Tony Rominger

Infobox Cyclist
ridername = Tony Rominger


image_caption =
fullname = Tony Rominger
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1961|3|27
country = SUI
currentteam = Retired
discipline = Road
role = Rider
ridertype = All-rounder
amateuryears =
amateurteams =
proyears = 1986
1987
1988–1990
1991
1992–1993
1994
1995–1996
1997
proteams = Cilo-Aufina
Supermercati Brianzoli-Chateau d'Ax
Chateau d'Ax
Toshiba
CLAS-Cajastur
Mapei-CLAS
Mapei-GB
Cofidis
majorwins = UCI Road World Cup (1994)
Giro di Lombardia (1989, 1992)
Giro d'Italia (1995), 5 stages
Vuelta a España (1992, 1993, 1994), 13 stages
Tour de France, 3 stages
Hour Record (1994)
updated = December 31, 2007

Tony Rominger (born 27 March 1961 in Vejle, Denmark) is a Swiss former professional road racing cyclist who won major tours four times in his career—the Vuelta a España three consecutive years (1992, 1993, 1994) and Giro d'Italia once (1995). He was a challenger to Miguel Indurain's dominance in the Tour de France placing second in 1993 and winning the Polka dot jersey. His three wins in the Vuelta is an all-time record for that tour. In 2005 Roberto Heras broke that record but two months after the end of the race, Vuelta officials announced that Heras had tested positive for the banned "blood-boosting" drug EPO and disqualified him from the Vuelta.

In 1994 Rominger broke the World Hour record, by substantial margins, twice in the space of a few days. Although a virtual track novice, he used the Bordeaux velodrome to first achieve a distance of 53.832 km, and then a distance of 55.291 km. He retired in 1997 after breaking his collarbone at that year's Tour de France.

He began competitive cycling relatively late, allegedly spurred on to take it up as a competition with his brother who was already a rider. Rominger's chief strengths were exceptional time-trialling ability, and the ability to climb well and recuperate well from day to day.

Major achievements

* UCI Road World Cup Series Champion (1994)
* Vuelta al País Vasco (1992, 1993, 1994)
* Giro di Lombardia (1989, 1992)
* Tour de Romandie (1991, 1995)
* Tirreno-Adriatico (1989, 1990)
* Paris-Nice (1991, 1994)
* Grand Prix des Nations (1991, 1994)
* Subida a Urkiola (1993)
* GP Eddy Merckx (1994)
* Giro dell'Emilia (1988)
* Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme (1993)
* Hour Record: 22 Oct 1994 - Velodrome du Lac, Bordeaux, 53.832 km (33.450 miles)
* Hour Record: 05 Nov 1994 - Velodrome du Lac, Bordeaux, 55.291 km (34.356 miles)

Vuelta a España record

* 1994; 3rd 1996
* mountains classification: 1993, 1996
* Points classification: 1993
* 13 Vuelta career stage wins: 1992 (2 stages); 1993 (3 stages); 1994 (6 stages); 1996 (2 stages)

Giro d'Italia record

* General classification ("
* Points classification ("1995
* Intermediate Sprints classification ("maglia azzurra"): 1995
* 5 Giro career stage wins: 1988 (1 stage); 1995 (4 stages)

Tour de France record

* 1988: 68th overall
* 1990: 57th overall
* ; Stage 10, 11 and 19 wins
* 1995: 8th overall
* 1996: 10th overall

External links

* [http://www.biciclopedia.com/mediawiki-1.4.0/index.php?title=Tony_Rominger Palmarès]