Christophe Agnolutto
Encyclopedia
Christophe Agnolutto is a professional road bicycle racer from France
.
Agnolutto was a commercial artist when, as an amateur in 1995, he won Bordeaux-Saintes and the GP Nord-Pas de Calais and came third in the national championship. He rode successively for the CSM Puteaux
, the US Créteil
and the ASPPT Paris
. He dedicated himself to cycling when he met his wife, Mélanie, when he was 23. He turned professional the following year for Petit Casino, sponsored by a supermarket chain. He stayed with the team and its directeur sportif
, Vincent Lavenu, through changes of sponsors. He said: "I didn't exactly have a lot of other offers."
Then he left for Agritubel. He said:
Agnolutto won the 1997 Tour de Suisse
after breaking clear on the second stage. The favourites didn't take up the chase and couldn't make up Agnolutto's lead afterwards. He said in 2001:
That win was stage seven of the 2000 Tour de France
, taken in an early breakaway. It was France's first win in the Tour for two years, since Jacky Durand
in 1998. He told his team-mates that morning what he planned to do and attacked three times at the start of the stage. On the third attempt he cleared the front of the race alone. He rode alone in the rain for 80 km of the 127 km from Tours
to Limoges
, getting up to 8m 20s lead.
Agnolutto rode the Tour five times and won nine races as a professional before retiring at the end of 2006.
First year as a professional
1997 – Casino
1998 – Casino
1999 – Casino
2000 – Ag2r Prévoyance
2001 – Ag2r Decathlon
2002 – Ag2r Prévoyance
2003 – Ag2r Prévoyance
2004 – Ag2r Prévoyance
2005 – Agritubel
2006 – Agritubel
Retired at end of season
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Agnolutto was a commercial artist when, as an amateur in 1995, he won Bordeaux-Saintes and the GP Nord-Pas de Calais and came third in the national championship. He rode successively for the CSM Puteaux
Puteaux
Puteaux is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the heart of the Hauts-de-Seine department from the center of Paris....
, the US Créteil
Créteil
-Health:As of 1 January 2006, 27 pharmacies, about 60 dentists, about 60 general practitioners, 10 pediatricians, and a half-dozen ophthalmologists and dermatologists constitute the general medical staff of the city.Health facilities include:...
and the ASPPT Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He dedicated himself to cycling when he met his wife, Mélanie, when he was 23. He turned professional the following year for Petit Casino, sponsored by a supermarket chain. He stayed with the team and its directeur sportif
Directeur sportif
A directeur sportif is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event...
, Vincent Lavenu, through changes of sponsors. He said: "I didn't exactly have a lot of other offers."
Then he left for Agritubel. He said:
Agnolutto won the 1997 Tour de Suisse
Tour de Suisse
The Tour de Suisse is a UCI World Tour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
after breaking clear on the second stage. The favourites didn't take up the chase and couldn't make up Agnolutto's lead afterwards. He said in 2001:
That win was stage seven of the 2000 Tour de France
2000 Tour de France
The 2000 Tour de France was the 87th Tour de France, and took place from July 1 to July 23, 2000. It was won by American cyclist Lance Armstrong. The Tour started with an individual time trial in Futuroscope and ended traditionally in Paris. The distance travelled was 3662.5 km...
, taken in an early breakaway. It was France's first win in the Tour for two years, since Jacky Durand
Jacky Durand
Jacky Durand is a retired French professional road bicycle racer. Durand had an attacking style, winning the Ronde van Vlaanderen in 1992 after a breakaway, and three stages in the Tour de France....
in 1998. He told his team-mates that morning what he planned to do and attacked three times at the start of the stage. On the third attempt he cleared the front of the race alone. He rode alone in the rain for 80 km of the 127 km from Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
to Limoges
Limoges
Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France....
, getting up to 8m 20s lead.
Agnolutto rode the Tour five times and won nine races as a professional before retiring at the end of 2006.
