2008 in men's road cycling

"2008 in road cycling" redirects here. For the women's overview, see 2008 in women's road cycling.

In 2008, for the first time in ten years, two Grand Tours were won by one rider, the Spaniard Alberto Contador. Alessandro Ballan succeeded fellow Italian Paolo Bettini as World Champion, winning the road race in his home country, where Varese hosted the World Championships for the second time in history. Bettini and German sprinter Erik Zabel were among the most prominent riders to quit after this season, while Mario Cipollini made a brief comeback in the early months of the year.

Despite even tighter controls and warnings concerning doping, and the introduction of the blood passport by the UCI, several major races, including the Giro and Tour were faced with positive tests. In addition, the ongoing feud between the UCI and the race organizations almost came to a definite break in March, when the UCI threatened to suspend riders participating in ASO's Paris–Nice. The cycling federation's ProTour seemed bankrupt halfway through the year when all remaining licensed teams announced their withdrawal. However, at the start of 2009, 16 teams saw their ProTour license renewed and two new teams joined the elite division of cycling. Crédit Agricole and Gerolsteiner stopped sponsorship of a team, and were not succeeded by new sponsors. Other than Gerolsteiner, many German companies who participated in cycling sponsorship in recent years withdrew their financial backing after this year's latest of doping cases related to German cycling. As a result, fewer professional teams and races, among them the Deutschland Tour, will be part of the 2009 season.

Amongst professional riders, Mark Cavendish was the most successful with 17 victories, including 4 in the Tour de France and two in the Giro d'Italia.[1] His team, Team High Road (which got a new sponsor midway through the season, ever since going by the name Team Columbia), was by far the most successful with 77 victories.[2] Alejandro Valverde was the most successful allround rider of the year based on the CQ ranking.[3]

After the end of the season, seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong announced his comeback to competitive road cycling for 2009, with the Astana Team.

Grand Tours

Race Date Winner Second Third
France Tour de France[4] Jul 5 - Jul 27 Spain Carlos Sastre Australia Cadel Evans Austria Bernhard Kohl
Italy Giro d'Italia May 10 - Jun 1 Spain Alberto Contador Italy Riccardo Riccò Italy Marzio Bruseghin
Spain Vuelta a España Aug 30 - Sep 21 Spain Alberto Contador United States Levi Leipheimer Spain Carlos Sastre

World Championships Varese Italy

Race Date Winner Second Third
World Championship Road Race Sep 28 Italy Alessandro Ballan Italy Damiano Cunego Denmark Matti Breschel
World Championship Time Trial Sep 25 Germany Bert Grabsch Canada Svein Tuft United States David Zabriskie

Olympic Games Beijing China

Race Date Winner Second Third
Olympic Road Race Aug 9 Spain Samuel Sánchez Italy Davide Rebellin Switzerland Fabian Cancellara
Olympic Time Trial Aug 13 Switzerland Fabian Cancellara Sweden Gustav Larsson United States Levi Leipheimer

Monument Classics

Race Date Winner Second Third
Italy Milan–San Remo Mar 22 Switzerland Fabian Cancellara Italy Filippo Pozzato Belgium Philippe Gilbert
Belgium Tour of Flanders Apr 6 Belgium Stijn Devolder Belgium Nick Nuyens Spain Juan Antonio Flecha
France Paris–Roubaix Apr 13 Belgium Tom Boonen Switzerland Fabian Cancellara Italy Alessandro Ballan
Belgium Liège–Bastogne–Liège Apr 27 Spain Alejandro Valverde Italy Davide Rebellin Luxembourg Fränk Schleck
Italy Giro di Lombardia Oct 18 Italy Damiano Cunego Slovenia Janez Brajkovič Colombia Rigoberto Urán

