Kurt Asle Arvesen
Encyclopedia
Kurt Asle Arvesen is a former Norwegian
professional road bicycle racer for . Arvesen is from Eresfjord
, Nesset
. From 2012 he will be manager of .
After winning the gold medal at the 1997 Under-23 World Championship
as an amateur, Arvesen turned pro with Italian
team Asics
in 1998, where later Team CSC teammate Ivan Basso
rode as a stagiare. The two riders moved on to Davide Boifava
's team, Riso Scotti-Vinavil in 1999, which was renamed Amica Chips-Tacconi Sport in 2000, but Arvesen's three years in Italy did not get him the results his World Under-23 Championships win had foretold. In 2001 Arvesen and Basso split up, as Arvesen moved on to Danish Team Fakta
, where he experienced his most successful years culminating in a stage win in the 2003 Giro d'Italia
.
In 2004, Team Fakta closed, and Arvesen and sports director Kim Andersen both moved on to . At Team CSC, Arvesen has been riding mostly as a domestique
, but he managed to win the stage race Danmark Rundt
as well as CSC Classic in 2004. For the 2004 Tour de France
, Arvesen helped team captain Basso finish second overall, and he was named the toughest rider in the peloton
when he managed to finish the three-weeks long race after crashing severely on several stages. For the 2005 Tour de France
he would once more ride in support of Basso. This time Arvesen had the strength to ride aggressively, and on the 17th stage of the race, he got in a breakway with 16 other riders which lasted all the way to the finish line. As the leading group slowly disintegrated, he and Italian rider Paolo Savoldelli
were the last riders for the sprint, but Savoldelli was too fast for Arvesen. In the 2006 UCI ProTour
spring season Arvesen got a handful of top 10 placings. When he crashed into a right-swinging car during a training ride in April, he got away with road rash
and a bruised right knee and less than a week later he rode Rund um den Henninger Turm, though he did not ride the race to its end. He finally managed to win Ster Elektrotoer
, but that was not sufficient to secure a place in the 2006 Tour de France
roster. Arvesen became runner-up in Paris–Tours.
In the 2007 Giro d'Italia
Arvesen won stage 8 after beating Paolo Bettini
in the finish. On July 16 he won stage 11 in the 2008 Tour de France
, his first ever stage win in the tour. After engaging in a successful breakaway, he finished winning two centimeters ahead of number two.
Arversen's 2009 tour came to a disappointing end on Stage 10 just after passing Guéret. The Norwegian champion claimed his only stage victory in the Tour in Foix 12 months previously, however on Tuesday 14 July 2009 he crashed around the 88 km mark of the stage between Limoges and Issoudun. Curiously, before the start of the 10th Stage he joked on the floor pretending he had fallen.
After a week of rumours, it was official on 10 September 2009 that Arvesen would be joining from the 2010-season, along with fellow Norwegians Edvald Boasson Hagen
and Lars Petter Nordhaug
.
The start of the 2010 season with Team Sky
was marred by injury for Arvesen. After winning the 1st stage of Tour of Qatar
(TTT), Arvesen crashed on the following stage, breaking his collarbone. He returned to the bike in time to participate in Tirreno–Adriatico, and he has his eye set on the spring classics to come.
He will end his racing career after the 2011 season but will remain at Team Sky
as a directeur sportif
.
1999
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
professional road bicycle racer for . Arvesen is from Eresfjord
Eresfjord
Eresfjord is a village in the municipality of Nesset in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is located along the Eira River between the Eresfjorden and the lake Eikesdalsvatnet. The mountain Skjorta lies just to the east of the village...
, Nesset
Nesset
Nesset is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway on the Romsdal Peninsula. The administrative centre is the village of Eidsvåg. Other population centers include Rausand, Boggestranda, Myklebostad, Eresfjord, and Eikesdalen....
. From 2012 he will be manager of .
