Christophe Agnolutto

Last updated

Christophe Agnolutto
Christophe AGNOLUTTO.jpg
Personal information
Full nameChristophe Agnolutto
Born (1969-12-06) 6 December 1969 (age 55)
Soisy-sous-Montmorency, France
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Major wins
1 stage 2000 Tour de France

Christophe Agnolutto (born 6 December 1969) [1] is a professional road bicycle racer from France.

Contents

Agnolutto was a commercial artist when, as an amateur in 1995, he won Bordeaux-Saintes and the GP Nord-Pas de Calais and came third in the national championship. He rode successively for the CSM Puteaux, the US Créteil and the ASPPT [2] Paris. He dedicated himself to cycling when he met his wife, Mélanie, when he was 23. [1] He turned professional the following year for Petit Casino, sponsored by a supermarket chain. He stayed with the team and its directeur sportif, Vincent Lavenu, through changes of sponsors. [1] He said: "I didn't exactly have a lot of other offers." [1]

Then he left for Agritubel. He said:

I needed a change of air. I owe a lot to Vincent, who let me turn professional and who gave me contracts for nine years, but the current didn't pass any more with certain members of the team. And finally, Vincent wasn't able to say if he would keep me for 2005, so I needed to move. I was in contact with Agritubel during the Tour du Poitou-Charentes in August and I was interested straight away. [3]

Agnolutto won the 1997 Tour de Suisse after breaking clear on the second stage. The favourites didn't take up the chase and couldn't make up Agnolutto's lead afterwards. He said in 2001:

Winning served me well financially but also in terms of being known inside and outside the peloton. On the other hand, I rested on my laurels for the next two years. Especially after the 1998 Tour, [4] which killed my enthusiasm for riding a bike. In 1999, the birth of my daughter occupied all my thoughts for a few months but I put myself out of the running [hors-jeu]. I didn't want to ride a Tour de France which had lost its shine [qui ne me faisait plus rêver] That year I lived the Tour via my television screen and I realised I was missing something important. I promised myself I'd ride as many as I could. And to compete. Which is how my stage win came about. [5]

That win was stage seven of the 2000 Tour de France, taken in an early breakaway. It was France's first win in the Tour for two years, since Jacky Durand in 1998. He told his team-mates that morning what he planned to do and attacked three times at the start of the stage. On the third attempt he cleared the front of the race alone. He rode alone in the rain for 80 km of the 127 km from Tours to Limoges, getting up to 8m 20s lead.

Agnolutto rode the Tour five times and won nine races as a professional before retiring at the end of 2006. [6]

Retirement

Agnulotto lives in Pau and coaches the UN Pau Béarn. He studied for a Brevet d'État to open a school of sport and business and organises training camps for cyclists. [7] He runs a cycle shop [8] at Salies-de-Béarn [9] and helps organise a bike ride named after him.

Tour de France

Major results

1996 Petit Casino

First year as a professional

1997 Casino
Overall and Stage 2 Tour de Suisse (2.1)
A Travers le Morbihan (1.2)
97th overall Tour de France
1998 Casino
Stage 6 Tour de Romandie (2.HC)
31st overall Tour de France
1999 Casino
King of the Mountains Tour de Luxembourg (2.2)
2000 Ag2r Prévoyance
Stage 7 win and 66th overall Tour de France (2.HC)
2001 Ag2r Decathlon
120th overall Tour de France
2002 Ag2r Prévoyance
144th overall Tour de France
2003 Ag2r Prévoyance
2004 Ag2r Prévoyance
3rd overall Tour de Wallonie (2.3)
2005 Agritubel
Stage 1 Tour du Poitou Charentes de la Vienne (2.1)
2006 Agritubel

Retired at end of season

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christophe Moreau</span> French cyclist

Christophe Moreau is a French former professional road racing cyclist. For many years Moreau was the primary French contender for the general classification in the Tour de France: he finished in the top 12 in the GC five times and finished the race as best Frenchman in 2000, 2003, 2004 and 2005. He also enjoyed success in the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, winning the race overall in 2001 and 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacky Durand</span> French cyclist

Jacky Durand is a French former professional road bicycle racer. Durand had an attacking style, winning the Tour of Flanders in 1992 after a 217 kilometres (135 mi) breakaway, and three stages in the Tour de France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sylvain Chavanel</span> French cyclist

Sylvain Chavanel is a French former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2000 and 2018 for the Cofidis, Omega Pharma–Quick-Step, IAM Cycling and two spells with the Brioches La Boulangère/Direct Énergie team. His brother Sébastien Chavanel also rode as a professional cyclist. Sylvain Chavanel was noted as a strong all-rounder who won both sprints and time-trials, and was a good northern classics rider, taking 45 wins during his professional career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale</span> Cycling team

Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale is a French cycling team with UCI WorldTeam status. Its title sponsors are French sporting goods retailer Decathlon and French insurance firm AG2R La Mondiale. The team is predominantly French.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agritubel</span> French road race cycling team