UCI ProTour

Race Date Winner Second Third
Australia Tour Down Under Jan 22 - Jan 27 Germany André Greipel Australia Allan Davis Spain José Joaquín Rojas
Spain Vuelta al País Vasco Apr 7 - Apr 12 Spain Alberto Contador Australia Cadel Evans Netherlands Thomas Dekker
Belgium Gent–Wevelgem Apr 9 Spain Óscar Freire Switzerland Aurélien Clerc Belgium Wouter Weylandt
Netherlands Amstel Gold Race Apr 27 Italy Damiano Cunego Luxembourg Fränk Schleck Spain Alejandro Valverde
Switzerland Tour de Romandie Apr 29 - May 4 Germany Andreas Klöden Czech Republic Roman Kreuziger Italy Marco Pinotti
Spain Volta a Catalunya May 19 - May 25 Spain Gustavo César Colombia Rigoberto Urán France Rémi Pauriol
France Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré Jun 8 - Jun 15 Spain Alejandro Valverde Australia Cadel Evans United States Levi Leipheimer
Switzerland Tour de Suisse Jun 14 - Jun 22 Czech Republic Roman Kreuziger Germany Andreas Klöden Spain Igor Antón
Spain Clásica de San Sebastián Aug 2 Spain Alejandro Valverde Russia Alexandr Kolobnev Italy Davide Rebellin
BelgiumNetherlandsLuxembourg Tour of Benelux Aug 20 - Aug 27 Spain Iván Gutiérrez Belgium Sébastien Rosseler Australia Michael Rogers
France GP Ouest-France Aug 25 France Pierrick Fédrigo Italy Alessandro Ballan Spain David López
Germany Deutschland Tour Aug 29 - Sep 6 Germany Linus Gerdemann Sweden Thomas Lövkvist Slovenia Janez Brajkovič
Germany Vattenfall Cyclassics Sep 7 Australia Robbie McEwen Australia Mark Renshaw Australia Allan Davis
Poland Tour de Pologne Sep 14 - Sep 20 Germany Jens Voigt Denmark Lars Bak Italy Franco Pellizotti

2.HC Category Races

Race Date Winner Second Third
Malaysia Tour de Langkawi Feb 9 - Feb 17 Moldova Ruslan Ivanov France Matthieu Sprick Spain Gustavo César
United States Tour of California Feb 17 - Feb 24 United States Levi Leipheimer United Kingdom David Millar United States Christian Vande Velde
France Paris–Nice Mar 9 - Mar 16 Italy Davide Rebellin Italy Rinaldo Nocentini Ukraine Yaroslav Popovych
Italy Tirreno–Adriatico Mar 12 - Mar 18 Switzerland Fabian Cancellara Italy Enrico Gasparotto Sweden Thomas Lövkvist
France Critérium International Mar 29 - Mar 30 Germany Jens Voigt Sweden Gustav Larsson Spain Luis León Sánchez
Belgium Three Days of De Panne Apr 1 - Apr 3 Netherlands Joost Posthuma Italy Manuel Quinziato Italy Enrico Gasparotto
United States Tour de Georgia Apr 21 - Apr 27 Belarus Kanstantin Siutsou Australia Trent Lowe United States Levi Leipheimer
France Four Days of Dunkirk May 6 - May 11 France Stéphane Augé France Clément Lhotellerie France Pierrick Fédrigo
Germany Bayern-Rundfahrt May 28 - Jun 1 Germany Christian Knees Switzerland Andreas Dietziker Netherlands Niki Terpstra
Luxembourg Tour de Luxembourg Jun 4 - Jun 8 Netherlands Joost Posthuma Switzerland Michael Albasini Luxembourg Fränk Schleck
Spain Euskal Bizikleta Jun 6 - Jun 8 Italy Eros Capecchi Spain Igor Antón Spain Adrian Palomares
Austria Tour of Austria July 6 - July 13 Austria Thomas Rohregger Russia Vladimir Gusev Ukraine Ruslan Pidgornyy
China Tour of Qinghai Lake July 11 - July 20 United States Tyler Hamilton Poland Marek Rutkiewicz Iran Hossein Askari
Belgium Tour de Wallonie July 26 - July 30 Russia Sergei Ivanov Belgium Greg Van Avermaet Italy Paolo Bettini
Denmark Danmark Rundt July 30 - Aug 3 Denmark Jakob Fuglsang United Kingdom Steve Cummings Netherlands Tom Stamsnijder
Spain Vuelta a Burgos Aug 5 - Aug 9 Spain Xabier Zandio Echaide Spain Iñigo Landaluze Colombia Walter Pedraza
Portugal Volta a Portugal Aug 13 - Aug 24 Spain David Blanco Spain Hector Guerra Spain Rubén Plaza

