Óscar Freire

Freire in the 2008 Ronde van Vlaanderen
Personal information
Full name	Óscar Freire Gómez
Nickname	The Cat, Oscarito
Date of birth	February 15, 1976 (1976-02-15) (age 33)
Country	Spain
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	63 kg (140 lb)
Team information
Current team	Rabobank
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Sprinter
Professional team(s)1
1998–1999 2000–2002 2003–	Vitalicio Seguros Mapei Rabobank
Major wins
Road Race World Championships (1999, 2001, 2004) Tour de France, 4 stages Points Classification (2008) Vuelta a España, 7 stages Tirreno-Adriatico (2005) Milan-Sanremo (2004, 2007) Vattenfall Cyclassics(2006) Brabantse Pijl (2005, 2006, 2007) Ghent-Wevelgem (2008)
Medal record Competitor for  Spain Road bicycle racing UCI Road World Championships Gold 1999 Verona Elite Men's Road Race Gold 2001 Lisbon Elite Men's Road Race Gold 2004 Verona Elite Men's Road Race Bronze 2000 Plouay Elite Men's Road Race U-23 World Championships Silver 1997 San Sebastian U-23 Men's Road Race
Infobox last updated on:
September 11, 2008 1 Team names given are those prevailing at time of rider beginning association with that team.

Óscar Freire Gómez (Born February 15, 1976 in Torrelavega, Cantabria) is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer for the UCI ProTeam Rabobank. Freire (pronounced FRAY-ray) is considered one of the top sprinters in road bicycle racing, having won the World Cycling Championship on a record-equalling three occasions, along with Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbergen and Eddy Merckx, and the cycling monument Milan-Sanremo on two occasions.

Contents 1 Career 2 Palmarès 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Career

Freire became professional in 1998 at the Vitalicio Seguros team. Through the 1998 season Freire only won one race, a stage in the Vuelta a Castilla y León, and achieved eleventh place in the Paris-Tours UCI Road World Cup race. In 1999, Freire went the entire season without a major victory until the World Championships in October. Although Freire went to the World Championships in Verona seemingly only to make up the numbers of the Spanish team, he went on to take an unexpected victory. A photograph taken shortly after his win, in which he is calling his grandmother (who had no television) to tell her he had won, became famous. He spent the prize money on an elevator for his grandmother's apartment.

Freire is a sprinter who, unlike many other sprinters, does not need much help from his team mates to get into good position for a win. Despite his diminutive stature, Freire is one of the most feared sprinters in the peloton. He usually draws his own plan in which he hopes the element of surprise gives him the victory. Freire sometimes gets criticized for his training ethic, since he usually rides only half the training miles in comparison with other cyclists.

For the 2000 season, Freire was able to secure a contract with the Mapei cycling team. Mapei had been ranked as the best team since 1994 when Freire joined. That year he had a successful season, winning 11 races including two stages in the Vuelta a España, and a third place at the World Championships. In 2001 Freire had a modest season, winning two races and the points competition in the Vuelta a Burgos, before becoming world champion for the second time. In 2002 he was less successful, but still he won a stage in the Tour de France.

In 2003, Freire moved to the Rabobank team, where in his first season he won six races. 2004 was a more successful year: Freire won Milan-Sanremo, Trofeo Luis Puig, a stage in Tirreno-Adriatico and second place overall, a stage in the Vuelta a España and for the third time, and the second time in Verona, the World Championships. Freire enjoyed an excellent start to the 2005 season winning three stages, the points classification and the GC yellow jersey at the Tirreno-Adriatico, as well as the Brabantse Pijl, Trofeo Alcudia and Trofeo Mallorca, all before the end of March. His season was then cut short, and all attempts at victory in Grand Tour stages and Classic races eliminated, due to complications arising from a saddle sore.

In 2006, Freire won his second consecutive Brabantse Pijl. His stage 3 win at the Tirreno-Adriatico allowed him to wear the event's yellow jersey as the overall leader for 2 days, although Freire was unable to repeat his overall victory of 2005. At the Tour de Suisse, he survived an early break of four riders to record an impressive solo win on Stage 7.

In the 2006 Tour de France, Freire won the 5th and 9th stage, and was contesting the points classification until he was forced to retire from the race due to illness. During stage twelve, Freire was involved in a breakaway with three other riders. When Yaroslav Popovych, riding for the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team, rode away for the victory, rumours spread that Freire had been ordered by his Rabobank Directeur sportif not to ride for the victory, in order to secure help from the Discovery Team in the mountains for their general classification aims. Although such rumours were rubbished by both teams, Freire was visibly upset after the stage.

Freire continued his successful year by winning the Vattenfall Cyclassics, finishing ahead of German favourite Erik Zabel. This, his seventh victory of the year, means that Freire accounts for half of Rabobank’s victories in 2006. Freire's season was cut short by neck and spinal injuries, forcing him to miss both the Vuelta a España and World Championships.

Freire’s career has been blighted with injury and successive return to form following his lay-offs. He has suffered from back problems, saddle sores and most recently neck problems. Freire re-signed for the Rabobank team in late 2006 until the end of 2008, rejecting overtures and a possible lucrative contract from Saunier Duval-Prodir, citing that he felt comfortable with the Dutch squad.

In the 2007 Tour de France, Freire was unable to win a stage, partly because his team Rabobank was defending Michael Rasmussen's leading position in the general classification for a large part of the race. Freire also started in the 2007 Vuelta a España, winning 3 stages. In the 2008 Tour de France, Freire wore the green jersey from stage 8, and decided to try to keep it until Paris. He won stage 14, and was indeed able to win the green jersey for the points classification.

