Christophe Moreau

Last updated
Christophe Moreau
Tour de Romandie 2013 - etape4 - Christophe Moreau.jpg
Moreau at the 2013 Tour de Romandie
Personal information
Full nameChristophe Moreau
NicknameLe chien (French - "The Dog")
Born (1971-04-12) 12 April 1971 (age 53)
Vervins, France
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight71 kg (157 lb; 11 st 3 lb)
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeAll-rounder
Professional teams
1995–2001 Festina–Lotus
2002–2005 Crédit Agricole
2006–2007 AG2R Prévoyance
2008–2009 Agritubel
2010 Caisse d'Epargne
Major wins
Grand Tours
Tour de France
1 individual stage (2001)

Stage races

Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (2001, 2007)
Four Days of Dunkirk (2003)

One-day races and Classics

National Road Race Championships (2007)

Christophe Moreau (born 12 April 1971 in Vervins) 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.

Contents

Early professional career

Moreau debuted as a professional in 1995 with Festina–Lotus. He was a time trialist early in his career which brought him the victory in the Tour de l'Avenir prologue. He finished the 1997 Tour de France in 19th place overall.

Festina affair

Moreau continued his progression the following year when he won the final time trial and overall of the 1998 Critérium International. [1] He tested positive for anabolic steroids at the 1998 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. [2] Festina Team director Bruno Roussel defended Moreau by saying it was another member of the support staff who had deceived the cyclist and caused him to take the anabolic steroids. [3] As a result of this defence which was put forward by his lawyer, Moreau was able to continue competition. But during the 1998 Tour de France, after the Festina team soigneur Willy Voet was caught at the French-Belgian border, a doping scandal was uncovered which was referred to as the Festina affair. Moreau, along with two other members of the Festina team, Laurent Brochard and Armin Meier, admitted taking EPO after being arrested [4] and were ejected from the race. [5] Confessing alongside the other team members - except Richard Virenque - Moreau served a six-month suspension before returning to racing. [6]

Post-suspension career

Moreau returned to the 1999 Tour de France where he placed 3rd in the stage 8 individual time trial behind American Lance Armstrong and Swiss Alex Zülle [7] and finished the Tour in the 25th place. [8]

In the 2000 Tour de France, Moreau finished a career best with fourth place behind Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich and Spanish Festina teammate Joseba Beloki. This demonstrated him as a competent climber. This was the first time he finished as highest placed French rider at the Tour and it fueled hopes that he could win the race some day. He would finish highest placed French rider in the 2003, 2004 and 2005 editions of the Tour de France.

In 2001 and still riding for Festina, Moreau won the prestigious stage race the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. Moreau took the lead on the fifth stage by only one second over Russian Pavel Tonkov. [9] On the following day, both finished together second and third on the stage where there were no seconds awarded at the stage finish. [10] Moreau withstood the many attacks of Tonkov on the final stage to win the race. [11] Several weeks later, he won the prologue of the 2001 Tour de France and put on the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification. [12] Moreau was presented with the yellow jersey by two podium girls. One of which he began a relationship after meeting on the Tour podium and would later marry. [13] Moreau ended the Tour prematurely when he withdrew on the 12th stage. [14] Festina choose to end its sponsorship of a cycling team so Moreau joined Crédit Agricole. [15]

Career at Crédit Agricole

In 2002, in his first race of the season, Moreau crashed and broke his collarbone. [16] Moreau finished third overall in the Dauphiné Libéré behind the American teammates Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis. [17] In the 2002 Tour de France Moreau crashed on a descent on stage 15 and had to abandon again. [18]

In 2003, Moreau won the Four Days of Dunkirk race before going on to finish 8th in the 2003 Tour de France. At a pre season training camp in 2004, Moreau injured his knee which delayed his return to competition. His first win of the year came in the Trophée des Grimpeurs in May. [19] Two weeks later he won the Tour du Languedoc Roussillon stage race. [20] In the 2004 Tour de France, he was again the best French finisher in 12th place. During the 2005 Tour de France, he went very close to wearing the yellow jersey in the first days in the Alps but fell back to finish in the 11th place. At this time his team Credit Agricole publicly expressed their dissatisfaction with his results and he left the team for AG2R Prévoyance. Moreau finished 11th overall in the 2005 Tour de France.