1.HC Category Races

Race Date Winner Second Third
Belgium Omloop Het Volk Mar 1 Belgium Philippe Gilbert Belgium Nick Nuyens Norway Thor Hushovd
Belgium E3 Prijs Vlaanderen Mar 29 Norway Kurt Asle Arvesen Germany David Kopp Belgium Greg Van Avermaet
Spain GP Miguel Indurain Apr 5 Germany Fabian Wegmann Switzerland Michael Albasini Spain Joaquim Rodríguez
Belgium Scheldeprijs Apr 16 United Kingdom Mark Cavendish Belgium Tom Boonen Australia Robbie McEwen
Belgium La Flèche Wallonne Apr 23 Luxembourg Kim Kirchen Australia Cadel Evans Italy Damiano Cunego
Germany Rund um den Henninger Turm May 1 Netherlands Karsten Kroon Italy Davide Rebellin Colombia Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano
United States Commerce Bank International Championship Jun 8 Denmark Matti Breschel United States Kirk O'Bee United States Fred Rodriguez
Switzerland GP du Canton d'Argovie Jun 8 France Lloyd Mondory Switzerland Manuel Quinziato Sweden Enrico Gasparotto
Netherlands Dutch Food Valley Classic Jun 11 Germany Robert Förster Germany Sven Krauss Belgium Niko Eeckhout
Italy Tre Valli Varesine Aug 19 Italy Francesco Ginanni Italy Leonardo Bertagnolli Italy Damiano Cunego
Italy Giro del Veneto Aug 31 Italy Francesco Ginanni Ukraine Serhiy Honchar Italy Andrea Masciarelli
Italy Coppa Placci Sep 6 Italy Luca Paolini Italy Enrico Gasparotto Italy Mauro Finetto
FranceBelgium Paris–Brussels Sep 13 Australia Robbie McEwen Belgium Gert Steegmans Italy Luca Paolini
France GP de Fourmies Sep 14 Italy Giovanni Visconti France Stéphane Goubert Italy Fabio Sacchi
Italy Giro del Lazio Oct 5 Italy Francesco Masciarelli Italy Filippo Pozzato Italy Danilo Di Luca
Italy Giro dell'Emilia Oct 11 Italy Danilo Di Luca Italy Davide Rebellin Russia Alexandr Kolobnev
France Paris–Tours Oct 12 Belgium Philippe Gilbert Belgium Jan Kuyckx France Sébastien Turgot
Italy Giro del Piemonte Oct 16 Italy Daniele Bennati Italy Luca Paolini Belarus Alexandre Usov
Japan Japan Cup Oct 26 Italy Damiano Cunego Italy Giovanni Visconti Italy Ivan Basso

National Road Race Championships

Race Date Winner Second Third
Australia Australia Jan 13 Australia Matthew Lloyd Australia Adam Hansen Australia Rory Sutherland
Austria Austria Jun 29 Austria Christian Pfannberger Austria Hans Peter Obwaller Austria Stefan Rucker
Belgium Belgium Jun 29 Belgium Jürgen Roelandts Belgium Sven Vanthourenhout Belgium Niko Eeckhout
Canada Canada Jul 6 Canada Christian Meier Canada Bruno Langlois Canada Jacob Erker
Czech RepublicSlovakia Czech Republic & Slovakia Jun 29 Slovakia Matej Jurčo Slovakia Roman Bronis Czech Republic Petr Bencík
Denmark Denmark Jun 29 Denmark Nicki Sørensen Denmark Matti Breschel Denmark Jens-Erik Madsen
France France Jun 29 France Nicolas Vogondy France Arnaud Coyot France Julien Loubet
Germany Germany Jun 29 Germany Fabian Wegmann Germany Erik Zabel Germany Gerald Ciolek
United Kingdom Great Britain Jun 29 United Kingdom Robert Hayles United Kingdom Peter Kennaugh United Kingdom Dean Downing
Republic of Ireland Ireland Jun 29 Republic of Ireland Dan Martin Republic of Ireland Paídi O'Brien Republic of Ireland Brian Kenneally
Italy Italy Jun 29 Italy Filippo Simeoni Italy Giovanni Visconti Italy Filippo Pozzato
Luxembourg Luxembourg Jun 27 Luxembourg Fränk Schleck Luxembourg Benoît Joachim Luxembourg Christian Poos
Netherlands Netherlands Jun 29 Netherlands Lars Boom Netherlands Koos Moerenhout Netherlands Steven de Jongh
New Zealand New Zealand Jan 13 New Zealand Julian Dean New Zealand Heath Blackgrove New Zealand Scott Lyttle
Norway Norway Jun 29 Norway Kurt Asle Arvesen Norway Stian Remme Norway Lars Petter Nordhaug
Portugal Portugal Jun 29 Portugal João Cabreira Portugal Tiago Machado Portugal Cândido Barbosa
Russia Russia Jun 29 Russia Sergey Ivanov Russia Aleksandr Bazhenov Russia Roman Klimov
Spain Spain Jun 29 Spain Alejandro Valverde Spain Óscar Sevilla Spain Óscar Pereiro
Sweden Sweden Jun 29 Sweden Jonas Ljungblad Sweden Nicklas Axelsson Sweden Thomas Lövkvist
Switzerland Switzerland Jun 29 Switzerland Markus Zberg Switzerland Martin Elmiger Switzerland Mathias Frank
Ukraine Ukraine Jun 28 Ukraine Ruslan Pidgornyy Ukraine Denis Kostiuk Ukraine Volodymyr Zagorodniy
United States USA Aug 31 United States Tyler Hamilton United States Blake Caldwell United States Danny Pate