In the 2009 Tour de France, he, along with Julian Dean of Garmin Slipstream got shot by an Air Rifle. It was during the 13th stage from Vittel to Colmar. He got shot in the thigh, but was fine and finished in 117th on the stage.^[1]

[edit] Palmarès

Sporting positions
Preceded by Oscar Camenzind Romāns Vainšteins Igor Astarloa	UCI Road Race World Champion 1999 2001 2004	Succeeded by Romāns Vainšteins Mario Cipollini Tom Boonen
Preceded by Paolo Bettini Filippo Pozzato	Winner of Milan-Sanremo 2004 2007	Succeeded by Alessandro Petacchi Fabian Cancellara

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Óscar Freire

• Official Site (Spanish)
• Profile on Rabobank website (Dutch)
• Palmarès at Trap-Friis.dk

v • d • e Riders on Rabobank Mauricio Ardila | Lars Boom | Graeme Brown | Stef Clement | Bram de Groot | Marc de Maar | Juan Antonio Flecha | Rick Flens | Óscar Freire | Juan Manuel Gárate | Robert Gesink | Mathew Hayman | Pedro Horrillo | Dmitry Kozonchuk | Sebastian Langeveld | Tom Leezer | Paul Martens | Denis Menchov | Koos Moerenhout | Bauke Mollema | Grischa Niermann | Nick Nuyens | Joost Posthuma | Kai Reus | Tom Stamsnijder | Bram Tankink | Laurens ten Dam | Maarten Tjallingii | Pieter Weening | Jos van Emden | Manager: Erik Breukink

v • d • e Male World Road Racing Champions 1927 Alfredo Binda • 1928–1929 Georges Ronsse • 1930 Alfredo Binda • 1931 Learco Guerra • 1932 Alfredo Binda • 1933 Georges Speicher • 1934 Karel Kaers • 1935 Jean Aerts • 1936 Antonin Magne • 1937 Eloi Meulenberg • 1938 Marcel Kint • 1946 Hans Knecht • 1947 Theo Middelkamp • 1948 Briek Schotte • 1949 Rik Van Steenbergen • 1950 Briek Schotte • 1951 Ferdi Kübler • 1952 Heinz Müller • 1953 Fausto Coppi • 1954 Louison Bobet • 1955 Stan Ockers • 1956–1957 Rik Van Steenbergen • 1958 Ercole Baldini • 1959 André Darrigade • 1960–1961 Rik van Looy • 1962 Jean Stablinski • 1963 Benoni Beheyt • 1964 Jan Janssen • 1965 Tom Simpson • 1966 Rudi Altig • 1967 Eddy Merckx • 1968 Vittorio Adorni • 1969 Harm Ottenbros • 1970 Jean-Pierre Monseré • 1971 Eddy Merckx • 1972 Marino Basso • 1973 Felice Gimondi • 1974 Eddy Merckx • 1975 Hennie Kuiper • 1976 Freddy Maertens • 1977 Francesco Moser • 1978 Gerrie Knetemann • 1979 Jan Raas • 1980 Bernard Hinault • 1981 Freddy Maertens • 1982 Giuseppe Saronni • 1983 Greg LeMond • 1984 Claude Criquielion • 1985 Joop Zoetemelk • 1986 Moreno Argentin • 1987 Stephen Roche • 1988 Maurizio Fondriest • 1989 Greg LeMond • 1990 Rudy Dhaenens • 1991–1992 Gianni Bugno • 1993 Lance Armstrong • 1994 Luc Leblanc • 1995 Abraham Olano • 1996 Johan Museeuw • 1997 Laurent Brochard • 1998 Oscar Camenzind • 1999 Óscar Freire • 2000 Romāns Vainšteins • 2001 Óscar Freire • 2002 Mario Cipollini • 2003 Igor Astarloa • 2004 Óscar Freire • 2005 Tom Boonen • 2006–2007 Paolo Bettini • 2008 Alessandro Ballan • 2009 Cadel Evans

v • d • e Tour de France points classification winners 1953 Fritz Schär • 1954 Ferdinand Kübler • 1955–1956 Stan Ockers • 1957 Jean Forestier • 1958 Jean Graczyk • 1959 André Darrigade • 1960 Jean Graczyk • 1961 André Darrigade • 1962 Rudi Altig • 1963 Rik van Looy • 1964–1965 Jan Janssen • 1966 Willy Planckaert • 1967 Jan Janssen • 1968 Franco Bitossi • 1969 Eddy Merckx • 1970 Walter Godefroot • 1971–1972 Eddy Merckx • 1973 Herman van Springel • 1974 Patrick Sercu • 1975 Rik Van Linden • 1976 Freddy Maertens • 1977 Jacques Esclassan • 1978 Freddy Maertens • 1979 Bernard Hinault • 1980 Rudy Pevenage • 1981 Freddy Maertens • 1982–1983 Sean Kelly • 1984 Frank Hoste • 1985 Sean Kelly • 1986 Eric Vanderaerden • 1987 Jean-Paul van Poppel • 1988 Eddy Planckaert • 1989 Sean Kelly • 1990 Olaf Ludwig • 1991 Djamolidine Abdoujaparov • 1992 Laurent Jalabert • 1993–1994 Djamolidine Abdoujaparov • 1995 Laurent Jalabert • 1996–2001 Erik Zabel • 2002 Robbie McEwen • 2003 Baden Cooke • 2004 Robbie McEwen • 2005 Thor Hushovd • 2006 Robbie McEwen • 2007 Tom Boonen • 2008 Óscar Freire • 2009 Thor Hushovd

Persondata
NAME	Freire, Óscar
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Freire Gómez, Óscar
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Road bicycle racer
DATE OF BIRTH	1976-02-15
PLACE OF BIRTH	Torrelavega, Cantabria, Spain
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH