Andreas Klöden facts for kids

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Andreas Klöden

Personal information
Full name	Andreas Klöden
Nickname	Klödi
Born	(1975-06-22) 22 June 1975 (age 50) Mittweida, Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	63 kg (139 lb; 9 st 13 lb)
Team information
Current team	Retired
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	All-rounder
Major wins
Grand Tours Tour de France 1 TTT stage (2009) Stage races Paris–Nice (2000) Tour of the Basque Country (2000, 2011) Tirreno–Adriatico (2007) Tour de Romandie (2008) One-day races and Classics National Road Race Championships (2004)

Andreas Klöden (born 22 June 1975) is a German former professional road bicycle racer. He competed as a professional cyclist from 1998 to 2013. Some of his biggest achievements include winning a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games. He also finished second overall in the Tour de France twice, in 2004 and 2006. Klöden was known as a strong all-around rider. He was tall and light, which helped him perform well in major races.

Andreas Klöden's Cycling Journey

Andreas Klöden was born in Mittweida, Germany, in 1975. Before becoming a professional cyclist, he showed great promise. In 1996, he won a bronze medal at the Under 23 World Time Trial Championships. The next year, 1997, he won two stages at the International Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt.

Starting with T-Mobile (1998–2006)

Klöden joined the Team Telekom team in 1998. This team later became known as T-Mobile Team. In his first professional year, he won the overall title at the Niedersachsen-Rundfahrt. He also won the opening stage of the Tour de Normandie. In 1999, he won a stage at the Tour of Algarve in Portugal.

His best season came in 2000. He won two important races: Paris–Nice and the Tour of the Basque Country. That same year, he earned a bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He finished behind fellow German Jan Ullrich and Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov. These two riders would be his teammates at T-Mobile for several years.

After 2000, Klöden faced three seasons with many injuries. He did not win any races during this time. In 2003, he had to leave the 2003 Tour de France because of a broken tailbone.

A Strong Comeback in 2004

Klöden made a big comeback in 2004. He won the German National Road Racing Championships. This win continued T-Mobile's winning streak in these championships. One week later, he started the 2004 Tour de France in excellent shape.

He began the Tour as a helper for his teammate, Jan Ullrich. Klöden did not win any stages himself. However, he finished second overall in the race. He moved into second place after the final time trial, passing Italian Ivan Basso. Ullrich, who Klöden was supposed to support, finished fourth. This was the only time Ullrich finished outside the top three in the Tour de France. Klöden's strong performance made him famous around the world.

Klöden at the 2004 Tour de France.

In 2005, Klöden won a stage at the Bayern-Rundfahrt. He and his teammates Ullrich and Vinokourov were top contenders for the 2005 Tour de France. Klöden helped T-Mobile succeed, with Ullrich finishing 3rd and Vinokourov 5th. Klöden had to leave the Tour on stage 17. He had crashed on stage 16 and fractured a bone in his right wrist.

In the 2006 Tour, Klöden became one of the favorites to win. This was because Ullrich, Vinokourov, and Basso did not start the race. After a slow start in the mountains, Klöden got stronger in the Alps. He moved up in the overall standings. Klöden performed very well in the final time trial. He finished second in that stage, behind his teammate Serhiy Honchar. This helped him climb from fourth to third place in the overall race, passing Carlos Sastre.

Joining Astana (2007–2009)

On August 27, 2006, Klöden announced he would join Astana for the 2007 season. This was a bit of a surprise. Klöden was a talented rider, but Alexander Vinokourov was the main leader of the Astana team. During the 2007 Tour de France, Klöden rode well. However, he had to help his team captain, Vinokourov, and lost some time. He had an accident that caused a hairline fracture in his tailbone. Luckily, he was able to keep riding. Astana left the Tour de France on July 24.

In September 2007, Klöden's racing was stopped by another injury. He crashed during training when a car crossed his path. He ended up in a ditch. X-rays showed no broken bones, but he missed some races.

His 2008 season did not include any major wins in Grand Tours. However, he won the Tour de Romandie that year. He also finished second in the Tour de Suisse. In the 2009 Tour de France, Klöden mainly helped his teammates Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong. After stage 15, Klöden was in fourth place overall. He finished 6th overall that year. Later, he moved up to 5th overall after Lance Armstrong's results were changed.

On October 2, 2009, it was confirmed that Klöden would join Team RadioShack for the 2010 season.

Team RadioShack Years (2010–2011)

Klöden had a quiet 2010 season. He finished the 2010 Tour de France in 14th place. His other notable finishes were 8th in the Tour de Suisse and the Eneco Tour.

In 2011, Klöden's career saw a strong return. He won the 2011 Tour of the Basque Country. He also finished 2nd in Paris–Nice and won a stage there. He also won two individual time trials in the Giro del Trentino and Critérium International. He brought his good form to the 2011 Tour de France. However, he crashed twice and had to leave the race due to back injuries. He later entered the Vuelta a España but also had to withdraw.

RadioShack-Nissan (2012–2013)

In 2012, Klöden signed with RadioShack-NissanTrek. He finished the 2012 Tour de France in 11th place. He also finished 4th in the USA Pro Cycling Challenge.

Klöden continued to ride for RadioShack in 2013. He finished 9th in both the 2013 Volta ao Algarve and 2013 Paris–Nice early in the season. His first top-five finish was fourth place in the 2013 Tour of Belgium. He lost time early in the Pyrenees mountains during the 2013 Tour de France. This made him change his goal from winning overall to winning stages. He joined a breakaway group on stage 16 to Gap, finishing fifth. He tried again on stage 19 to Le Grand-Bornand. He finished second there, just like in the 2004 Tour de France. This time, he was second to Rui Costa. He finished the Tour in 30th place.

In October 2013, Klöden announced he was retiring from cycling. He had a professional career that lasted sixteen years.

Career Achievements

Major Results

Grand Tour Results

Grand Tour general classification results
Grand Tour	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
Giro d'Italia	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	DNF	—	—	—	—	—
Tour de France	—	—	—	26	—	DNF	2	DNF	2	DNF	—	5	13	DNF	11	30
/ Vuelta a España	DNF	62	DNF	—	DNF	—	—	—	—	—	20	—	—	DNF	—	—

Major Stage Race Results

Major stage race general classification results
Race	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
/ Paris–Nice	—	—	1	DNF	DNF	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	18	9
/ Tirreno–Adriatico	—	—	—	—	—	7	77	90	129	1	—	3	—	—	—	—
Volta a Catalunya	—	DNF	DNF	DNF	—	61	—	—	—	—	—	—	23	—	—	—
Tour of the Basque Country	—	69	1	—	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	—	—	—	—	18	1	—	—
/ Tour de Romandie	—	—	—	53	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	22	—
Critérium du Dauphiné	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	DNF	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Tour de Suisse	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	DNF	10	2	4	8	38	39	63

See also

In Spanish: Andreas Klöden para niños