Joaquim Rodríguez facts for kids
Rodríguez at the 2013 Tour de France
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| Personal information | |||
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| Full name | Joaquim Rodríguez Oliver | ||
| Nickname | El Purito | ||
| Born | 12 May 1979 Barcelona, Spain |
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| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 6+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Weight | 57 kg (126 lb; 9 st 0 lb) | ||
| Team information | |||
| Role |
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| Rider type | Climbing specialist Puncheur |
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| Major wins | |||
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Joaquim Rodríguez Oliver (born May 12, 1979) is a famous Spanish cyclist. He competed in road bicycle races from 2001 to 2016. After retiring from road racing, he started racing mountain bikes and even created his own mountain bike team.
Joaquim Rodríguez achieved many great things in his career. He won 14 stages in major cycling races called Grand Tours. He also finished on the podium (top three) five times in these big races. He came in second place at the 2012 Giro d'Italia and the 2015 Vuelta a España. He also earned third place at the 2010 Vuelta a España, the 2012 Vuelta a España, and the 2013 Tour de France.
He was ranked as the world's best cyclist by the UCI in 2010, 2012, and 2013. He also won important one-day races like La Flèche Wallonne and the Giro di Lombardia twice. Plus, he won stage races such as the Volta a Catalunya twice, the 2015 Tour of the Basque Country, and the 2011 Vuelta a Burgos.
Contents
- Joaquim Rodríguez's Early Life and Nickname
- Joaquim Rodríguez's Professional Cycling Career
- Joaquim Rodríguez's Major Achievements
- Images for kids
- See also
Joaquim Rodríguez's Early Life and Nickname
Joaquim Rodríguez was born in Barcelona, Spain. His father was also a cyclist, but as an amateur. Joaquim later moved to the Basque Country to join an amateur cycling team.
His nickname in the cycling world is Purito. This is Spanish for "little cigar". He got this name during a training camp when he was a new professional cyclist. On a small hill, he passed his teammates while pretending to smoke a cigar. This meant he was climbing easily. His teammates didn't like the gesture, so they made him smoke a real cigar later as a joke!
Joaquim Rodríguez's Professional Cycling Career
Starting with ONCE (2000–2003)
Joaquim Rodríguez became a professional cyclist in 2001 with the ONCE team. In his first year, he won a race called the Escalada a Montjuïc in Barcelona. In 2003, he won a stage in the Paris–Nice race. He also helped his team win team time trials in the Volta a Catalunya and the Vuelta a España.
Racing for Saunier Duval–Prodir (2004–2005)
In 2004, he joined the Saunier Duval–Prodir team. He won the Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme, which is a stage race in Catalonia. The next year, he won the Subida a Urkiola and the "Mountains classification" in the Vuelta a España. This means he was the best climber in that race. He also finished second in two other races, the Clásica de San Sebastián and the Vuelta a Burgos.
Time with Caisse d'Epargne (2006–2009)
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Joaquim joined the Caisse d'Epargne team in 2006. He won a stage in the Paris–Nice race. In 2007, he became the Spanish National Road Race Champion. He also won the Klasika Primavera and Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia.
In 2008, he won a stage in the Tirreno–Adriatico race. This stage had a very steep climb, with parts over 20% steepness! Many riders struggled, but he powered up it. He also finished well in other big races, like the Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne. Later that year, he finished sixth in the Vuelta a España. In 2009, he won another stage in Tirreno–Adriatico and came second in Liège–Bastogne–Liège. He also won a stage in the Vuelta a Burgos and earned a bronze medal at the World Road Race Championships.
Years with Katusha (2010–2016)
2010: A Top-Ranked Year
In 2010, Joaquim joined the Katusha team. This team promised him a spot in the Tour de France and a main role in other races. Early in the season, he won the Volta a Catalunya race. He also won the GP Miguel Induráin and a stage in the Tour of the Basque Country, where he finished third overall. He came second in La Flèche Wallonne.
At the Tour de France, he won a stage that ended with an uphill finish. He finished eighth overall in the Tour de France. He continued to do well, finishing fifth in the Clásica de San Sebastián and fourth overall in the Vuelta a España, winning a stage there. He was even the leader of the Vuelta for a while. Joaquim ended 2010 as the number one ranked cyclist in the world!
2011: Focusing on the Vuelta
In 2011, he won a stage in the Tour of the Basque Country. He finished second in both the Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne. He then finished fifth in the Giro d'Italia. He also won two stages in the Critérium du Dauphiné, where he was the best in both points and mountains classifications.
He decided not to race the Tour de France to focus on the Vuelta a España. He was seen as a strong contender to win it. He started the second half of the season by finishing fourth in the Clásica de San Sebastián and winning the Vuelta a Burgos. In the Vuelta a España, he won two stages and even wore the leader's jersey. He finished the season with a third place in the Giro di Lombardia.
2012: Close Calls and Big Wins
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On April 18, 2012, Joaquim won La Flèche Wallonne in Belgium with a great climb. He also finished second in the Tour of the Basque Country. He carried his good form into the Giro d'Italia, where he won two stages and finished second overall. He was very close to winning the whole race, losing by only 16 seconds in the final time trial. However, he did win the points classification jersey.
In the Vuelta a España, he almost won stage 3, but came in second. On the next stage, he took the lead in the overall race. He won stage 6 with a strong attack on the final climb. He won another stage, stage 12, by breaking away from other riders on a very steep hill. He won yet another stage, stage 14, by attacking on the final climb. Unfortunately, on stage 17, he lost time and dropped to third place overall.
After the Vuelta, Joaquim went to Italy for the Giro di Lombardia. He won this race in heavy rain, attacking on the last climb and finishing nine seconds ahead of the next rider. This win also helped him become the number one ranked cyclist in the world again for 2012.
