Alex Zülle (born 5 July 1968) is a Swiss former professional road bicycle racer. During the 1990s he was one of the most successful cyclists in the world, winning the 1996 and 1997 Vuelta a España, taking second place in the 1995 and the 1999 Tour de France. He was world time-trial champion in Lugano in 1996.

Alex Zülle
Zülle at the 1993 Tour de France
Personal information
Full nameAlex Zülle
NicknamePerro Loco "Rompetechos"
Born (1968-07-05) 5 July 1968 (age 56)
Wil, Switzerland
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight72 kg (159 lb; 11 st 5 lb)
Team information
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeAll-rounder
Amateur team
1988-1991Helvetia, Isotonic, Churrasco, Mavick
Professional teams
1991–1997ONCE
1998Festina
1999–2000Banesto
2001–2002Team Coast
2003–2004Phonak
Major wins
Grand Tours
Tour de France
2 individual stages (1995, 1996)
Giro d'Italia
3 individual stages (1998)
Vuelta a España
General classification (1996, 1997)
9 individual stages (1993 - 2000)

Stage races

Tour de Suisse (2002)
Tour of the Basque Country (1995, 1997)
Paris–Nice (1993)
Volta a Catalunya (1996)

One-day races and Classics

World Time Trial Championships (1996)
Medal record
Representing  Switzerland
Men's road bicycle racing
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1996 Lugano Elite time trial

Biography

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Early career

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Zülle (centre) during the amateur race at the 1990 UCI Road World Championships

Zülle was born and brought up in Wil in the canton of St. Gallen, son of a Swiss father, Walter Zülle and Wilhelmine, from Brabant, Netherlands. As a child he wanted to be a skier but at 18 he was injured in an accident. He began cycling in the Netherlands for rehabilitation before giving up because it was too windy.[1]

His father, having bought cycling equipment, persuaded him to give cycling another go when they returned to Switzerland. After several years as a successful amateur, Zülle turned professional in 1991. He approached the former sporting director of the Swiss team, Helvetia, Paul Köchli, but Köchli signed Laurent Dufaux instead.[1]

Zülle then approached Manolo Saiz, but was rebuffed because, among reasons, he did not contract riders who wore earrings. Eventually, Saiz softened and Zülle rode for ONCE as a stagaire or apprentice in the Volta a Catalunya. He attacked frequently and finished third. Saiz relented and Zülle signed his first professional contract in September 1991.[2] He remained with ONCE until 1997.[3] Most of its riders were Spanish. Zülle spoke only Swiss-German when he joined but at the end of the Vuelta a España he answered journalists in Spanish.[4]

Festina affair

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In 1998, Zülle joined Festina. The team was banned from the 1998 Tour de France amid doping allegations which later became known as the Festina affair. Five Festina riders including Zülle admitted taking EPO.[5] Zülle said he took it to satisfy his sponsors. He also said he was deprived of his spectacles during the police interview.[6] On 28 November 1998, Zülle's haematocrit was found to be 52.3%, 2.3% over the limit.

1999–2004

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His career coincided with that of Miguel Indurain, five-times Tour de France winner. Zülle was second in the Tour in 1999. He also won the Vuelta a España and Tour de Suisse, and stages in the Giro d'Italia. Following financial problems for his employer, Team Coast, Zülle transferred to Phonak on 27 March 2003 in a rare mid-season switch.[7]

Zülle retired in 2004, and held a party for his fans in Wil in October that year.[8]