Retirement
Agnulotto lives in Pau and coaches the UN Pau Béarn. He studied for a Brevet d'État to open a school of sport and business and organises training camps for cyclists. He runs a cycle shop at Salies-de-Béarn and helps organise a bike ride named after him.Tour de France
- 1997 - 94th
- 1998 - 31st
- 2000 - 66th, winner 7th stage
- 2001 - 120th
- 2002 - 144th
Major achievements
1996 – Petit CasinoAG2R Prévoyance
Ag2r-La Mondiale is a French cycling team with UCI ProTour team status. Its title sponsors are the Ag2r Group, which is a French-based interprofessional insurance and supplementary retirement fund group, and the La Mondiale Group, which is a French-based international group for supplementary...
First year as a professional
1997 – Casino
- Overall and Stage 2 – Tour de SuisseTour de SuisseThe Tour de Suisse is a UCI World Tour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
(2.1) - A Travers le Morbihan (1.2)
- 97th overall – Tour de France1997 Tour de FranceThe 1997 Tour de France was the 84th Tour de France, it took place July 5–27, 1997. Jan Ullrich's victory margin, of 9' 09" was the largest margin of victory since Laurent Fignon won the 1984 Tour de France by 10' 32"...
1998 – Casino
- Stage 6 – Tour de RomandieTour de RomandieThe Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs in the Romandie region, in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. It began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling....
(2.HC) - 31st overall – Tour de France1998 Tour de FranceThe 1998 Tour de France, also called the Tour du Dopage , was marred by doping scandals throughout known as the Festina affair, starting with the arrest of Willy Voet, a soigneur in the French Festina team. Voet was traveling into France when he was arrested and found with large quantities of...
1999 – Casino
AG2R Prévoyance
Ag2r-La Mondiale is a French cycling team with UCI ProTour team status. Its title sponsors are the Ag2r Group, which is a French-based interprofessional insurance and supplementary retirement fund group, and the La Mondiale Group, which is a French-based international group for supplementary...
- King of the MountainsKing of the MountainsThe King of the Mountains is the title given to the best climber in a cycling road race; usually and officially known as the Mountains classification...
– Tour de LuxembourgTour de LuxembourgTour de Luxembourg is an annual stage race in professional road bicycle racing held in Luxembourg. The Tour de Luxembourg is classified as a 2.HC, the highest rating below the ProTour, by the Union Cycliste Internationale , the sport's governing body. In 2006, the Tour was part of the UCI Europe...
(2.2)
2000 – Ag2r Prévoyance
- Stage 7 win and 66th overall – Tour de France2000 Tour de FranceThe 2000 Tour de France was the 87th Tour de France, and took place from July 1 to July 23, 2000. It was won by American cyclist Lance Armstrong. The Tour started with an individual time trial in Futuroscope and ended traditionally in Paris. The distance travelled was 3662.5 km...
(2.HC)
2001 – Ag2r Decathlon
AG2R Prévoyance
Ag2r-La Mondiale is a French cycling team with UCI ProTour team status. Its title sponsors are the Ag2r Group, which is a French-based interprofessional insurance and supplementary retirement fund group, and the La Mondiale Group, which is a French-based international group for supplementary...
- 120th overall – Tour de France2001 Tour de FranceThe 2001 Tour de France was particularly difficult, having contained a 67-km long team time trial, two individual time trials and five mountain-top finishes on consecutive days, the second of which being the Chamrousse special category climb time trial. Thus, all the high-mountain stages were...
2002 – Ag2r Prévoyance
- 144th overall – Tour de France2002 Tour de FranceThe 2002 Tour de France started in Luxembourg on July 6, 2002, and ended in Paris on July 28. France was visited counter-clockwise, so the Pyrenees were there before the Alps...
2003 – Ag2r Prévoyance
2004 – Ag2r Prévoyance
AG2R Prévoyance
Ag2r-La Mondiale is a French cycling team with UCI ProTour team status. Its title sponsors are the Ag2r Group, which is a French-based interprofessional insurance and supplementary retirement fund group, and the La Mondiale Group, which is a French-based international group for supplementary...
- 3rd overall – Tour de WallonieTour de WallonieThe Tour de Wallonie is a stage race cycling race on the UCI Europe Tour. It runs in Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium in the end of July. Between 1974 and 1995 it was reserved to amateurs. Since 2005, the race has been organized as a 2.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour- Winners...
(2.3)
2005 – Agritubel
- Stage 1 – Tour du Poitou Charentes de la Vienne (2.1)
2006 – Agritubel
Retired at end of season