Chris Horner

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Chris Horner
File:Christopher Horner CA 2011.jpg
Personal information
Full name Christopher Lee Horner
Nickname The Hornet, The Second Best Climber in the World[1]
Born (1971-10-23) October 23, 1971 (age 53)
Okinawa, Japan
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Weight 70 kg (150 lb; 11 st)[2]
Team information
Current team Lupus Racing Team
Discipline Road
Role Rider
Rider type All-rounder
Amateur team(s)
1994 Lite Beer
1995-1996 Nutra Fig
Professional team(s)
1997–1999 Française des Jeux
2000–2001 Mercury
2002 Prime Alliance
2003 Saturn
2004 Webcor Builders
2005 Saunier Duval–Prodir
2006–2007 Davitamon–Lotto
2008–2009 Astana
2010–2011 Team RadioShack
2012–2013 RadioShack–Nissan
2014 Lampre–Merida
2015 Airgas-Safeway
2016– Lupus Racing Team
Major wins
Grand Tours
Vuelta a España
General classification (2013)
Combination classification (2013)
2 individual stages (2013)

Stage races

Tour de Langkawi (2000)
Tour de Georgia (2003)
Tour of the Basque Country (2010)
Tour of California (2011)
Infobox last updated on
February 6 2016

Christopher Lee "Chris" Horner (born October 23, 1971) is an American professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team Lupus Racing Team.[3] A current resident of Bend, Oregon,[4] Horner has dominated the American road racing scene by winning the points standings in the 2002, 2003 and 2004 USA Cycling National Racing Calendar.[5] He won the Vuelta a España in 2013, becoming the oldest winner of any of cycling's grand tours in the process.[6]

Career

PAA-NutraFig (1995–96)

Horner turned pro in 1995 with the PAA-NutraFig team.[7] He captured his first major victory in a stage win of the Tour DuPont in 1996.

Française des Jeux (1997–99)

He was then asked to ride in Europe with French team Française des Jeux. From 1997 to 1999 he had three frustrating seasons with this team.

Mercury, Prime Alliance, Saturn, and Webcor (2000–2004)

In 2000 Horner returned to America to resume a record-setting domestic career, riding with Mercury in 2000, Prime Alliance in 2002, Saturn in 2003 and Webcor Builders in 2004. Horner has won almost every important race in the US racing calendar, with the notable exception of the USPRO National Championships.

Saunier-Duval (2004–05)

Horner decided to move to Saunier Duval–Prodir after his top-ten finish in the 2004 UCI World Road Cycling Championship because he wanted to give the Tour de France a try. After being injured in the beginning of 2005, Horner showed strong performance in the USPRO Championships and won his first major European victory by taking the sixth stage of the 2005 Tour de Suisse. He then earned his place on the 2005 Tour de France team and nearly won the Miramas to Montpellier stage when he and Sylvain Chavanel refused to cooperate in the final kilometers and were caught by the peloton.

Davitamon and Predictor (2006–07)

He made a move to the Belgian UCI ProTour squad Davitamon–Lotto for the 2006 season.

For 2007 Horner signed with Ed Krall Racing for the cyclo-cross season.

Astana (2008–09)

In 2008 Horner moved to Astana. Horner earned the nickname "The smiler" for his unflappable expression of happiness, even during the most excruciating physical challenges, and "The Yahoo Kid" for his wild exclamations after winning a race. Teammates Levi Leipheimer and Lance Armstrong call him "The Redneck".

In the 2008 Cascade Cycling Classic Horner carried racer Bill Demong (who was from another team) with his broken bicycle to the finish line.[8][9]

RadioShack (2010–11)

File:Chris Horner, Tour of California 2011 (cropped).jpg
Horner won the fourth stage of the 2011 Tour of California, before taking overall victory.

On October 4, 2009 it was confirmed that Horner would compete for Team RadioShack in the next two seasons.[10] In one of his strongest European campaigns, Horner garnered first overall at the Euskal Herriko Itzulia (Tour of the Basque Country), including a stage win in the critical 6th stage ITT, defeating overall threat Alejandro Valverde. Horner also achieved several top 10 placings in the Spring classics of the Fleche Wallone, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Amstel Gold. He and his RadioShack teammates did well at the 2010 Tour of California, with Horner putting on a particularly strong performance in the last stage of the race as a member of a final breakaway at Thousand Oaks. Horner finished fourth overall, 1 min 4 sec behind winner Michael Rogers, and just 39 seconds behind teammate Levi Leipheimer in overall time. His good form also resulted in a 9th place overall at the Tour de France, as the first-placed US rider, in spite of dedicating himself in the first stages to supporting his captain Lance Armstrong.

