Patxi Vila
Encyclopedia
Francisco Javier "Patxi" Vila Errandonea (born October 11, 1975 in Hondarribia
, Basque Country
) is a Spanish
professional road bicycle racer who rides for the UCI Professional Continental team De Rosa-Ceramica Flaminia. He was formerly with UCI ProTeam Lampre-Fondital
.
Vila's most notable victory came in stage 3 of the 2006 Paris–Nice where he snatched onto the wheel of Floyd Landis
as he escaped on the Col de Croix de Chaubouret. The duo amassed a lead of over a minute on their nearest contenders and Vila swept past Landis to take the stage. This performance catapulted him to second overall on the general classification, 9 seconds behind Floyd Landis
. He finished the race in Nice still 9 seconds behind winner Floyd Landis
and 56 seconds ahead of Antonio Colom
.
He finished the 2006 UCI ProTour
in 38th place with 69 points, the third highest ranked Lampre-Fondital
rider behind Alessandro Ballan
and Damiano Cunego
.
Hondarribia
Hondarribia is a town situated on the west shore of Bidasoa river's mouth, in Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Spain. The border town is sited on a little promontory facing Hendaye over the Txingudi bay. The town holds an ancient old quarter with walls and a castle...
, Basque Country
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
) is a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
professional road bicycle racer who rides for the UCI Professional Continental team De Rosa-Ceramica Flaminia. He was formerly with UCI ProTeam Lampre-Fondital
Lampre-Fondital
Lampre-ISD is an Italian road bicycle racing team. It was known in 2005 as Lampre-Caffita, a fusion of the previous Lampre and teams. Lampre is an Italian manufacturer of prefinished steel sheet materials. ISD is a Ukrainian steel manufacturer. The team is a member of the UCI ProTour, and has...
.
Vila's most notable victory came in stage 3 of the 2006 Paris–Nice where he snatched onto the wheel of Floyd Landis
Floyd Landis
Floyd Landis is an American retired cyclist who after initially being awarded victory in the 2006 Tour de France was stripped of his title for a doping offense. He was an all-around rider, with special skills in climbing and time-trialing, and is also known to be a very fast descender.Landis...
as he escaped on the Col de Croix de Chaubouret. The duo amassed a lead of over a minute on their nearest contenders and Vila swept past Landis to take the stage. This performance catapulted him to second overall on the general classification, 9 seconds behind Floyd Landis
Floyd Landis
Floyd Landis is an American retired cyclist who after initially being awarded victory in the 2006 Tour de France was stripped of his title for a doping offense. He was an all-around rider, with special skills in climbing and time-trialing, and is also known to be a very fast descender.Landis...
. He finished the race in Nice still 9 seconds behind winner Floyd Landis
Floyd Landis
Floyd Landis is an American retired cyclist who after initially being awarded victory in the 2006 Tour de France was stripped of his title for a doping offense. He was an all-around rider, with special skills in climbing and time-trialing, and is also known to be a very fast descender.Landis...
and 56 seconds ahead of Antonio Colom
Antonio Colom
Antonio Colom Mas is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer from Bunyola. He is a specialist in short stage races, having won the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana in 2006, the Vuelta a Mallorca in 2004 and the Vuelta a Andalucía in 2002....
.
He finished 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....
in 38th place with 69 points, the third highest ranked Lampre-Fondital
Lampre-Fondital
Lampre-ISD is an Italian road bicycle racing team. It was known in 2005 as Lampre-Caffita, a fusion of the previous Lampre and teams. Lampre is an Italian manufacturer of prefinished steel sheet materials. ISD is a Ukrainian steel manufacturer. The team is a member of the UCI ProTour, and has...
rider behind Alessandro Ballan
Alessandro Ballan
Alessandro Ballan is an Italian professional road bicycle racer for UCI Professional Continental team , and is a former world champion. Although he possesses a frame that is usually more associated with climbing, Ballan has established himself as a leading spring classics contender in recent years...
and Damiano Cunego
Damiano Cunego
Damiano Cunego is an Italian professional road racing cyclist who rides for the Italian UCI ProTeam . His biggest wins are the 2004 Giro d'Italia, the 2008 Amstel Gold Race, and the Giro di Lombardia in 2004, 2007, 2008. He finished second in the UCI Road World Championships in 2008 and in the...
.