David Zabriskie

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Dave Zabriskie
Personal information
Full name David Zabriskie
Nickname "The Green Hornet",[1]
DZ, Dizzy, Captain America, Zup
Date of birth January 12, 1979 (1979-01-12) (age 30)
Country  United States
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 67 kg (150 lb; 10.6 st)
Team information
Current team Garmin-Slipstream
Discipline Road
Role Rider
Rider type Time-Trialist
Professional team(s)1
1999–2000
2001–2004
2005–2007
2008–
7-UP/Colorado Cyclist
US Postal
Team CSC
Garmin-Slipstream
Major wins
Tour de France, 1 stage
Giro d'Italia, 1 stage
Vuelta a España, 1 stage
 United States National Time Trial Champion
(2004, 2006, 2007, 2008)
Infobox last updated on:
February 23, 2009

1 Team names given are those prevailing
at time of rider beginning association with that team.

David Zabriskie (Born January 12, 1979 in Salt Lake City) is a professional road bicycle racer from the United States who rides for Garmin-Slipstream.[2] His main strength is individual time trials and his career highlights include stage wins in all three Grand Tour stage races and winning the US National Time Trial Championship four times. Zabriskie is known for his quirky nature, including singing before stages and the interviews he does with fellow riders in the professional peloton which are posted on his web site.

In 2005, he became the third American to wear the leader's jersey at the Tour de France, after three-time Tour winner Greg Lemond, and seven-time winner Lance Armstrong. George Hincapie and Floyd Landis became the fourth and fifth Americans in 2006.[3]

Contents

[edit] Biography

David Zabriskie at the 2007 Tour de France

Zabriskie made his professional debut with the Colorado Cyclist team in 1999. After displaying his talent for time trials by winning the US National Time Trial Championships (junior and under-23 age categories) and the Grand Prix des Nations (under-23 category), Zabriskie moved on to the US Postal Service cycling team in 2001. Following a year plagued by crashes and injuries, he returned to form in 2004, winning the Elite US National Time Trial Championships. He also won stage 11 of the Vuelta a España in an astonishing 162 km solo breakaway, marking his first Grand Tour stage win—especially notable among his victories for not being a time trial. In the 2005 season Zabriskie switched to Danish Team CSC, where he racked up another Grand Tour stage victory by winning the 8th stage of the 2005 Giro d'Italia.

Despite success on the international cycling scene, Zabriskie did not receive much attention in his native United States until the 2005 Tour de France, when he won the stage 1 time trial—making him the first American to win stages in all three Grand Tours. Zabriskie beat Lance Armstrong by two seconds and set the record for the fastest ever time trial in the Tour de France, clocking an average speed of 54.676 km/h. He wore the leader's jersey, the maillot jaune, until the team time trial on stage 4, where he crashed within the final two kilometres, a crash diagnosed as a chain slip though Zabriskie himself didn't know what had happened.[4] After the crash, Zabriskie suffered from his injuries and on stage 8, he arrived last, 51'12" after winner Pieter Weening. Zabriskie abandoned in the 9th stage (from Gérardmer to Mulhouse), after 11 km. Before Zabriskie had fully recovered from his crash in the Tour de France, a swinging glass door at a restaurant shattered on his hand, injuring him badly enough to end his 2005 season. [5] Back home from the Tour de France, Zabriskie was honored in the American state of Utah by the declaration of "Dave Zabriskie Day" by both Salt Lake County mayor Peter Carroon and Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson.

Zabriskie's 2006 season started out well, with a strong 2nd place finish in the February stage race Amgen Tour of California, 29 seconds after the winner, fellow countryman Floyd Landis. He was initially placed 3rd in the April stage race Ford Tour de Georgia, but as he lost time to the favourite riders on the Brasstown Bald mountain stage, he finished 6th place overall. Dave Zabriskie won two time trials in the Dauphiné Libéré in May, beating Floyd Landis in the prologue by two seconds, and winning Stage 3 by 53 seconds, again ahead of Landis, further proving Zabriskie's outstanding time trialing skills. Following several mountain stages, including a ride up the Mont Ventoux, Zabriskie finished the race in 32nd place, behind winner Levi Leipheimer.

Upon completing the 2006 Tour de France in 74th place, Zabriskie became the second American behind Christian Vandevelde to finish all three Grand Tours.

[edit] 2007

On 1 September2007, Zabriskie won the US National Time Trial Championship for the third time. He finished The Cliffs South Carolina 18.7 mile course in 39 minutes, 34 seconds (28.4 miles/hour average speed) which was just one second ahead of second place finisher Danny Pate.

[edit] 2008

After helping his team win the Giro d'Italia first stage team time trial, Zabriskie crashed on 11 May2008 in the second stage with several riders and had to abandon the race due to a fractured first vertebrae. Zabriskie was selected as one of the five riders for the US Olympic road race team and one of the two for the time trial.

Zabriskie placed 12th at 1:05:17.82, sans moustache, in the men's time trial at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, 3:06 behind race winner Fabian Cancellara.

[edit] Personal life

In 2005, Zabriskie married Randi Reich, a 2005 University of California at Berkeley alumna. In February 2009, thieves entered Zabriskie's home while he was away competing in the Tour of California and stole thousands of dollars of racing equipment and Olympic memorabilia[6] and his Marvel Action Figure collection[7]. Three men were charged in connection with the burglary.[8]

[edit] Results

Medal record
Competitor for the  United States
Road bicycle racing
World Championships
Silver 2006 Salzburg Elite Men's Time Trial
Bronze 2008 Varese Elite Men's Time Trial
2003
Best young rider, Quatre Jours de Dunkerque
2004
Stage 11, Vuelta a España
1st,  United States National Time Trial Championship
2005
Stage 1 (ITT), 2005 Tour de France
Maillot jaune (after Stage 1)
Stage 8 (ITT), Giro d'Italia
Stage 4 (TTT), Tour Méditeranéen
2006
1st,  United States USPRO National Time Trial Championship
Stage 2 (TTT), Settimana Ciclistica Internazionale
Prologue (ITT), and stage 3 (ITT), Dauphiné Libéré
1st, Eindhoven Team Time Trial
2nd, World Time Trial Championships
2007
5th Overall, 2007 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
1st, Eindhoven Team Time Trial
1st,  United States USPRO National Time Trial Championship
2008
1st, Stage 1, Tour of the Bahamas
1st, Team time trial, Giro d'Italia, Stage 1
1st, Team time trial, Tour de Georgia, Stage 4
1st,  United States USPRO National Time Trial Championship
3rd, UCI Road World Championships Time Trial
2009
2nd Overall, Tour of California
3rd Overall, Vuelta a Castilla y León

[edit] Quotes

  • David Zabriskie (DZ) has conducted a number of flash-interviews in the peloton with various riders, displaying them on his website. They usually go down like the following interview of Alessandro Petacchi (AP):

DZ: Could I ask you a question?
AP: Yes.
DZ: Do you like Star Wars?
AP: Star Wars?
DZ: The movies.
AP: Yes.
DZ: Thank you.

  • "Rock and Roll dude",[9] comment on his stage 8 time trial win at the 2005 Giro d'Italia.

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links


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