Agritubel Pro Cycling Team was a French professional road race cycling team. The team's title sponsor, Agritubel, is a manufacturer and supplier of tubular metal products for cattle, livestock and farming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Casper</span> French cyclist

Jimmy Casper is a French retired road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 1998 and 2012. He won stage 1 of the 2006 Tour de France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Dumoulin</span> Road bicycle racer (born 1980)

Samuel Dumoulin is a French former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2019 for the Jean Delatour, Cofidis and AG2R La Mondiale teams. He now works as a directeur sportif for UCI ProTeam B&B Hotels p/b KTM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florent Brard</span> French cyclist (born 1976)

Florent Brard is a French former road bicycle racer. He won three national championships, including the professional road race. He became a professional in 1999 and stopped racing in November 2009 after not finding a place in a team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexandre Usov</span> Belarusian cyclist

Alexandre Usov is a Belarusian retired racing cyclist. His specialty is sprinting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yuriy Krivtsov</span> Ukrainian cyclist

Yuriy Krivtsov is a French professional road bicycle racer, who last rode for the Lampre–ISD team. Ukrainian by birth, he became a naturalized French citizen in May 2010, and was able to change his nationality per the UCI effective the 2011 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christophe Riblon</span> French cyclist (born 1981)

Christophe Riblon is a French former road and track racing cyclist who competed as a professional for the AG2R La Mondiale team for 13 seasons between 2005 and 2017. He also competed for France at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicolas Rousseau</span> French cyclist

Nicolas Rousseau is a French professional road bicycle racer for St. Michel–Mavic–Auber93. He won stage 3 of the 2010 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damien Gaudin</span> French road bicycle racer

Damien Gaudin is a French former road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional from 2008 to 2021. He competed for France at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yauheni Hutarovich</span> Belarusian road bicycle racer

Yauheni Hutarovich is a Belarusian former road racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2007 and 2016 for the Roubaix–Lille Métropole, FDJ–BigMat, Ag2r–La Mondiale and Fortuneo–Vital Concept teams. He currently works as a directeur sportif for UCI Continental team Minsk Cycling Club.

Ludovic Capelle is a Belgian former professional road racing cyclist. He was professional from 1998 until 2009, riding for Ville de Charleroi–New Systems (1998–2000), AG2R Prévoyance (2001–2002), Landbouwkrediet–Colnago (2003–2005), Roubaix–Lille Métropole (2007), Rietumu Banka–Riga (2008) and Continental Team Differdange (2009). He rode the 2001 Tour de France and recorded victories at Scheldeprijs Vlaanderen (2003), Dwars door Vlaanderen (2004) and Grand Prix d'Isbergues (2004).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Christophe Péraud</span> French racing cyclist

Jean-Christophe Péraud is a retired French cyclist who rode for Omega Pharma–Lotto and AG2R La Mondiale during his professional career. He was a member of the French team at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Gallopin</span> French road bicycle racer

Tony Gallopin is a French former professional road racing cyclist, who competed as a professional from 2008 to 2023. During his career, he won a stage at the 2014 Tour de France and the 2018 Vuelta a España, and also won the 2013 Clásica de San Sebastián.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Ravard</span> French cyclist

Anthony Ravard is a French former road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2005 and 2013. Ravard competed professionally for UCI Pro Tour team Ag2r–La Mondiale, as well as the Bouygues Télécom and Agritubel squads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gediminas Bagdonas</span> Lithuanian road racing cyclist

Gediminas Bagdonas is a Lithuanian former professional road racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2007 and 2019 for the Klaipeda–Splendid, Ulan, Team Piemonte, An Post–Sean Kelly and AG2R La Mondiale teams. He was named in the start list for the 2015 Vuelta a España. Following his retirement, Bagdonas now works as a directeur sportif for UCI Continental team Kaunas Cycling Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexis Gougeard</span> French cyclist (born 1993)

Alexis Gougeard is a French cyclist, who last rode for UCI WorldTeam Cofidis.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 L'Équipe, France, 8 July 2000, p3
  2. A chain of sports clubs linked to the post office.
  3. "Velo Club, le Dimanche 05 décembre 2004, L'interview de Christophe Agnolutto". Archived from the original on 17 November 2008. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  4. Year of the Festina doping scandal
  5. "Je me vois bien continuer jusqu'à 40 ans!", unidentified cutting, 2001
  6. "Friday's EuroFile: Horner, Rodriguez confirmed for Tour; So is Würth". Archived from the original on 20 October 2006. Retrieved 2 July 2006. Agnolutto retires
  7. "Vélo 101 le site officiel du vélo - cyclisme VTT cyclosport cyclo-cross".
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 August 2008. Retrieved 27 November 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "AGNOLUTTO BIEN ETRE SPORT (SALIES-DE-BEARN) Chiffre d'affaires, résultat, bilans sur SOCIETE.COM - 502372253". www.societe.com. Retrieved 24 April 2023.