2013: Tour de France Podium
In 2013, Joaquim started his season by winning stage 4 of the Tour of Oman. He later won stage 5 of Tirreno–Adriatico. He finished second in both the Volta a Catalunya and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. His main goal was to finish high in the Tour de France.
In the Tour, he started quietly but improved as the race went on. He moved into the top ten after a strong finish on Mont Ventoux. He then finished third in an uphill time trial. On stage 18, he moved into the top five. On the very hilly stage 20, he finished second. Joaquim managed to finish third overall in the Tour de France, which is a huge achievement!
After the Tour, he raced the Vuelta a España, where he won stage 19 and finished fourth overall. He then competed in the World Championships, where he almost won the rainbow jersey, finishing second. One week later, he won the Giro di Lombardia for the second year in a row.
2014: Another Volta a Catalunya Win
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Joaquim's first big win in 2014 was at the Volta a Catalunya. He won the third stage and the overall race for the second time in his career. He had to leave the Giro d'Italia early due to a crash where he broke a rib and fractured his thumb. He finished fourth overall in the Vuelta a España.
2015: Double Tour de France Stage Wins
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In 2015, Joaquim won two stages in the Tour of the Basque Country and then won the entire race overall! In the Ardennes Classics, he finished fourth at La Flèche Wallonne and third at Liège–Bastogne–Liège.
In the Tour de France, Joaquim won two stages. He won stage 3, which finished on the tough Mur de Huy climb. He also won stage 12, which ended on the mountain top of Plateau de Beille. This was his first mountain stage win in the Tour de France. He finished second overall in the Vuelta a España, winning a stage and the "Combination classification" (for being good in all areas).
2016: Retirement from Road Racing
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Joaquim had a tough start to 2016 due to illness. However, he recovered and finished fifth in the Tour of the Basque Country. His goal for the Tour de France was to finish in the top ten. He started strong and was in third place after the first mountain stage.
During the Tour, Joaquim announced that he would retire from professional cycling at the end of the season. He hoped to compete in the Rio Olympics and the Vuelta a España. His performance dipped a bit in the middle of the Tour, but he fought back in the final week to finish seventh overall. On the last stage, he was given the honor of leading the group of riders onto the Champs-Élysées to mark his final appearance in the race.
After the Tour, he finished fourth in the Clásica de San Sebastián. He then competed in the Olympic road race in his first Olympic appearance, finishing fifth. After the Olympics, he confirmed he would retire right away. However, he did race a few more times before his contract ended, with his final race being the Il Lombardia.
After Retirement: Team Ambassador
In October 2016, it was announced that Joaquim would join the Bahrain–Merida team for 2017. He was initially going to be a rider, but then decided to fully retire in December 2016. He joined the team's staff as an ambassador, helping and representing the team.
Joaquim Rodríguez's Major Achievements
Here are some of Joaquim Rodríguez's most important wins and achievements:
- 2001
- 1st Overall Escalada a Montjuïc (a race in Barcelona)
- 2003
- 1st Stage 6 Paris–Nice
- 1st Stage 8 Vuelta a España
- 2004
- 1st Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
- 2005
- 1st Mountains classification, Vuelta a España (best climber)
- 1st Subida a Urkiola
- 2006
- 1st Stage 5 Paris–Nice
- 2007
- 1st Road race, National Road Championships (Spanish Champion)
- 1st Klasika Primavera
- 1st Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia
- 2008
- 1st Stage 3 Tirreno–Adriatico
- 2009
- 1st Stage 4 Tirreno–Adriatico
- 3rd Road race, World Championships (Bronze Medal)
- 2010
- 1st UCI World Ranking (World Number 1)
- 1st Overall Volta a Catalunya
- 1st GP Miguel Induráin
- 1st Stage 12 Tour de France
- 1st Stage 14 Vuelta a España
- 3rd Overall Vuelta a España
- 2011
- 1st Overall Vuelta a Burgos
- 1st Stages 5 & 8 Vuelta a España
- 3rd Giro di Lombardia
- 2012
- 1st UCI World Tour (World Number 1)
- 1st Giro di Lombardia
- 1st La Flèche Wallonne
- 2nd Overall Giro d'Italia
- 1st Points classification, Giro d'Italia
- 1st Stages 10 & 17 Giro d'Italia
- 3rd Overall Vuelta a España
- 1st Stages 6, 12 & 14 Vuelta a España
- 2013
- 1st UCI World Tour (World Number 1)
- 1st Giro di Lombardia
- 2nd Road race, World Championships (Silver Medal)
- 3rd Overall Tour de France
- 1st Stage 19 Vuelta a España
- 2014
- 1st Overall Volta a Catalunya
- 2015
- 1st Overall Tour of the Basque Country
- 1st Stages 3 & 12 Tour de France
- 2nd Overall Vuelta a España
- 1st Combination classification, Vuelta a España
- 1st Stage 15 Vuelta a España
- 2016
- 5th Road race, Olympic Games
- 7th Overall Tour de France
- 2019
- 1st Overall Masters Cape Epic (a mountain bike race)
Images for kids
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Rodriguez (left) at the 2005 Clásica de San Sebastián
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Rodríguez at the 2007 Tour de Pologne
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Rodriguez at the 2010 Tour de France
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Rodríguez at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné
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Rodríguez (right), wearing the maglia rosa (pink jersey) as the leader, at the 2012 Giro d'Italia
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Rodriguez at the 2014 Tour de France
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Rodriguez at the 2015 Tour de France
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Rodríguez at the 2016 Tour de France
See also
In Spanish: Joaquim Rodríguez para niños
