Joseba Beloki Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Joseba Beloki (b. August 12, 1973 in Lazkao (Guipúzcoa), in the Basque region of Spain) is a professional bicycle racer.
Beloki turned professional cyclist in 1998 with the Euskaltel team, joined Festina in 2000 and ONCE in 2001. A strong climber in the high mountains and a top performer in the individual time trials, he has made it to the podium in the Tour de France in 2000 (3rd place), 2001 (3rd place) and 2002 (2nd place). In 2001, Beloki also finished first in the Tour of Catalonia.
On July 14, 2003, during the ninth stage of the 2003 Tour de France, Beloki was in second place overall (just 40 seconds behind Lance Armstrong) and negotiating a hairpin turn while descending the Cote de La Rochette, just 8km from the stage finish at Gap. He lost control of his bicycle after his rear wheel lost traction on some tarmac that had been made molten by the sun (the road surface temperature was reported to be 125F), sending his rear wheel skidding first in one direction and then the other and shredding the rear tire. Beloki suffered a hard fall that broke his right femur in two places, his elbow and his wrist. Armstrong himself was very nearly taken out in the same crash, and had to take drastic evasive action to avoid coming to the same fate as Beloki.
With ONCE disbanding at the end of the 2003 season, Beloki opted to sign for the French team Brioches La Boulangère (formerly bonjour.fr) in preparation for the 2004 Tour de France. He was reported as being fully recovered from his injuries by early 2004, but it later transpired that those injuries were taking longer to heal than initially anticipated; as of mid-April 2004, Beloki had yet to begin serious competition for the season. He took the start of his home race, the Tour of the Basque Country, but failed to even complete the first stage before retiring in pain from his injuries. Rumours then began to circulate about the likelihood of his competing in the Tour de France in July.
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