World Cycling Championship
The UCI Road World Championships, often referred to as the World Cycling Championships, is the annual world championship for bicycle road racing organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale . The UCI Road World Championships include championships for elite men's road race and individual time trial...
as an amateur, Arvesen turned pro with Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
team Asics
ASICS
ASICS is a Japanese athletic equipment company. ASICS produces professional footwear and sports equipment designed for football, running, netball, tennis, badminton, squash, martial arts, cricket, golf, wrestling, track & field, cross-training, volleyball, cheerleading, lacrosse, and for many other...
in 1998, where later Team CSC teammate Ivan Basso
Ivan Basso
Ivan Basso is an Italian professional road bicycle racer who is currently racing with UCI ProTeam . Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, is among the best mountain riders in the professional field in the 21st century, and is considered one of the strongest stage race riders...
rode as a stagiare. The two riders moved on to Davide Boifava
Davide Boifava
Davide Boifava is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer and cycling team manager.- Palmarès :1969...
's team, Riso Scotti-Vinavil in 1999, which was renamed Amica Chips-Tacconi Sport in 2000, but Arvesen's three years in Italy did not get him the results his World Under-23 Championships win had foretold. In 2001 Arvesen and Basso split up, as Arvesen moved on to Danish Team Fakta
Team Fakta
Team Fakta was a Danish professional road bicycle racing team, which was active in the seasons 1999 to 2003. The main sponsor FDB is a consumer owned grocery chain, whose discount outlets are called Fakta....
, where he experienced his most successful years culminating in a stage win in the 2003 Giro d'Italia
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
.
In 2004, Team Fakta closed, and Arvesen and sports director Kim Andersen both moved on to . At Team CSC, Arvesen has been riding mostly as a domestique
Cycling domestique
A domestique is a road bicycle racer who works for the benefit of his team and leader. The French domestique translates as "servant". In Italy and Spain, the term gregario is used, while in Belgium and the Netherlands the term knecht or helper are used...
, but he managed to win the stage race Danmark Rundt
Danmark Rundt
Danmark Rundt is a Danish stage race for professional road bicycle racers organized as a part of the UCI Continental Circuits. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, Post Danmark, and the race is therefore also known as Post Danmark Rundt. Currently 15 teams, with 8 riders...
as well as CSC Classic in 2004. For the 2004 Tour de France
2004 Tour de France
The 2004 Tour de France was the 91st, taking place from July 3 to July 25, 2004. It consisted of 20 stages over 3391 km.Lance Armstrong became the first to win six Tours de France. Armstrong had been favored to win, his competitors seen as being German Jan Ullrich, Spaniards Roberto Heras and...
, Arvesen helped team captain Basso finish second overall, and he was named the toughest rider in the peloton
Peloton
The peloton , field, bunch or pack is the large main group of riders in a road bicycle race. Riders in a group save energy by riding close near other riders...
when he managed to finish the three-weeks long race after crashing severely on several stages. For the 2005 Tour de France
2005 Tour de France
The 2005 Tour de France was the 92nd Tour de France, taking place from July 2 to July 24, 2005. It comprised 21 stages over 3592.5 km, the winner's average speed was 41.654 km/h. The first stages were held in the département of the Vendée, for the third time in 12 years. The 2005 Tour was...
he would once more ride in support of Basso. This time Arvesen had the strength to ride aggressively, and on the 17th stage of the race, he got in a breakway with 16 other riders which lasted all the way to the finish line. As the leading group slowly disintegrated, he and Italian rider Paolo Savoldelli
Paolo Savoldelli
Paolo Savoldelli is an Italian former road racing cyclist and winner of the 2002 and 2005 Giro d'Italia....
were the last riders for the sprint, but Savoldelli was too fast for Arvesen. In the 2006 UCI ProTour
2006 UCI ProTour
The 2006 UCI ProTour was the second year of the UCI ProTour system, in which the ProTour teams are guaranteed, and obliged to, participate in the series of ProTour races....
spring season Arvesen got a handful of top 10 placings. When he crashed into a right-swinging car during a training ride in April, he got away with road rash
Road rash
Road rash is a colloquial term for skin and bone injury caused by abrasion with road surfaces, usually as a consequence of cycling and motorcycling accidents. The term may be applied to both a fresh injury and the scar tissue left by an old one...
and a bruised right knee and less than a week later he rode Rund um den Henninger Turm, though he did not ride the race to its end. He finally managed to win Ster Elektrotoer
Ster Elektrotoer
The Ster ZLM Toer is a stage race cycling race, held in the Netherlands as 2.1 race on the UCI Europe Tour. The race started in 1987 as an amateur race, and became a race for professional cyclists in 1996.-Name of the race:...
