José Joaquín Rojas facts for kids
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Rojas at the 2013 Tour de France.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José Joaquín Rojas Gil | ||
| Born | 8 June 1985 Cieza, Murcia, Spain |
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| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Weight | 70 kg (154 lb) | ||
| Team information | |||
| Current team | Retired | ||
| Discipline | Road | ||
| Role | Rider | ||
| Rider type | Sprinter | ||
| Major wins | |||
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José Joaquín Rojas Gil, born on June 8, 1985, is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist. He competed as a professional rider from 2006 until he retired in 2023. Rojas was known for his skills as a sprinter and his ability to perform well in different types of races.
His Cycling Journey
José Joaquín Rojas started his professional cycling career in 2006. He joined the team Liberty Seguros–Würth. His older brother, Mariano Rojas, was also a professional cyclist. Sadly, Mariano passed away in 1996 due to a traffic accident.
Rojas was chosen to race in the 2012 Tour de France, which is one of the biggest cycling events. However, he had to leave the race early. He crashed during Stage 3 and broke his left collarbone. This meant he could not continue competing in the Tour that year.
He returned to the Tour de France in 2013. He finished 79th overall in the race. This was a good result for a sprinter. He also placed 7th in the points classification. His best stage finish was third place on Stage 3. He had seven top-ten finishes during that Tour.
In the 2014 Tour de France, Rojas faced a challenge. He was removed from the race for getting too much help from his team car. This happened while he was going down a hill called the Tourmalet. Cyclists are not allowed to get too much assistance from vehicles during a race.
Big Wins and Achievements
José Joaquín Rojas had many important wins and strong finishes throughout his career. He was especially good at one-day races and sprint finishes.
Some of his major achievements include:
- Winning the Spanish National Road Race Championships twice. He became the Spanish champion in 2011 and again in 2016.
- Winning the Road race in the National Junior Road Championships in 2002.
- Winning the Time trial in the National Junior Road Championships in 2003.
- Taking first place in the Mountains classification at the 2006 Tirreno–Adriatico.
- Winning a stage in the 2007 Vuelta a Murcia.
- Winning the Young Rider classification twice at the Tour Down Under (2008, 2009).
- Winning a stage in the 2012 Tour of the Basque Country.
- Winning a stage and the Points classification in the 2014 Vuelta a Castilla y León.
- Winning a stage in the 2015 Tour of Qatar.
He also had many top-ten finishes in other important races. These include the Gent–Wevelgem, GP Ouest–France, and Vattenfall Cyclassics.
Racing in the Biggest Tours
José Joaquín Rojas competed in the three biggest cycling races, known as Grand Tours: the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France, and the Vuelta a España. Here's how he did in these long and challenging races:
| Grand Tour | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Giro d'Italia |
DNF | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 49 | 50 | — | 50 | — | — | 69 | 79 |
 Tour de France |
— | — | 84 | 68 | 80 | DNF | 79 | DSQ | — | — | — | DNF | — | 70 | — | — | — |
 / Vuelta a España |
— | — | — | — | — | DNF | — | — | 43 | DNF | 22 | — | 30 | 32 | 56 | — | — |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
| DSQ | Disqualified |
See also
In Spanish: José Joaquín Rojas para niños