National Time Trial Championships

Race Date Winner Second Third
Australia Australia Jan 10 Australia Adam Hansen Australia Rory Sutherland Australia Ben Day
Austria Austria Jun 28 Austria Stefan Denifl Austria Josef Benetseder Austria Matthias Brändle
Belgium Belgium Aug 15 Belgium Stijn Devolder Belgium Leif Hoste Belgium Dominique Cornu
Canada Canada Jul 4 Canada Svein Tuft Canada Ryan Roth Canada Zach Bell
Czech RepublicSlovakia Czech Republic & Slovakia Jun 27 Czech Republic František Raboň Czech Republic Jan Hruška Slovakia Matej Jurčo
Denmark Denmark Jun 26 Denmark Lars Bak Denmark Frank Høj Denmark Michael Blaudzun
France France Jun 26 France Sylvain Chavanel France Christophe Kern France Noan Lelarge
Germany Germany Jun 27 Germany Bert Grabsch Germany Stefan Schumacher Germany Tony Martin
United Kingdom Great Britain Jun 27 United Kingdom Michael Hutchinson United Kingdom Wouter Syybrandy United Kingdom Matthew Brottrill
Republic of Ireland Ireland Jun 27 Republic of Ireland Paul Healion Republic of Ireland Neil Delahaye Republic of Ireland John Heverin
Italy Italy Jun 22 Italy Marco Pinotti Italy Luca Celli Italy Maurizio Biondo
Luxembourg Luxembourg Jun 26 Luxembourg Kim Kirchen Luxembourg Christian Poos Luxembourg Benoît Joachim
Netherlands Netherlands Aug 31 Netherlands Lars Boom Netherlands Joost Posthuma Netherlands Koen de Kort
New Zealand New Zealand Jan 11 New Zealand Logan Hutchings New Zealand Paul Odlin New Zealand Gordon McCauley
Norway Norway Jun 27 Norway Edvald Boasson Hagen Norway Geir Lien Norway Knut Anders Fostervold
Portugal Portugal Jun 28 Portugal Sérgio Paulinho Portugal Tiago Machado Portugal Helder Oliveira
Russia Russia Jun 27 Russia Vladimir Gusev Russia Timofey Kritskiy Russia Vladimir Karpets
Spain Spain Jun 28 Spain Luis León Sánchez Spain Rubén Plaza Spain Iván Gutiérrez
Sweden Sweden Jun 25 Sweden Fredrik Ericsson Sweden Gustav Larsson Sweden Thomas Lövkvist
Switzerland Switzerland Jun 29 Switzerland Fabian Cancellara Switzerland Rubens Bertogliati Switzerland Andreas Dietziker
Ukraine Ukraine Jun 26 Ukraine Andrey Grivko Ukraine Sergey Matveev Ukraine Denis Kostiuk
United States USA Sep 1 United States David Zabriskie United States Tom Zirbel United States Christian Vande Velde

References

See also

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