Career after Crédit Agricole

Moreau was expected to support his new teammate Francisco "Paco" Mancebo at the 2006 Tour de France who had finished the 2005 Tour de France in fourth place. In the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Moreau finished second on the general classification behind Leipheimer and won the king of the mountains competition. When the Operation Puerto doping scandal was revealed the day before the Tour began, Mancebo was banned from competing in the Tour and Moreau became the leader for the general classification. After teammate Cyril Dessel took the yellow jersey on stage 11, Moreau worked for Dessel to try to preserve Dessel's high placing. On the 19th stage Moreau attacked on the climb to bring himself further up the classification and he finished the 2006 Tour de France in the 8th place behind Dessel (Moreau was later moved up to 7th place after the disqualification of Floyd Landis).

In the latter part of his career he was considered a 'clean' rider, and told reporters in 2007 that it had a big impact on him as a racer. "For my part, I paid for what I did," he said. "All I know is that I came out of it stronger. It transformed my life." [21]

Christophe Moreau.jpg

In the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Moreau demonstrated great form and panache. In the second stage with 40 km to go, he attacked with several others. With 7 km to go Moreau was driving the pace with Spaniard José Antonio Redondo. At the end of the stage, Redondo did not contest the sprint as he had not been working in the break, Moreau took the stage and the leader's jersey. [22] On the following stage 3 Individual time trial, Moreau finished some way back and lost over around 3 minutes. But on the stage to the legendary Mont Ventoux, Moreau attacked on the ascent and won the stage with over a minute on the second-place finisher and over two minutes on his rivals for the general classification. [23] He then lay in second overall 14 seconds behind the yellow jersey which he took back on stage six to win the race. [24] Two weeks later, he carried that same form to win the French national cycling championships. Despite being a favourite for the Individual time trial championships, Moreau finished way far back, but his form showed itself in the National cycling championships road race, in which he attacked his two breakaway companions with 40 km to the finish. He built up a great lead and won the championships with over two minutes over the second and third-place finishers. At 36 years of age, he won his first French champion title and pulled on the tricolour jersey. [25] Moreau started the 2007 Tour de France in good form and was in the top ten of the general classification after the first mountain stages of the Alps. However, after a crash in the fifteenth stage, Moreau fell back in the general classification and rode one of the Pyrenean stages in the gruppetto, which is the part of the peloton for the riders who wish only to make the time limit imposed on a mountain stage to remain in the race.

In September 2007, Moreau, citing financial reasons, announced that he was leaving AG2R Prévoyance and was signing a one-year contract with Agritubel for the 2008 season. [26] In the 2008 Tour de France Moreau quit the race during the 7th Stage. [27]

On 17 July, during the 2009 Tour de France, Moreau signed with the Movistar Team team for 2010, after previously having said he would retire following the 2009 season. [28]

Career achievements

Major results

1994
2nd Silver medal blank.svg Team time trial, UCI Road World Championships
1995
2nd Overall Tour de l'Ain
2nd Overall Tour de l'Avenir
1996
1st Overall Vuelta Ciclista de Chile
1st Prologue Tour de l'Avenir
3rd Time trial, National Road Championships
7th Overall Route du Sud
1997
3rd Time trial, National Road Championships
3rd Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
7th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
9th Overall Paris–Nice
1998
Route du Sud
1st Stages 1a & 1b (ITT)
1st Stage 3 (ITT) Critérium International
6th Overall Paris–Nice
1999
1st Jersey white.svg Overall Tour du Poitou-Charentes
1st Stage 4
2nd Time trial, National Road Championships
3rd Schaal Sels
3rd Chrono des Nations
6th Overall Route du Sud
1st Stage 1b
6th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
10th Giro di Lombardia
2000
2nd Trophée des Grimpeurs
4th Overall Tour de France
4th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
6th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
9th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
1st Stage 4 (ITT)
9th Overall Circuit de la Sarthe
9th Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise
2001
1st Jersey yellow-bluebar.svg Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
1st Prologue Tour de France
1st Josef Voegeli Memorial (with Florent Brard)
1st Baden–Baden (with Florent Brard)
1st Bol d'Or des Monédières
2nd Road race, National Road Championships
2nd Polynormande
3rd Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
8th Overall Circuit de la Sarthe
10th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
10th Overall Étoile de Bessèges
2002
3rd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
4th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
5th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
1st Stage 4
2003
1st Jersey white.svg Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
1st Stage 4 & 5 (ITT)
5th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
8th Overall Tour de France
9th La Flèche Wallonne
9th Grand Prix de la Ville de Lillers
9th Trophée des Grimpeurs
2004
1st Jersey yellow.svg Overall Tour du Languedoc-Roussillon
1st Stage 4
1st Trophée des Grimpeurs
2nd Time trial, National Road Championships
2nd Bordeaux–Caudéran
2005
1st Bordeaux–Caudéran
2nd Overall Tour du Poitou-Charentes
3rd Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
9th Overall Volta a Catalunya
2006
2nd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
1st Jersey white dots on red.svg Mountains classification
1st Jersey blue.svg Combination classification
3rd Overall Volta a Catalunya
1st Jersey red.svg Mountains classification
7th Overall Tour de France
7th Overall Circuit de la Sarthe
2007
1st MaillotFra.PNG Road race, National Road Championships
1st Jersey yellow-bluebar.svg Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
1st Jersey blue.svg Combination classification
1st Stages 2 & 4 (Mont Ventoux)
1st Bordeaux–Caudéran
4th Overall Volta a Catalunya
2008
2nd Overall Route du Sud
2nd Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
2009
4th Overall Volta ao Alentejo
5th GP Triberg-Schwarzwald
2010
5th Overall Tour du Limousin