Career achievements

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Major results

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1990
1st Flèche du Sud
1991
1st   Overall Grand Prix Guillaume Tell
1st Prologue, Stage 2 & 4
3rd Overall Volta a Catalunya
4th Trofeo Masferrer
1992
1st   Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
1st   Overall Vuelta a Asturias
1st Stage 1b (ITT)
1st   Overall Vuelta a Burgos
1st Stage 5 (ITT)
1st   Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
1st Stage 1a
1st Stage 4 (ITT) Volta a Catalunya
1st Stage 2 Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali
3rd Gran Piemonte
4th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
4th Grand Prix des Nations
5th Milano–Torino
9th Wincanton Classic
1993
1st   Overall Paris–Nice
1st Prologue & Stage 7b (ITT)
1st Chur-Arosa
1st Josef Voegeli Memorial
2nd Overall Vuelta a España
1st Stages 1 (ITT), 6 (ITT) & 21 (ITT)
3rd Overall Tour of the Basque Country
3rd Overall Critérium International
5th Overall Euskal Bizikleta
6th Overall Volta a Catalunya
1994
1st Stage 1 (ITT) Volta a Catalunya
1st Stage 6 (ITT) Vuelta a Aragón
2nd Overall Vuelta a La Rioja
4th Overall Vuelta a España
8th Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
1995
1st   Overall Tour of the Basque Country
1st Stages 3 & 5b (ITT)
1st   Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
1st Stage 2b
1st Challenge Mallorca
1st Stage 16 Vuelta a España
2nd Overall Tour de Suisse
1st   Points classification
1st Prologue & Stage 5 (ITT)
2nd Overall Tour de France
1st Stage 9
2nd Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
1st Stage 5b (ITT)
2nd Overall Euskal Bizikleta
1st Stage 4b (ITT)
3rd Overall Paris–Nice
1996
1st   Time trial, UCI Road World Championships
1st   Overall Vuelta a España
1st Stage 15
1st   Overall Volta a Catalunya
1st Prologue, Stages 3 (ITT) & 6 (ITT)
1st   Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
1st Stage 3 & 5b (ITT)
1st GP Miguel Indurain
1st Prologue Tour de France
2nd Overall Euskal Bizikleta
1st Stage 4b (ITT)
7th Time trial, Olympic Games
8th Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
1997
1st   Overall Vuelta a España
1st Stage 21 (ITT)
1st   Overall Tour of the Basque Country
1st Stage 5b (ITT)
2nd Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
2nd Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
2nd Milano–Torino
3rd La Flèche Wallonne
5th Overall Vuelta a Murcia
1998
Giro d'Italia
1st Prologue, Stages 6 & 15 (ITT)
2nd Overall Tour de Romandie
1st Stage 4b (ITT)
3rd Overall Tour of the Basque Country
3rd Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
1st Stage 5b (ITT)
4th Overall Paris–Nice
5th Grand Prix Eddy Merckx (with Christophe Bassons)
8th Overall Vuelta a España
1st Stage 21 (ITT)
1999
1st À travers Lausanne
1st Stage 13 Vuelta a España
2nd Overall Tour de France
6th Breitling Grand Prix (with José Vicente García
10th Time trial, UCI Road World Championships
2000
1st   Overall Volta ao Algarve
1st Stage 4 (ITT)
1st Stage 1 (ITT) Vuelta a España
4th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
7th Overall Euskal Bizikleta
2001
1st Stage 4 Paris–Nice
3rd Overall Vuelta a Asturias
9th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
2002
1st   Overall Tour de Suisse
1st Prologue
1st   Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
1st Stage 5 (ITT)
2nd Overall Tour de Romandie
1st   Points classification
1st Stage 4 & 5 (ITT)
2nd Overall Volta ao Algarve
1st Stage 2
4th GP Triberg-Schwarzwald
5th Deutschland Tour
2003
3rd Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León
7th Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
2004
5th Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana

General classification results timeline

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Grand Tour general classification results
Grand Tour 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
  Giro d'Italia 14 DNF
  Tour de France DNF 41 8 2 26 DNF DNF 2 DNF
 /  Vuelta a España DNF 2 4 20 1 1 8 37 49 109 DNF
Major stage race general classification results
Race 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
 /  Paris–Nice 1 53 3 4 17 17 25
  Tirreno–Adriatico did not contest during his career
  Tour of the Basque Country 4 3 1 DNF 1 3 9 DNF 58 DNF
 /  Tour de Romandie 2 33 2 17 DNF
  Critérium du Dauphiné 4
  Volta a Catalunya 3 14 6 21 1 DNF
  Tour de Suisse 2 DNF 22 1 22 54
Legend
Did not compete
DNF Did not finish

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "portrait : how it all began". alex-zuelle.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-20.
  2. ^ "Interview with Alex Zulle". cyclingnews.com. 1998-01-01.
  3. ^ "portrait : startschwierigkeiten" (in German). alex-zuelle.com. Archived from the original on 2007-12-12.
  4. ^ "portrait : ein schweizer in spanien" (in German). alex-zuelle.com. Archived from the original on 2007-12-12.
  5. ^ "Tour de France". Sports Betting. Archived from the original on 2008-10-06.
  6. ^ "Drugs scandal update". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
  7. ^ "Alex Zülle ab sofort bei Phonak". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). 27 March 2003. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Zulle parties out". cyclingnews.com. 2004-10-21.
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