Pedro Horrillo
Encyclopedia
Pedro Horrillo Muñoz is a retired Spanish
racing cyclist who rode for in the UCI ProTour
from 2005 to 2009.
Before turning professional in 1998, Horrillo was a philosophy student at the University of the Basque Country
. Horrillo turned professional with the Vitalicio Seguros
team which included notable names such as Óscar Freire
and Juan Miguel Mercado
who would win three stages between them in the 2006 Tour de France
. In 2001 Horrillo joined Freire at ; he would later ride for when the Italian company decided not to renew its sponsorship. His biggest win was a stage at the 2004 Paris–Nice race.
In 2005, Horrillo won a stage at the 2005 Volta a Catalunya and nearly won a stage at the 2005 Vuelta a España with a late attack until he was caught 200 metres from the line. Horrillo is a self confessed fan of Paris–Roubaix, describing it as: "If I could only have ridden one race as a pro, that would have been it - and if possible, in the rain because that's the real Roubaix when it rains" (Cycle Sport magazine interview, November 2006 issue).
Horrillo is known as a good writer and in recent years has written columns for de Volkskrant
during the Tour de France
and is a regular contributor to the Spanish Newspaper El Pais. In 2009 he wrote a column concerning the UCI's whereabouts system called El Señor Adams for El Pais. The English version was entitled Mr Adams.
Horrillo experienced a life-threatening crash after falling over a guard rail into a ravine during the eighth stage of the 2009 Giro d'Italia
. Paramedics recovered him 60 meters below his bike with fractures to his thigh bones, kneecap, and neck, in addition to a punctured lung. He woke up in the ambulance that was taking him to the hospital, but doctors put him into a chemically-induced coma to aid his treatment. The next day, largely in reaction to Horrillo's dramatic injury, the peloton protested the safety conditions in the Giro, which led to Stage 9 being neutralized. He was taken out of the coma the following day, with scans revealing no brain injury, and Rabobank team doctors stating that he was to be moved to a hospital in Spain within eight to ten days. On 22 June, it was announced that Horrillo would leave the Spanish hospital and be able to go home, some five weeks after the crash, but although he recovered from the injuries, he retired without taking part in another race, as he could no longer ride at the same level.
Horrillo has a wife named Lorena.
2003
2004
2005
2006
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...
racing cyclist who rode for in the UCI ProTour
UCI ProTour
The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI . Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, each of whom are required to compete in every round of the series...
from 2005 to 2009.
Before turning professional in 1998, Horrillo was a philosophy student at the University of the Basque Country
University of the Basque Country
The University of the Basque Country is the only public university in the Basque Country, in Northern Spain...
. Horrillo turned professional with the Vitalicio Seguros
Vitalicio Seguros
Vitalicio Seguros was a Spanish professional road bicycle racing cycling team active between 1998 and 2000. It helped launch the careers of triple world champion Óscar Freire, 2000 Vuelta a España winner Ángel Casero and Tour de France yellow jersey wearer Igor González de Galdeano.The team was...
team which included notable names such as Óscar Freire
Óscar Freire
Óscar Freire Gómez is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer, riding for the UCI ProTeam Rabobank. He is one of the top sprinters in road bicycle racing, having won the world championship a three times, equalling Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbergen and Eddy Merckx...
and Juan Miguel Mercado
Juan Miguel Mercado
Juan Miguel Mercado Martín is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer who turned professional with Vitalicio Seguros in 1998...
who would win three stages between them 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....
. In 2001 Horrillo joined Freire at ; he would later ride for when the Italian company decided not to renew its sponsorship. His biggest win was a stage at the 2004 Paris–Nice race.
In 2005, Horrillo won a stage at the 2005 Volta a Catalunya and nearly won a stage at the 2005 Vuelta a España with a late attack until he was caught 200 metres from the line. Horrillo is a self confessed fan of Paris–Roubaix, describing it as: "If I could only have ridden one race as a pro, that would have been it - and if possible, in the rain because that's the real Roubaix when it rains" (Cycle Sport magazine interview, November 2006 issue).
Horrillo is known as a good writer and in recent years has written columns for de Volkskrant
De Volkskrant
de Volkskrant is a national daily Dutch morning newspaper, the leading centre-left broadsheet, although now in tabloid size.-History:...
during the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
and is a regular contributor to the Spanish Newspaper El Pais. In 2009 he wrote a column concerning the UCI's whereabouts system called El Señor Adams for El Pais. The English version was entitled Mr Adams.
Horrillo experienced a life-threatening crash after falling over a guard rail into a ravine during the eighth stage of the 2009 Giro d'Italia
2009 Giro d'Italia
The 2009 Giro d'Italia was the 92nd running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It was held from 9 to 31 May 2009, and marked the 100th year since the first edition of the race...
. Paramedics recovered him 60 meters below his bike with fractures to his thigh bones, kneecap, and neck, in addition to a punctured lung. He woke up in the ambulance that was taking him to the hospital, but doctors put him into a chemically-induced coma to aid his treatment. The next day, largely in reaction to Horrillo's dramatic injury, the peloton protested the safety conditions in the Giro, which led to Stage 9 being neutralized. He was taken out of the coma the following day, with scans revealing no brain injury, and Rabobank team doctors stating that he was to be moved to a hospital in Spain within eight to ten days. On 22 June, it was announced that Horrillo would leave the Spanish hospital and be able to go home, some five weeks after the crash, but although he recovered from the injuries, he retired without taking part in another race, as he could no longer ride at the same level.
Horrillo has a wife named Lorena.
Palmares
2002- Euskal BizikletaEuskal BizikletaEuskal Bizikleta is an annual cycling stage race held in the Basque Country in June. Since 2005, the race has been organized as a 2.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour....
- Bicicleta Vasca stage 1
2003
- International UNIQA Classic stage 1
2004
- Paris–Nice stage 2
- International UNIQA Classic stage 4
2005
- Volta a Catalunya stage 3
2006
- Sachsen-Tour International stage 1