General classification results timeline

Grand Tour general classification results
Grand Tour1995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010
Jersey pink.svg Giro d'Italia did not contest during his career
Jersey yellow.svg Tour de France 75 19 DNF 27 4 DNF DNF 8 12 11 7 36 DNF 27 20
Jersey gold.svg / Jersey red.svg Vuelta a España did not contest during his career
Major stage race general classification results
Race1995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010
Jersey white.svg/Jersey yellow.svg Paris–Nice 28 9 6 DSQ 15 11
Jersey yellowred.svg /Jersey blue.svg Tirreno–Adriatico did not contest during his career
MaillotVolta.png Volta a Catalunya 9 3 4 42
Jersey yellow.svg Tour of the Basque Country 91
Jersey green.svg/Jersey yellow.svg Tour de Romandie 35 14 11
Jersey yellow-bluebar.svg Critérium du Dauphiné DNF 7 17 29 6 1 3 5 DNF DNF 2 1 23
Jersey yellow.svg Tour de Suisse did not contest during his career

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luis Ocaña</span> Spanish cyclist

Jesús Luis Ocaña Pernía was a Spanish road bicycle racer who won the 1973 Tour de France and the 1970 Vuelta a España. During the 1971 Tour de France he launched an amazing solo breakaway that put him into the Yellow Jersey and stunned the rest of the main field, including back to back Tour champion Eddy Merckx, but abandoned in the fourteenth stage after a crash on the descent of the Col de Menté. Ocaña would abandon many Tours, but he finished every Vuelta a España he entered except for his first, and finished in the top 5 seven times in a row.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Virenque</span> French cyclist

Richard Virenque is a retired French professional road racing cyclist. He was one of the most popular French riders with fans for his boyish personality and his long, lone attacks. He was a climber, best remembered for winning the King of the Mountains competition of the Tour de France a record seven times, but he is best known from the general French public as one of the central figures in a widespread doping scandal in 1998, the Festina Affair, and for repeatedly denying his involvement despite damning evidence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iban Mayo</span> Spanish cyclist

Iban Mayo Diez is a former professional road bicycle racer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucien Van Impe</span> Belgian cyclist

Lucien Van Impe is a Belgian cyclist, who competed professionally between 1969 and 1987. He excelled mainly as a climber in multiple-day races such as the Tour de France. He was the winner of the 1976 Tour de France, and six times winner of the mountains classification in the Tour de France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Voeckler</span> French road racing cyclist

Thomas Voeckler is a French former road racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2017, for the Direct Énergie team and its previous iterations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luc Leblanc</span> French cyclist

Luc Leblanc is a retired French professional road cyclist. He was World Road Champion in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurent Brochard</span> French cyclist

Laurent Brochard is a retired professional road racing cyclist from France. In 1997 he won a stage of the Tour de France and became world road champion in San Sebastián, Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurent Dufaux</span> Swiss cyclist (born 1969)

Laurent Dufaux is a former professional road cyclist from 1991 to 2004. He was the Swiss National Road Race champion in 1991. Despite being a climber, he also won the hilly Züri-Metzgete one-day classic in 2000, outsprinting Jan Ullrich and Francesco Casagrande in a flat three-man group sprint finish. Notable results in the Grand Tours include a 4th place overall finish in both the 1996 and 1999 Tour de France and 2nd and 3rd place finishes in the 1996 and 1997 Vuelta a España, respectively. He also won the 1998 edition of his home region race, the Tour de Romandie, the 1993 and 1994 editions of the Dauphine Libere, and finished in the top 5 of the Tour de Suisse twice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Pingeon</span> French cyclist

Roger Pingeon was a professional road bicycle racer from France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Éric Caritoux</span> French cyclist

Éric Caritoux is a French former professional road racing cyclist who raced between 1983 and 1994. He had 22 victories in his career, the highlights of which were winning the Vuelta a España in 1984 and taking the French road race championships in 1988 and 1989. He rode the Tour de France on 11 occasions, his best finish being 12th in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyril Dessel</span> French cyclist

Cyril Dessel is a French former professional road racing cyclist, who competed as a professional from 2000 to 2011.

