Kim Kirchen

Last updated
Kim Kirchen
Kim Kirchen.jpg
Kirchen at the 2006 Deutschland Tour
Personal information
Full nameKim Kirchen
NicknameGrim Kim [1]
Born (1978-07-03) 3 July 1978 (age 46)
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)

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

Contents

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.

In July 2008 he showed good form during the Tour de France, placing 7th in the general classification [3] 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. [4] He suffered a suspected heart attack during the 2010 Tour de Suisse, in June 2010. [5] He did not race in 2011 because of the heart condition and later retired from the sport. [6] [7]

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

Personal life

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. [8]

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. [9]

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]

Major results

1999
1st MaillotLuxemburgo.PNG Road race, National Road Championahips
1st Jersey yellow.svg Overall Flèche du Sud
1st Coppa Città di San Daniele
4th Road race, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships
2000
2nd Time trial, National Road Championahips
2nd Oberall Okolo Slovenska
1st Jersey white.svg Young rider classification
1st Stage 3
4th Road race, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships
4th Overall Jadranska Magistrala
9th Paris–Tours Espoirs
2001
Tour de Luxembourg
1st Jersey green.svg Points classification
1st Stage 3
National Road Championships
2nd Time trial
3rd Road race
4th Overall Tour de Pologne
2002
1st Jersey yellow.svg Overall Ronde van Nederland
1st Jersey white.svg Young rider classification
1st Tour de Berne
9th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
10th Overall Regio-Tour
2003
1st Paris–Brussels
1st Stage 6 (TTT) Tour Méditerranéen
4th Overall Tour de Suisse
4th Overall Tour de la Région Wallonne
8th Brabantse Pijl
2004
1st MaillotLuxemburgo.PNG Road race, National Road Championahips
1st Stage 5 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 7a
1st Trofeo Laigueglia
1st Gran Premio di Chiasso
2nd Road race, National Road Championahips
2nd La Flèche Wallonne
2nd Coppa Placci
7th Overall Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali
1st Stages 1b (TTT) & 4
8th Overall Tour Méditerranéen
2006
1st MaillotLuxemburgo.PNG Road race, National Road Championahips
Tour de Luxembourg
1st Jersey green.svg Points classification
1st Prologue
2nd Gran Premio di Lugano
6th Gran Premio di Chiasso
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
National Road Championships
1st MaillotLuxemburgo.PNG Time trial
4th Road race
1st La Flèche Wallonne
4th Overall Bayern Rundfahrt
7th Overall Tour de France
1st Stage 4
Held Jersey yellow.svg after Stages 6–9
Held Jersey green.svg after Stages 2–4, 6, 7 & 9
7th Overall Tour de Suisse
1st Stage 6
7th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
1st Stages 2 & 4
2009
National Road Championships
1st MaillotLuxemburgo.PNG Time trial
4th Road race
9th Overall Tour de Suisse
1st Stage 7
2010
6th Trofeo Deià

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Grand Tour 2001200220032004200520062007200820092010
Jersey pink.svg Giro d'Italia — — 28 — — — — — — —
Jersey yellow.svg Tour de France — — — 63 DNF — 7 7 54 —
Jersey gold.svg Vuelta a España — — — — — — — — DNF —
Legend
—Did not compete
DNF Did not finish

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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. ↑ "Tour de France 2008". BBC News. 2008-07-27. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
  4. ↑ "Kirchen Katusha bound in 2010". September 2009.
  5. ↑ Kirchen suffers suspected heart-attack cyclingnews.com
  6. ↑ Kirchen unlikely to race again Cyclingnews
  7. ↑ "Das neue Leben des Ex-Profis Kim Kirchen". lessentiel.lu (in German). 9 July 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  8. ↑ "Erny Kirchen". site du cyclisme.
  9. ↑ "Frank Schleck". acccontern.
  10. ↑ "Félicitations, Caroline et Kim". acccontern.
  11. ↑ "Kim Kirchen est papa !". l'essentiel. 8 July 2010.
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