest ever rider to do so....
, to take his second one-day classic of the season.
His spring of 2008 wasn't as prolific as 2007 although he was involved in the decisive break of Paris–Roubaix and rode hard to a third place behind past winners 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...
and Fabian Cancellara
Fabian Cancellara
Fabian Cancellara is a Swiss professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . A time trial specialist, he is a four-time World Time Trial Champion and is the current Olympic gold medalist...
together with whom he entered the famous Roubaix veledrome losing out in a sprint to the line. This came a week after a fourth place in defence of his Ronde van Vlaanderen crown. He again opted to skip his home tour - 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...
, but raced in both the other grand tours - Tour de France
2008 Tour de France
The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th Tour de France. The event took place from 5–27 July 2008. Starting in the French city of Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16th, heading for Paris, its regular final destination, which was reached in the 21st stage...
and Vuelta a España
2008 Vuelta a España
The 2008 Vuelta a España was the 63rd edition of the Vuelta a España, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The event took place from 30 August to 21 September 2008 over 21 stages covering . The first stage was a team time trial in Granada. The event finished in Madrid 23 days later...
, winning a mountain stage and wearing the leader's jersey in the latter.
In September 2008 Ballan won the UCI Road Race World Championships. In a race in which 2007 champion and Italian team mate 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...
was favourite, Ballan was again involved in the decisive break on the final lap of the undulating Varese circuit. From a group of 12 riders, including 2 Italia team mates 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...
and Davide Rebellin
Davide Rebellin
Davide Rebellin is an Italian road bicycle racer, currently riding for the Italian Miche-Guerciotti team. He served a 2-year suspension for testing positive for Mircera at the 2008 Olympic Games...
, Ballan attacked from 1500 metres out and held off the sprint to win by 3 seconds in front of his home crowd.
As if suffering from the Rainbow jersey curse, Ballan was diagnosed with cytomegalovirus
Cytomegalovirus
Cytomegalovirus is a viral genus of the viral group known as Herpesviridae or herpesviruses. It is typically abbreviated as CMV: The species that infects humans is commonly known as human CMV or human herpesvirus-5 , and is the most studied of all cytomegaloviruses...
in March 2009 and as a result was unable to contest that year's Spring Classics and Giro. During the Tour he also performed mediocre, only coming into the picture in the 19th stage as part of a breakaway which was caught before the finish line.
In August 2009, he won the Tour of Poland
2009 Tour de Pologne
The 2009 Tour de Pologne was the 66th running of the Tour de Pologne, in the 81st year since the first edition. The event was part of both the 2009 UCI ProTour and the inaugural World Calendar, and ran from 2–8 August, starting in Warsaw and finishing in Kraków.After four stages that were...
. Ballan signed with for the 2010 season.
Ballan was under investigation for doping and had been subsequently suspended by the BMC cycling team. He was later cleared by BMC and allowed to race again on May 28.
Palmarès
2005- 1st Stage 1 Three Days of De PanneThree Days of De PanneThe Three Days of De Panne is a mid-week, three-day stage race before the Ronde van Vlaanderen in De Panne in West Flanders, Belgium. It is rated 2.HC by the UCI and is part of the UCI Europe Tour.- Winners :...
- 1st Stage 4 Eneco Tour of Benelux
- 6th Ronde van Vlaanderen
2006
- 1st Trofeo LaiguegliaTrofeo LaiguegliaThe Trofeo Laigueglia is an early season road bicycle race held annually in Liguria, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is held about ten days after the opening to the Italian season, the Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi.-Palmarès:...
- 2nd E3 Harelbeke
- 2nd Stage 12 Tour de France2006 Tour de FranceThe 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd Tour de France, taking place from July 1 to July 23, 2006. It was won by Óscar Pereiro following the disqualification of apparent winner Floyd Landis....
- 3rd Paris–Roubaix
- 3rd Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
- 5th Ronde van Vlaanderen
- 8th Milan – San Remo
2007
- 1st
Overall, Three Days of De PanneThree Days of De PanneThe Three Days of De Panne is a mid-week, three-day stage race before the Ronde van Vlaanderen in De Panne in West Flanders, Belgium. It is rated 2.HC by the UCI and is part of the UCI Europe Tour.- Winners :... - 1st Ronde van Vlaanderen2007 Ronde van VlaanderenThe 2007 Tour of Flanders cycle race was the 91st edition of this monumental classic and took place on April 8.The day's break formed at kilometer 29 and included José Vicente García , Laurent Mangel , Enrico Franzoi , Maarten Tjallingii , Aleksandr Kuschynski , Evert Verbist and David Boucher...
- 1st Vattenfall CyclassicsVattenfall CyclassicsThe Vattenfall Cyclassics is an annual one-day pro and amateur cycling race in and around Hamburg. Although it is a race with a short history, it is nevertheless reckoned as a classic. It started as an unimportant race in 1996, but because of the fast growing popularity of cycling in Germany, it...
- 4th Clásica de San Sebastián2007 Clásica de San SebastiánThe 2007 Clásica de San Sebastián cycle race took place in the Basque city of San Sebastián on August 4, 2007.-General Standings:-External links:*...
- 5th Overall Tour de Pologne2007 Tour de PologneThe 2007 Tour de Pologne will be held from September 9 to 15, 2007 in Poland. The race will begin with a very short team time trial in the streets of Warsaw and have its toughest stages, once again, in the proximity of Jelenia Góra. In all, the race will comprise seven stages.-Jersey progress...
2008
- 1st
UCIUnion Cycliste InternationaleUnion Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland....
Road Race World Championships2008 UCI Road World ChampionshipsThe 2008 UCI Road World Championships took place in Varese, Italy, between September 23 and September 28, 2008. The event consisted of a road race and a time trial for men, women and men under 23.-Medals table:-Events summary:-External links:**... - 1st Stage 7 Vuelta a EspañaVuelta a EspañaThe 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...
- 2nd Montepaschi Strade Bianche
- 3rd Paris–Roubaix
- 4th Ronde van Vlaanderen2008 Ronde van VlaanderenThe 2008 Tour of Flanders cycle race was the 92nd edition of this monumental classic and took place on April 6. The course was 264 km long and went from Brugge to Meerbeke....
2009
- 1st Overall, Tour de Pologne
- 1st Stage 5
2010
- 2nd Stage 15 Tour de France2010 Tour de FranceThe 2010 Tour de France was the 97th edition of the Tour de France cycle race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on with an 8.9 km prologue time trial in Rotterdam, the first start in the Netherlands since 1996...
- 3rd Italian National Road Race Championships
- 5th Overall, Tour de Pologne2010 Tour de PologneThe 2010 Tour de Pologne was the 67th running of the Tour de Pologne, in the 82nd year since the first edition. The event was part of both the 2010 UCI ProTour and the World Calendar...
2011
- 2nd Montepaschi Strade Bianche
- 4th Milan – San Remo2011 Milan – San RemoThe 2011 Milan – San Remo was the 102nd running of the Milan – San Remo single-day cycling race. It was held on 19 March over a distance of and was the fourth race of the 2011 UCI World Tour season....
- 6th Paris–Roubaix2011 Paris–RoubaixThe 2011 Paris–Roubaix was the 109th running of the Paris–Roubaix single-day cycling race, often known as the Hell of the North. It was held on 10 April 2011 over a distance of and was the ninth race of the 2011 UCI World Tour season....