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

Pierrick Fédrigo is a French former racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2016 for the Crédit Agricole, Bbox Bouygues Telecom, FDJ.fr and Fortuneo–Vital Concept teams. He was the winner of the French National Road Race Championships in 2005, and won four stages at the Tour de France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charly Mottet</span> French cyclist

Charly Mottet is a French former professional cyclist. He was one of the best French road cyclists of his era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrice Halgand</span> French cyclist

Patrice Halgand is a French former professional road racing cyclist. He was one of only three Festina team riders who were named as clean during the Festina doping scandal during the 1998 Tour de France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Didier Rous</span> French cyclist

Didier Rous is a French former professional road bicycle racer. He competed in the men's individual road race at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stéphane Heulot</span> French cyclist

Stéphane Heulot is a French former road racing cyclist. Born in Rennes, Heulot wore the yellow jersey in the 1996 Tour de France during three stages. He also won the French National Road Race Championships in 1996. He was the manager of French cycling team Sojasun between 2009 and 2013. He joined Cannondale in February 2014 as the team's Performance Development Director. From 2019 to 2021, he worked as a directeur sportif for Rally UHC Cycling. In 2023, he became the general manager of UCI ProTeam Lotto–Dstny.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pascal Hervé</span> French cyclist

Pascal Hervé is a former French road racing cyclist. He competed in the individual road race at the 1992 Summer Olympics and raced as a professional from 1994 to 2001. Pascal now lives in Montreal, where he is co-owner of a training center that helps develop local athletes and amateurs of all ages. In between seasons, he holds cycling trips in various locations such as the Pyrénées, the Vosges, the Alpes and, most recently, the region of Charlevoix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">François Simon (cyclist)</span> French cyclist

François Simon is a French former professional road bicycle racer. He was professional from 1991 to 2002. He is the brother of Régis, Pascal and Jérôme, all professional cyclists. In the 2001 Tour de France, Simon wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification for three days and finished as best French finisher in that Tour. Other career highlights include a stage win in the 1992 Giro d'Italia, two stage wins in the Tour de l'Avenir, stage wins in Circuit de la Sarthe, Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré and Paris–Nice as well as being road race champion of France in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Cyril Robin</span> French cyclist

Jean-Cyril Robin is a French former professional road racing cyclist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Festina (cycling team)</span> Cycling team (1989–2001)

Festina was a former professional cycling team that was active in the professional peloton from 1989 to 2001. The team was sponsored by the Swiss watch manufacturer of the same name.

References

  1. "Criterium International". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  2. "Dauphiné Libéré : De las Cuevas leader". La Dépêche du Midi (in French). 11 June 1998. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  3. "Masseur at centre of drugs find is linked to Virenque". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  4. "Tour riders down wheels over drug use". London independent. Archived from the original on 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2007-07-28.
  5. "A hint of doping at Tour de France". Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on February 20, 2008. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  6. "Dopage 2". Humanite. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  7. "Dimanche 11 juillet Metz contre la montre". l'Humanite. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  8. "Classement General 1999 Tour de France". l'Humanite. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  9. "2001 Dauphiné Libéré Stage 5 results". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  10. "Dauphiné Libere Stage 6 report". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  11. "Dauphiné Libéré stage 7". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  12. "Tour de France prologue results and report". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  13. "Moreau au dessus du lot". Eurosport.fr. Archived from the original on 2013-07-19. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  14. "Stage 20 Tour de France results". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  15. "Et aussi les blues bien barres". l'Humanite. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  16. "GP d'ouverture Marseilles". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  17. "Dauphine Libere Stage 7 results". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  18. "End of the road for Moreau". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  19. "Trophée des Grimpeurs". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  20. "Stage 5 Tour du Languedoc Roussillon". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  21. "Rous ready to retire, Moreau not". Velonews. Archived from the original on 2007-06-13. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  22. "Coup Double pour Moreau". L'equipe.fr. Archived from the original on 2009-07-23. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  23. "Moreau puissance 2". L'equipe.fr. Archived from the original on 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  24. "Moreau en patron". L'equipe.fr. Archived from the original on 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  25. "French national road race championships 2007". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  26. "Moreau Set to Join Agritubel". Cyclingpost.com. Archived from the original on 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
  27. "Moreau pulls out on seventh stage". London: guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-07-10.[ dead link ]
  28. Pretot, Julien (2009-07-17). "Moreau agrees deal with Caisse d'Epargne for 2010". Reuters. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved 2009-08-12.