, but that was not sufficient to secure a place in the 2006 Tour de France
2006 Tour de France
The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd Tour de France, taking place from July 1 to July 23, 2006. It was won by Óscar Pereiro following the disqualification of apparent winner Floyd Landis....
roster. Arvesen became runner-up in Paris–Tours.
In the 2007 Giro d'Italia
2007 Giro d'Italia
The 2007 Giro d'Italia was the 90th running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place from 12 May to 3 June 2007. The race began in Sardinia and finished in Milan, and featured five mountain top finishes, of which one was an individual time trial...
Arvesen won stage 8 after beating Paolo Bettini
Paolo Bettini
Paolo Bettini is an Italian former champion road racing cyclist, and the coach of the Italian national cycling team. Considered the best classics specialist of his generation, and probably one of the strongest of all times, he won gold medals in the 2004 Athens Olympics road race and in the 2006...
in the finish. On July 16 he won stage 11 in the 2008 Tour de France
2008 Tour de France
The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th Tour de France. The event took place from 5–27 July 2008. Starting in the French city of Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16th, heading for Paris, its regular final destination, which was reached in the 21st stage...
, his first ever stage win in the tour. After engaging in a successful breakaway, he finished winning two centimeters ahead of number two.
Arversen's 2009 tour came to a disappointing end on Stage 10 just after passing Guéret. The Norwegian champion claimed his only stage victory in the Tour in Foix 12 months previously, however on Tuesday 14 July 2009 he crashed around the 88 km mark of the stage between Limoges and Issoudun. Curiously, before the start of the 10th Stage he joked on the floor pretending he had fallen.
After a week of rumours, it was official on 10 September 2009 that Arvesen would be joining from the 2010-season, along with fellow Norwegians Edvald Boasson Hagen
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Edvald Boasson Hagen is a Norwegian professional road racing cyclist riding for the UCI ProTour team . He is the Norwegian Time Trial Champion and also considered as one of the biggest rising talents in the sport, being ranked as no...
and Lars Petter Nordhaug
Lars Petter Nordhaug
Lars Petter Nordhaug is a Norwegian professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team .He started his career as a mountain biker, but after finishing 5th in the 2004 Norwegian National Road Racing Championship, his focus changed towards road bicycle racing...
.
The start of the 2010 season with Team Sky
Team Sky
Team Sky is a British professional road bicycle racing team that competes in international road bicycle races. The creation of the team was announced on 26 February 2009 and the team began competition in January 2010....
was marred by injury for Arvesen. After winning the 1st stage of Tour of Qatar
2010 Tour of Qatar
The 2010 Tour of Qatar was the ninth edition of the Tour of Qatar cycling stage race. It was rated as a 2.1 event on the UCI Asia Tour, and was held from 7 February to 12 February 2010, in Qatar. The race was won by Wouter Mol of .-Teams:...
(TTT), Arvesen crashed on the following stage, breaking his collarbone. He returned to the bike in time to participate in Tirreno–Adriatico, and he has his eye set on the spring classics to come.
He will end his racing career after the 2011 season but will remain at Team Sky
Team Sky
Team Sky is a British professional road bicycle racing team that competes in international road bicycle races. The creation of the team was announced on 26 February 2009 and the team began competition in January 2010....
as a directeur sportif
Directeur sportif
A directeur sportif is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event...
.
Palmares
1997- 1st
Under-23 Road RaceChampion
1999
- 1st
National Road Racing Champion
2001
- 1st National Time TrialIndividual time trialAn individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...
Champion - 1st Stage 9 Herald Sun TourHerald Sun TourThe Herald Sun Tour is an Australian professional bicycle race held in Melbourne and provincial Victoria sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale . The first tour was held in October 1952 as a six day event and it is held annually in October. It is named after the Herald Sun, Melbourne's...
2002
- 1st National Road Racing Champion
- 1st
Overall Tour of SwedenTour of SwedenThe Tour of Sweden was an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Sweden from 1982 to 2002.- Past winners :* 1982 : * 1983 : * 1984 : * 1985 : * 1986 : * 1987 : * 1988 : * 1989 : * 1990 : * 1991 :... - 1st Stage 3 Danmark RundtDanmark RundtDanmark Rundt is a Danish stage race for professional road bicycle racers organized as a part of the UCI Continental Circuits. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, Post Danmark, and the race is therefore also known as Post Danmark Rundt. Currently 15 teams, with 8 riders...
