Filip Meirhaeghe

Infobox Cyclist
ridername = Filip Meirhaeghe


fullname = Filip Meirhaeghe
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1971|3|5
country = BEL
height =
weight =
currentteam = Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner
discipline = Road, Mountain bike
role = Rider
ridertype =
amateuryears =
amateurteams =
proyears =
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majorwins = Silver medal 2000 Summer Olympics (Mountain bike)
UCI MTB Cross Country World Championship (2003)
UCI Mountain Bike World Cup (2002)
updated = January 2, 2008

Filip Meirhaeghe (born March 5, 1971 in Ghent) is a Belgian racing cyclist. His primary focus was in mountain bike racing, however, he has also taken part in elite road, cyclo-cross and track cycling. He has won four Mountain Bike World Championships medals, one Olympic medal and a total of eleven mountain bike World Cup events. In the final years of his racing career he raced for the bicycle manufacturer Specialized Bicycle Components on the mountain bike and for the professional team Domina Vacanze-Elitron on the road.

Positive test results

On July 29, 2004, just before the 2004 Summer Olympics, Meirhaeghe admitted to have used EPO. He tested positive during the World Cup in Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec (Canada) and unlike most racers did not argue the validity of the test. During a press conference he admitted he used EPO simply because of his desire to win gold at the Olympic Games in Athens. He also announced at that time he would stop racing and retire. He wrote a book called "Positief", which tells the story of his life as an athlete and the consequences of his positive test. (issued by Davidsfonds - Dutch only).

End of retirement

Filip was suspended from professional racing based on his positive test result until January 14, 2006. On January 1, 2006 he announced he would resume racing. He signed a three year contract to race for Landbouwkrediet-Colnago on the road and Versluys-Landbouwkrediet-Sportstech on mountain bikes. He made his come back during the beach-race of Oostduinkerke (Belgium). [http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2006/jan06/jan01news]

Major racing achievements

* 2000 Summer Olympics
** Silver: 2000 - Sydney (AUS)

* Mountain Bike World Championships
** Gold: 2003 - Lugano (SUI)
** Silver: 2002 - Kaprun (AUT)
** Bronze: 1998 - Mont Sainte-Anne (CAN)
** Bronze: 1999 - Åre (SWE)

* Mountain Bike World Cup
** Winner: 2002

* European XC MTB Championships
** Champion: 2000

* Belgian XC MTB Championships
** Champion: 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001

* Belgian Downhill National Championships
** Champion 1994

* Paris-Roubaix mountain bike
** Winner: 1997, 2002

ee also

* List of doping cases in cycling
*List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences

External links

* [http://www.filipmeirhaeghe.be/ Filip's official website]
* [http://www.meirhaeghefilip.be/?taal=en Filip's fan website (english)]