In 2011 Horner continued his success at Pais Vasco with a second-place finish, as well as 4th in Catalunya.

Horner then accomplished the highest-profile result up to that time by winning the May 2011 Tour de California stage race. He scored a major solo victory on the 4th stage, after making significant time gains on the day's final mountain finish in San Jose. He maintained his hold on the yellow jersey until the tour's queen stage, where he completed a two-man breakaway finish with teammate Levi Leipheimer to finalize the overall lead, and at age 39 became the oldest rider in history to win that tour.[11][12]

His participation at the 2011 Tour de France was short lived after a crash left him out of the competition.

RadioShack-Nissan (2012–2013)

In 2012, Horner signed with RadioShack-Nissan. He started the 2012 Tirreno–Adriatico as his first race since July where he finished second after losing his lead in the final time trial to Vincenzo Nibali. He then finished 8th in the 2012 Tour of California, failing to defend his title. He then rode the 2012 Tour de France where he ended up finishing 13th overall after putting a good performance in the mountains.

After suffering an injury in the beginning of 2013, Horner returned to action after winning stage 5 in the 2013 Tour of Utah and finishing 2nd overall. Less than three weeks later, in stage 3 of the 2013 Vuelta a España, Horner attacked over the last kilometer to win the stage and take the overall lead in the race. By doing this, he became the oldest rider in history (41 years and 307 days) who won a stage and wore the leader's jersey in a Grand Tour.[13] He won again in the stage 10, another uphill finish, reclaiming the lead.[14] and setting a new record of the oldest rider (41 years and 314 days) to win a stage in a Grand Tour. Chris's success at that race continued and he won the 2013 Vuelta a España on the 15 September 2013, the oldest ever Grand Tour winner.[15][16] “I’ve been a professional for almost 20 years so this represents a lifetime of hard work. A Grand Tour is always a goal for a cyclist to show how good a rider you are. The memories will last forever and the riders I came with were amazing and my team has been fantastic," Horner said after the victory. [17]

He left RadioShack–Leopard at the end of the season, as his contract expired. He felt he was worth more than the team were willing to offer for a rider of his resume and ability.

Lampre-Merida (2014)

Horner joined Lampre–Merida for the 2014 season.[18] In April, while training in Italy for the 2014 Giro d'Italia, he was hit by a car driver who subsequently fled the scene. Horner suffered a punctured lung and broken ribs in the accident, jeopardizing his participation[19] at the 2014 Giro d'Italia.

On 30 June 2014, Horner was named in Lampre's 2014 Tour de France squad, with Rui Costa as team leader.[20]

He placed second in the mountainous Tour of Utah[21] which he raced in preparation for the 2014 Vuelta a España. However, Horner withdrew from the Vuelta ahead of the first stage due to his cortisol levels dropping below the threshold considered healthy by the Mouvement pour un cyclisme crédible, of which Lampre-Merida is a member. The announcement followed Horner's usage of cortisone on prescription under a therapeutic use exemption to treat a case of bronchitis.[22]

Lampre-Merida opted not to extend Horner's contract, and in December 2014 he announced he had signed a deal with UCI Continental team Airgas-Safeway for 2015.[3]