- 1st
Points classificationPoints classificationThe points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning intermediate sprints. The points classification is the top prize for many cycling sprinters and therefore is often known as the Sprint Classification;...
- 1st
- 1st Schynberg Rundfahrt
- 1st
Mountains classification, Paris–Corrèze
2003
- 1st Stage 10 Giro d'Italia2003 Giro d'ItaliaThe 2003 Giro d'Italia of cycling, the 86th running of the race, was held from 10 May to 1 June 2003, consisting of 21 stages for a total of 3,472 km, ridden at an average speed of 38.828 km/h. It was won by Gilberto Simoni....
2004
- 1st Overall Danmark RundtDanmark RundtDanmark Rundt is a Danish stage race for professional road bicycle racers organized as a part of the UCI Continental Circuits. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, Post Danmark, and the race is therefore also known as Post Danmark Rundt. Currently 15 teams, with 8 riders...
- 1st CSC Classic
2005
- 2nd Overall, Danmark RundtDanmark RundtDanmark Rundt is a Danish stage race for professional road bicycle racers organized as a part of the UCI Continental Circuits. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, Post Danmark, and the race is therefore also known as Post Danmark Rundt. Currently 15 teams, with 8 riders...
- 2nd Stage 17 Tour de France2005 Tour de FranceThe 2005 Tour de France was the 92nd Tour de France, taking place from July 2 to July 24, 2005. It comprised 21 stages over 3592.5 km, the winner's average speed was 41.654 km/h. The first stages were held in the département of the Vendée, for the third time in 12 years. The 2005 Tour was...
2006
- 1st National2006 National Cycling ChampionshipsMost of the 2006 national road cycling championships took place in June, although there were a few exceptions such as the Australian and American championships which take place in January and September respectively.-Jerseys:...
Time TrialIndividual time trialAn individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...
Champion - 1st Overall Ster ElektrotoerSter ElektrotoerThe Ster ZLM Toer is a stage race cycling race, held in the Netherlands as 2.1 race on the UCI Europe Tour. The race started in 1987 as an amateur race, and became a race for professional cyclists in 1996.-Name of the race:...
- 1st Stage 1 TTT Vuelta a España
- 2nd Paris–Tours
2007
- 1st Stage 8, Giro d'Italia2007 Giro d'ItaliaThe 2007 Giro d'Italia was the 90th running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place from 12 May to 3 June 2007. The race began in Sardinia and finished in Milan, and featured five mountain top finishes, of which one was an individual time trial...
- 1st GP HerningGP HerningGP Herning is a bicycle race held in Herning , Denmark. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour.- Palmarès :-External links:*...
- 1st Overall, Danmark RundtDanmark RundtDanmark Rundt is a Danish stage race for professional road bicycle racers organized as a part of the UCI Continental Circuits. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, Post Danmark, and the race is therefore also known as Post Danmark Rundt. Currently 15 teams, with 8 riders...
- 1st Stage 3
- 3rd Overall, Ster ElektrotoerSter ElektrotoerThe Ster ZLM Toer is a stage race cycling race, held in the Netherlands as 2.1 race on the UCI Europe Tour. The race started in 1987 as an amateur race, and became a race for professional cyclists in 1996.-Name of the race:...
2008
- 1st National Road Racing Champion
- 1st E3 Prijs VlaanderenE3 Prijs VlaanderenThe E3 Harelbeke is an annual cycling race in the Flanders area of Belgium. The race starts and finishes in Harelbeke over 210 kilometres. The event is organised by the Hand in Hand Cycling Club of Harelbeke and is ranked 1.HC on the UCI Continental calendar....
- 1st Stage 11, Tour de France2008 Tour de FranceThe 2008 Tour de France was the 95th Tour de France. The event took place from 5–27 July 2008. Starting in the French city of Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16th, heading for Paris, its regular final destination, which was reached in the 21st stage...
- 7th Ronde van Vlaanderen
- 10th Milan – San Remo
2009
- 1st National Road Racing Champion