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Wikipedia / Matthias Kessler

Matthias Kessler (born 16 May 1979 in Nuremberg) is a German former professional road racing cyclist who competed from 2000 to 2007 for and .

Biography

Kessler debuted as a pro during the 2000 season after becoming German under 23 champion in 1999, a year in which he also took the bronze medal in the under 23 cycling world championships. Despite the fact that he has only 3 wins in his palmarès, which includes two consecutive victories at the Gran Premio Miguel Induráin and LUK-Cup of 2003, he is seen as an outsider for the Ardennes classic races.

In Grand Tours, Kessler won Stage 3 of the 2006 Tour de France in a late breakaway. The previous day on Stage 2, he was caught by the peloton less than 50 meters from the finish line. He had to abandon the 2004 Tour de France after a serious and spectacular fall caused him severe injuries, even though he managed to end the stage. In the 2005 Tour de France, he was part of the T-Mobile line-up and almost got a win at Mende.

Kessler is known for riding with his jersey open and also for wearing an undershirt intentionally torn for better cooling. In January 2010, he had a collision with a cat while on a training ride in Mallorca, Spain, and was left in a critical condition with severe head injuries.

Doping

On 27 June 2007 Kessler was suspended by Astana for failing a drugs test for testosterone taken in Charleroi in April 2007. He was fired from the team on 13 July. Later named as a recipient of a blood transfusion at the University of Freiburg along with teammates Andreas Klöden and Patrick Sinkewitz during the 2006 Tour de France.

Major results

  1. 1997

  2. 2nd Overall Grand Prix Rüebliland

  3. 5th Road race, UCI Junior Road World Championships

  4. 1999

  5. 1st Road race, National Under-23 Road Championships

  6. 3rd Road race, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships

  7. 3rd Gran Premio della Liberazione

  8. 2001

  9. 2nd Overall Hessen Rundfahrt

  10. 2002

  11. 2nd Giro del Piemonte

  12. 3rd Luk-Cup Bühl

  13. 6th Liège–Bastogne–Liège

  14. 2003

  15. 1st Luk-Cup Bühl

  16. 1st GP Miguel Induráin

  17. 5th Amstel Gold Race

  18. 8th Milano–Torino

  19. 2004

  20. 1st GP Miguel Induráin

  21. 3rd La Flèche Wallonne

  22. 6th Liège–Bastogne–Liège

  23. 6th Amstel Gold Race

  24. 7th Paris–Tours

  25. 7th Milano–Torino

  26. 2005

  27. 7th GP Miguel Induráin

  28. 10th Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana

  29. 2006

  30. 1st Stage 3 Tour de France

  31. 2nd Road race, National Road Championships

  32. 10th La Flèche Wallonne

  33. 2007

  34. 4th La Flèche Wallonne

  35. 4th Amstel Gold Race

  36. 8th Liège–Bastogne–Liège

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

See also

References