Robbie McEwen

Infobox Cyclist
ridername = Robbie McEwen

---

image_caption = McEwen in 2008
fullname = Robbie McEwen
nickname = Pocket Rocket
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1972|6|24
country = AUS
height = height|m=1.71
weight = convert|67|kg|lb st|abbr=on|lk=on
currentteam = Silence-Lotto
discipline = Road
role = Rider
ridertype = Sprinter
proyears = 1996-1999
2000
2001
2002
2003-
proteams = Rabobank
Farm Frites
Domo-Farm Frites
Lotto-Adecco
Lotto-Domo "(2003-2004)"
Davitamon-Lotto "(2005-2006)"
Predictor-Lotto "(2007)"
Silence-Lotto "(2008-)"
majorwins = Tour de France, Green Jersey (2002, 2004, 2006), 12 stages
Giro d'Italia, 12 stages
AUS Road Race Champion (2002, 2005)
Paris-Brussels (2002, 2005, 2006, 2007)
updated = September 16, 2007

Robbie McEwen (born June 24, 1972 in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian professional road bicycle racer, specializing in sprint finishes. As a triple winner of the Tour de France's spinters' classification, at his peak , he was considered one of the fastest sprinters in the world.

A former junior Australian BMX champion, McEwen switched to road racing in 1990 at 18. He was first selected for the Australian national road team in 1994. McEwen lives in Brakel, Belgium with his wife Angélique Pattyn, his son Ewan, and his daughter Elena.

Career

McEwen started road cycling in 1992 at the Institute of Sport in Canberra under head coach Heiko Salzwedel. The first signs of his sprinting prowess on the international stage were stage wins in The Peace Race riding for the Australian national team .He competed in the road race at the 1996 Summer Olympics (23rd) and the 2000 Summer Olympics (19th). Also included on the Australian team for the 1994 UCI Road Cycling World Championship in Italy, and the 2002 UCI Road Cycling World Championship in Belgium where he won a silver medal. McEwen was selected for Australia at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the road race team of Michael Rogers, Stuart O'Grady, Baden Cooke and Matthew White. He was named 2002 Australian Cyclist of the Year, 2002 Male Road Cyclist of the Year and 1999 Australia Male Road Cyclist of the Year.

Tour de France

McEwen has participated in the Tour de France 11 times, in 1997 (117th), 1998 (89th), 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. He has had 12 stage wins. In 1999 on stage 20 he won the sprint in Paris on the Champs-Elysées. In 2002 he won stage 3: Metz - Reims and stage 20: Melun – Paris. In 2004 he won stages 3 and 9. In 2005, he was relegated in stage 3 by referees after clashing with fellow Australian Stuart O’Grady. He won stage 5 to Montargis, stage 7 to Karlsruhe in Germany and stage 13 to Montpellier.

He started the 2007 Tour with a victorious sprint on stage 1 to Canterbury. The stage win was seen as remarkable as he had crashed with 20km to go. He landed on his wrist and elbow but with the help of his team he clawed his way back to the bunch to win the sprint by over a bike length. The injuries he sustained from this crash did not prevent him from continuing but eventually he was forced out of the race when the Tour entered the Mountains and he failed to finish stage eight within the time limit.

By 2006, McEwen had won the sprinters' green jersey points competition three times in the Tour de France in 2002 and 2004 against rival Australians, Baden Cooke and Stuart O'Grady, and again in 2006 against Erik Zabel and Thor Hushovd. He was the first Australian to win the overall Sprint Classification of the Tour de France.

In 2002 McEwen won the green jersey with O’Grady third and Cooke fourth. In 2003 Baden Cooke won the green jersey with McEwen second and O’Grady seventh.

In 2004 McEwen won the green jersey for a second time defeating Thor Hushovd of Norway, and Erik Zabel of Germany, with O'Grady 4th and Cooke 12th. He had fractured two vertebrae early in the Tour and had ridden the race in pain. Three days after the Tour de France he came second to Lance Armstrong in a criterium in the Netherlands.cite news
first = Gerry
last = Collins
title = Robbie McEwen: Too tough to quit
url = http://abc.net.au/olympics/2004/profiles/robbie_mcewen.htm
publisher = ABC News
date =2nd August 2004
accessdate = 2007-07-29 ]

Major victories

;2001:Trofeo Palmanova-Palmanova:Circuit de Brabant Wallon:Stage 2 Ronde van Nederland:Stage 4 Tour de la Region Wallonne:Stage 2 Tour Méditerranéen:Stages 3 and 4 Herald Sun Tour:Stages 2 and 3, International Uniqa Classic:Stage 5, Challenge Mallorca ;2002:AUS National Road Race Champion:Tour de France::::Stages 3 and 20:Stage 4 and 10, Giro d'Italia:Stage 2 and 7, Paris-Nice:Paris-Brussels:Tour Down Under::Sprint Classification::Stages 1, 3, 4 and 6:Étoile de Bessèges::Overall winner::Winner stage 1:Circuit Franco-Belge::1st Overall::Winner stages 2 and 3:Grote Scheldeprijs:Delta Profronde;2003:Giro d'Italia::Stages 4 and 11:Stage 2 Tour de Suisse:Stage 4 Étoile de Bessèges:Dwars door Vlaanderen Waregem:Stage 3, Tour Down Under;2004:Tour de France::::Stages 2 and 9:Stage 5, Giro d'Italia:Stage 2 and 4, Tour de Suisse:Tour Down Under::Sprint Classification::Stages 1 and 4:Aalst Criterium:Memorial Samyn-Fayt-le-Franc:Wateringse Wielerdag:Spektakel van Steenwijk:Profronde van Ooostvoorne:Gouden Pijl;2005:Paris-Brussels:Tour de France:Winner stages 5, 7 and 13:Stage 4, Tour de Suisse:Giro d'Italia::Stages 2, 6 and 10:AUS National Road Race Champion:Tour Down Under::Stages 1, 2 and 6:GP de Fourmies:Bay Classic::Overall victory::Rounds 1 and 4;2006:Tour de France::::Stages 2, 4 and 6:Giro d'Italia::Stages 2, 4 and 6:Paris-Brussels:Jacobs Creek Classic:Aalst Criterium BEL;2007:Stage 1, Tour de France::::Stage 1:Stage 5, Tour de Suisse:Stage 2, Giro d'Italia:Stage 1, Tour de Romandie:Stage 1, Tirreno-Adriatico:Stage 5, Tour Down Under:Stage 3, Jayco Bay Classic:Stage 3, Eneco Tour:Paris-Brussels;2008:Stage 2, Tour de Romandie:Stage 3, Tour de Suisse:Stage 4, Tour de Suisse:1st, Vattenfall Cyclassics:1st, Paris-Brussels

References

External links

* [http://www.mcewenrobbie.com Official Site]
* [http://www.cycling.org.au/Content/NavigationMenu/H_P_/Rider_Profiles/Male_Riders/Robbie_McEwen.htm Australian Cycling Federation profile]
* [http://www.cyclingpost.com/profiles/predictorlotto/article_001770.shtml Robbie McEwen profile]

References

Persondata
NAME= McEwen, Robbie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Road bicycle racer
DATE OF BIRTH= 1972-06-24
PLACE OF BIRTH=Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=