Kim Kirchen

Last updated
Kim Kirchen
Kim Kirchen.jpg
Personal information
Full nameKim Kirchen
NicknameGrim Kim [1]
Born (1978-07-03) 3 July 1978 (age 45)
Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Team information
Current teamNone
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeAll-rounder
Amateur team
1999–2000De Nardi-Pasta Montegrappa
Professional teams
2001–2005 Fassa Bortolo
2006–2009 T-Mobile Team
2010 Team Katusha
Major wins
Grand Tours
Tour de France
2 individual stages (2007, 2008)

Stage Races

Tour de Pologne (2005)

One-Day Races and Classics

National Road Race Championships
(1999, 2004, 2006)
National Time Trial Championships
(2008, 2009)
La Flèche Wallonne (2008)
Paris–Brussels (2003)

Kim Kirchen (born 3 July 1978 in Luxembourg City) is a Luxembourgian former road racing cyclist. He is the son of cyclist Erny Kirchen and the great-nephew of cyclist Jeng Kirchen. [2]

Contents

Biography

Kim Kirchen was born on July 3, 1978, in Luxembourg. His father, Erny Kirchen, was a cyclist, notably winning the Flèche du Sud and being the national vice-champion in 1974. [3]

Kim Kirchen started cycling at the age of 13 in 1992, with the Amis du Cyclisme de la Commune de Contern (ACC Contern), a renowned Luxembourgish club presided over by Marcel Gilles, where he notably rode alongside Fränk Schleck. [4]

Career

Kirchen signed as a professional cyclist in 2000 with De Nardi-Pasta Montegrappa, and went on to join Fassa Bortolo in 2001. For the 2006 cycling season, he joined the T-Mobile Team following the demise of the Fassa Bortolo team.

His first recorded race was in Dommeldange in 1999, and he had to wait until 2000 for his first professional victory when he won the Piva Col trophy. Kirchen was named the Luxembourgian Sportsman of the Year in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008, surpassing the achievement of fellow cyclist Charly Gaul and putting him fourth in the all-time stakes.

Kirchen in 2007 Kirchen Kim ChampLux2007.JPG
Kirchen in 2007

In July 2008 he showed good form during the Tour de France, placing 7th in the general classification [5] and wearing the yellow jersey for a total of four stages.

In 2010, Kirchen joined Team Katusha, after he was unable to agree with Team Columbia–HTC on a contract extension. [6] He suffered a suspected heart attack during the 2010 Tour de Suisse, in June 2010. [7] He did not race in 2011 because of the heart condition and later retired from the sport. [8] [9]

Since 2011, Kirchen co-commentates all cycling races broadcast on RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg, along with former Cofidis cyclist Tom Flammang.

Major results

1999
1st MaillotLuxemburgo.PNG Road race, National Road Championahips
2001
1st Stage 3 Tour de Luxembourg
2002
1st Jersey yellow.svg Overall Ronde van Nederland
1st Jersey yellow.svg Overall Tour de Berne
2003
1st Paris–Brussels
4th Overall Tour de Suisse
2004
1st MaillotLuxemburgo.PNG Road race, National Road Championahips
1st Stage Tour de Luxembourg
6th Road race, Olympic Games
2005
1st Jersey yellow.svg Overall Tour de Pologne
1st Jersey green.svg Points classification
1st Stage 7
1st Gran Premio di Chiasso
1st Trofeo Laigueglia
1st Stage 4 Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali
2nd La Flèche Wallonne
2nd Coppa Placci
2006
1st MaillotLuxemburgo.PNG Road race, National Road Championahips
1st Prologue Tour de Luxembourg
2007
2nd Overall Tour de Suisse
2nd Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
3rd Overall Tour de Pologne
3rd Brabantse Pijl
3rd Milano–Torino
7th Overall Tour de France
1st Stage 15
2008
1st MaillotLuxemburgo.PNG Time trial, National Road Championahips
1st La Flèche Wallonne
Tour of the Basque Country
1st Stages 2 & 4
1st Stage 6 Tour de Suisse
7th Overall Tour de France
1st Stage 4
Held Jersey yellow.svg after Stages 6–9
Held Jersey green.svg after Stages 6–7 & 9
2009
1st MaillotLuxemburgo.PNG Time trial, National Road Championahips
1st Stage 7 Tour de Suisse

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Grand Tour 2003200420052006200720082009
Jersey pink.svg Giro d'Italia
Jersey yellow.svg Tour de France 63 DNF 7 7 57
Jersey gold.svg Vuelta a España
Legend
Did not compete
DNF Did not finish
IPIn Progress

Private life

Kim Kirchen married Caroline in 2007. [10] On July 8, 2010, just a few days after emerging from a coma, his wife gave birth to twins, Liam and Mike. [11]

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References

  1. Cavendish, Mark (June 2009). Boy Racer . Ebury Press. ISBN   978-0-09-193275-6.
  2. "Doud vum fréiere Lëtzebuerger Vëlosprofi Jeng Kirchen" [Death of the former Luxembourgish professional cyclist Jeng Kirchen]. rtl.lu (in Luxembourgish). 1 December 2010. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  3. "Erny Kirchen". site du cyclisme.
  4. "Frank Schleck". acccontern.
  5. "Tour de France 2008". BBC News. 2008-07-27. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
  6. "Kirchen Katusha bound in 2010". September 2009.
  7. Kirchen suffers suspected heart-attack cyclingnews.com
  8. Kirchen unlikely to race again Cyclingnews
  9. "Das neue Leben des Ex-Profis Kim Kirchen". lessentiel.lu (in German). 9 July 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  10. "Félicitations, Caroline et Kim". acccontern.
  11. "Kim Kirchen est papa !". l'essentiel. 8 July 2010.