Mauricio Soler
Encyclopedia
Juan Mauricio Soler Hernández (born January 14, 1983 in Ramiriquí
, Boyacá
) is a Colombia
n professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour
team . He competed in the Tour de France
for the first time in 2007
, winning stage 9 having broken away on the Col du Galibier
. He won that year's King of the Mountains
title. Soler stated the stage win was "a victory from heaven. It is the biggest win of my life, and in my first Tour de France. I didn't think it would come so quickly." He finished 11th overall that year.
Soler began racing at the age of 17, he stated a race in his village is what made him decide to become a professional cyclist. Upon becoming a professional, Soler spent a year racing in his native Colombia and soon after joined the Acqua & Sapone team where he was guided by Claudio Corti, who later brought him to the Barloworld team.
Soler's 2008 tour dreams were shattered, after having crashed in the final kilometers of the first stage. He was forced to drop out after a CT scan showed a microfracture in his wrist.
He made the switch to the Caisse D'Epargne team in 2010, and will compete in the Tour de France for the first time in two seasons, and hopefully his first full tour since 2007. He is favoured to be among the top 15-20 riders in the Tour De France.
Due to a knee injury he got following a crash in the Critérium du Dauphiné he was unable to be fit for the Tour De France 2010 and was therefore not part of the starters for Caisse D'Epargne.
After his long history of injuries and illnesses, Soler won his first race in four years on Sunday, June 12, 2011 by winning stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse with its difficult mountain top finish. It marked a return to his status as a world class climber and Soler and his team were poised compete in the Tour de France in July.
Early in stage six on Thursday, June 16, 2011, while in second place overall in the race, riding with the peloton in a downhill section at about fifty miles per hour Soler hit a small raised piece of curbing from an adjacent foot path, hit a spectator, was thrown into a solid fence and was gravely injured. He suffered a fractured skull and a cerebral edema, and other fractures and hematomas. Soler has been placed in a medically induced coma. Two days after the crash Soler has shown signs of improvement but is still in the coma.
By July 8, 2011, Soler's condition had stabilized enough for a move to Spain to be considered but doctors report he's showing signs of "serious cognitive deficits" due to his head injury.
2007
2008
2009
2011
Ramiriquí
Ramiriquí is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Márquez Province.- Famous people from Ramiriqui :*Mauricio Soler *Jose Ignacio de Marquez - Maps :*...
, Boyacá
Boyacá Department
Boyacá is one of the 32 Departments of Colombia, and the remnant of one of the original nine states of the "United States of Colombia".Boyacá is centrally located within Colombia, almost entirely within the mountains of the Eastern Cordillera to the border with Venezuela, although the western end...
) is a Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n professional road bicycle racer for UCI 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...
team . He competed in 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...
for the first time in 2007
2007 Tour de France
The 2007 Tour de France, the 94th running of the race, took place from 7 July to 29 July 2007. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and Spain...
, winning stage 9 having broken away on the Col du Galibier
Col du Galibier
Col du Galibier is a mountain pass in the southern region of the French Dauphiné Alps near Grenoble. It is the ninth highest paved road in the Alps and the sixth highest mountain pass. It is often the highest point of the Tour de France....
. He won that year's King of the Mountains
King of the Mountains
The King of the Mountains is the title given to the best climber in a cycling road race; usually and officially known as the Mountains classification...
title. Soler stated the stage win was "a victory from heaven. It is the biggest win of my life, and in my first Tour de France. I didn't think it would come so quickly." He finished 11th overall that year.
Soler began racing at the age of 17, he stated a race in his village is what made him decide to become a professional cyclist. Upon becoming a professional, Soler spent a year racing in his native Colombia and soon after joined the Acqua & Sapone team where he was guided by Claudio Corti, who later brought him to the Barloworld team.
Soler's 2008 tour dreams were shattered, after having crashed in the final kilometers of the first stage. He was forced to drop out after a CT scan showed a microfracture in his wrist.
He made the switch to the Caisse D'Epargne team in 2010, and will compete in the Tour de France for the first time in two seasons, and hopefully his first full tour since 2007. He is favoured to be among the top 15-20 riders in the Tour De France.
Due to a knee injury he got following a crash in the Critérium du Dauphiné he was unable to be fit for the Tour De France 2010 and was therefore not part of the starters for Caisse D'Epargne.
After his long history of injuries and illnesses, Soler won his first race in four years on Sunday, June 12, 2011 by winning stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse with its difficult mountain top finish. It marked a return to his status as a world class climber and Soler and his team were poised compete in the Tour de France in July.
Early in stage six on Thursday, June 16, 2011, while in second place overall in the race, riding with the peloton in a downhill section at about fifty miles per hour Soler hit a small raised piece of curbing from an adjacent foot path, hit a spectator, was thrown into a solid fence and was gravely injured. He suffered a fractured skull and a cerebral edema, and other fractures and hematomas. Soler has been placed in a medically induced coma. Two days after the crash Soler has shown signs of improvement but is still in the coma.
By July 8, 2011, Soler's condition had stabilized enough for a move to Spain to be considered but doctors report he's showing signs of "serious cognitive deficits" due to his head injury.
Victories
2006- 1st Overall Circuit de Lorraine
- 1st Stage 2
2007
- 1st Stage 9 Tour de France2007 Tour de FranceThe 2007 Tour de France, the 94th running of the race, took place from 7 July to 29 July 2007. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and Spain...
:- 1st
King of the Mountains
- 1st
- 1st Overall Vuelta a BurgosVuelta a BurgosVuelta Ciclista a Burgos is an elite men's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the Burgos province of Spain. Since 2005, Vuelta a Burgos has been a multi-day stage race as part of the UCI Europe Tour.-Palmarés:...
- 1st Stage 2
2008
- 2nd overall Vuelta a Castilla y LeónVuelta a Castilla y LeónThe Vuelta Ciclista a Castilla y León is a professional road bicycle stage race held in Castile and León, Spain. Since 2005, Vuelta a Castilla y León has been a part of the UCI Europe Tour.-Past winners:-External links:*...
2009
- 2nd Overall Settimana Lombarda
- 4th Stage 4 Giro d'Italia2009 Giro d'ItaliaThe 2009 Giro d'Italia was the 92nd running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It was held from 9 to 31 May 2009, and marked the 100th year since the first edition of the race...
2011
- 1st Stage 2 Tour de Suisse2011 Tour de SuisseThe 2011 Tour de Suisse was the 75th running of the Tour de Suisse cycling stage race. It started on 11 June with an individual time trial in Lugano and ended with another individual time trial on 19 June, in Schaffhausen...