Palmarès

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1996
1st, Lancaster Classic
1st, Stage 1, Tour DuPont
2nd, Overall, Redlands Bicycle Classic
3rd, Overall, Fitchburg Longsjo Classic
3rd, National Road Race Championships
1997
3rd, GP Ouest-France
3rd, Nevada City Classic
1999
9th, Overall, Circuit des Mines
2000
1st, Overall, Jersey yellow.svg Tour de Langkawi
1st, Overall, Jersey yellow.svg Redlands Bicycle Classic
2001
5th, Overall, Redlands Bicycle Classic
1st, Stage 5
2nd, Overall, Cascade Cycling Classic
1st, Stage 3
2002
1st, USA Cycling National Racing Calendar
1st, Overall, Jersey yellow.svg Redlands Bicycle Classic
1st, Stages 1 & 2
1st, Overall, Jersey yellow.svg Sea Otter Classic
1st, Stage 3
1st, Overall, Jersey yellow.svg Nature Valley Grand Prix
1st, Stage 3
1st, Overall, Jersey yellow.svg Fitchburg Longsjo Classic
2nd, National Time Trial Championships
3rd, Overall, Cascade Cycling Classic
2003
1st, USA Cycling National Racing Calendar
1st, Overall, Jersey yellow.svg Tour de Georgia
1st, Jersey red.svg Mountains classification
1st, Overall, Jersey yellow.svg Redlands Bicycle Classic
1st, San Francisco Grand Prix
1st, Stage 4, Cascade Cycling Classic
2nd, Overall, Fitchburg Longsjo Classic
1st, Stages 2 & 3
2nd, National Criterium Championships
2004
1st, USA Cycling National Racing Calendar
1st, Overall, Jersey yellow.svg Sea Otter Classic
1st, Stage 2
1st, Overall, Jersey yellow.svg Redlands Bicycle Classic
1st, Stages 1a, 1b & 2
1st, Overall, Jersey yellow.svg International Tour de Toona
3rd, Overall, Tour de Georgia
8th, UCI World Road Race Championships
2005
5th, Overall, Tour de Suisse
1st, Stage 6
3rd, National Road Race Championships
2006
7th, Overall, Tour de Romandie
1st, Stage 2
8th, Liège–Bastogne–Liège
10th, Overall, Paris–Nice
2007
3rd, Giro dell'Emilia
5th, Overall, Tour de Romandie
10th, Giro di Lombardia
2008
7th, Giro di Lombardia
2009
2nd, Overall, Tour de l'Ain
1st, Jersey green.svg Points classification
2010
1st, Overall, Jersey yellow.svg Vuelta al País Vasco
1st, Stage 6 (ITT)
2nd, Overall, Giro di Sardegna
4th, Overall, Tour of California
4th, National Road Race Championships
7th, La Flèche Wallonne
7th, Liège–Bastogne–Liège
9th, Overall, Critérium du Dauphiné
9th, Overall, Tour de France
10th, Amstel Gold Race
2011
1st, Overall, Jersey yellow.svg Tour of California
1st, Stage 4
2nd, Overall, Vuelta al País Vasco
4th, Overall, Volta a Catalunya
2012
2nd, Overall, Tirreno–Adriatico
7th, Overall, Tour of Utah
8th, Overall, Tour of California
9th, Overall, Vuelta al País Vasco
2013
1st, Overall, Jersey red.svg Vuelta a España
1st, Jersey white.svg Combination classification
1st, Stages 3 & 10
2nd, Overall, Tour of Utah
1st, Stage 5
6th, Overall, Tirreno–Adriatico
2014
2nd, Overall, Tour of Utah
8th, Overall, Volta ao Algarve
2015
4th Overall Tour d'Azerbaïdjan
5th National Road Race Championships[23]
7th, Overall, Redlands Bicycle Classic[24]
5th, Overall, Tour of Utah
9th, Overall, Tour of the Gila
2016
9th, Overall, Tour of the Gila

Grand Tour general classification results timeline:

Grand Tour 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Pink jersey Giro  —  —  —  — WD  —  —  —  —  —
Yellow jersey Tour 33 61 14  —  — 9 WD 13  — 17
golden jersey Vuelta 20 36  — WD  —  —  — 1  —

Withdrew = WD; In Progress = IP

Other major stage races

Race 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Paris–Nice  –  –  –  –  –  –  – 10 24  –  – 49  –  –  –  –
Tirreno–Adriatico  –  –  –  –  –  – DNS  –  –  –  –  –  – 2 6 DNS
Volta a Catalunya  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  – 58  –  – 3  – DNS DNS
Tour of the Basque Country  –  –  –  –  –  –  – 31 DNF 41 DNF 1 2 9  –  –
Tour de Romandie  –  – 93  –  –  –  – 7 5  –  –  –  –  –  –  –
Critérium du Dauphiné  –  –  –  –  –  –  – 34  – DNF  – 9  –  –  –  –
Tour de Suisse DNF DNF  –  –  –  – 5  – 42  –  –  –  –  –  –  –

References

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  4. USA Cycling biography Archived July 18, 2006 at the Wayback Machine
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  7. Eurosport.com Chris Horner
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  10. "Horner signs on with RadioShack for two years", Cyclingnews.com, 2009-09-04. Retrieved on 2009-10-02.
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External links