Denis Nikolayevich Menchov (Russian: Денис Николаевич Меньшов, correct English transliteration is Menshov; born 25 January 1978 in Oryol) is a professional Russian road bicycle racer. He is a general classification rider and a climber. In 2007 he won the Vuelta a España for the second time, and in 2009 won the centenary Giro d'Italia.
[edit] Professional career
[edit] The Banesto years
Menchov started his professional career in 2000 with the Banesto team of José Miguel Echevarri. His first success came in 2001, when he won the Tour de l'Avenir, a stage race for young professionals. A year later he won a stage and the King of the Mountains in the Dauphiné Liberé. In 2003, Menchov had his breakthrough when he finished 11th in the Tour de France, and won the youth competition (maillot blanc). 2004 was his last year at Banesto and his most successful. He won Vuelta al País Vasco, a stage in Vuelta a Aragon, a stage in Paris-Nice and stage five in the 2004 Vuelta a España, from Zaragoza to Morella.
[edit] The Rabobank years
Menchov's contract ran out in September 2004 and he moved to the Dutch team Rabobank team for two years. He became team captain following Levi Leipheimer's departure. He was Rabobank's main contender for the 2005 Tour de France, but due to a cold, he finished 85th , 2h 35m behind Lance Armstrong.[2] His 2005 Vuelta was more successful. He won the opening time trial to Granada and the stage nine time trial to Lloret de Mar, and wore the leader's golden jersey. On the 15th stage, he lost sight of Roberto Heras on a climb and ended the race second behind Heras. Heras was later disqualified for doping,[3] and Menchov received the official win of the 2005 Vuelta. He also captured the event's Combined Classification.[4]
In the 2006 Tour de France Menchov won the 11th stage - the second mountain stage - from Tarbes to Aran Valley-Pla-de-Beret after a sprint with Leipheimer and Floyd Landis. The final week took its toll and he dropped from 3rd to 6th in the Alps.
Menchov abandoned the 2007 Tour de France on stage 17, the day after his teammate Michael Rasmussen was fired from Rabobank.[5] Later that year, he won the Vuelta a España after leading during the second half of the race. He also won a stage, the mountains classification and the combination classification.
In 2008 Menchov did not ride the Vuelta but concentrated on Tour de France.[6] He ended fourth. However, third-placed Bernhard Kohl was disqualified for doping. Riders have not been elevated to fill Kohl's place, so Menchov remains fourth.
In 2009 Menchov won the Giro d'Italia, with wins in stages 5 and 12. Despite crashing in the final kilometer of the last-stage time-trial through Rome, Menchov held the pink jersey and extended his lead by 21s, winning by 41 seconds over Italy's Danilo Di Luca.[7][8]
[edit] Palmares
[edit] Grand Tour timeline
| Grand Tour | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
Giro | | | | | | | | 5 | 1 |
Tour | 47 | 93 | 11 | WD | 85 | 5 | WD | 3 | 51 |
Vuelta | | | | WD | 1 | WD | 1 | | |
WD=Withdrew
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Persondata |
| NAME | Menchov, Denis |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Menchov, Denis Nikolayevich ; Меньшов, Денис ; Меньшов, Денис Николаевич ; Menschow, Denis Nikolajewitsch ; Mienszow, Denis ; Mensjov, Denis |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Road bicycle racer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1978-01-25 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Oryol, Russia |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |