Paolo Tiralongo

Paolo Tiralongo (born 8 July 1977) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer,[1] who rode professionally between 2000 and 2017 for the Fassa Bortolo, Ceramica Panaria–Navigare, Lampre–NGC and Astana teams.

Paolo Tiralongo
Tiralongo at the 2011 Tour de Romandie
Personal information
Full namePaolo Tiralongo
NicknameL'Ape di Avola (The Bee from Avola)
Born (1977-07-08) 8 July 1977
Avola, Italy
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight56 kg (123 lb)
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeClimbing specialist
Professional teams
2000–2002Fassa Bortolo
2003–2005Ceramiche Panaria–Fiordo
2006–2009Lampre–Fondital
2010–2017Astana
Major wins
Grand Tours
Giro d'Italia
3 individual stages (2011, 2012, 2015)
Vuelta a España
1 TTT stage (2013)

Career

In 2009, while riding for Lampre–NGC, Tiralongo registered his best final result on a Grand Tour, finishing the Vuelta a España in eighth position after riding consistently in the mountain stages. He conceded a little over 9 minutes to the victor, Spaniard Alejandro Valverde of Caisse d'Epargne.[2] He joined Astana for the 2010 season, on a 2-year contract.[3] In 2011, Tiralongo took a notable victory on stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia, a summit finish to Macugnaga. He attacked in the final kilometers and went clear of the lead group, but was joined by Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank–SunGard) in the final few meters. He came first on the line, taking his first victory in more than ten years.[4]

In 2012, he won another stage in the Giro d'Italia, stage 7, which was a hilltop finish atop Rocca di Cambio. With 500 meters to go, Tiralongo followed an attack initiated by Michele Scarponi of Lampre–ISD and he passed Scarponi inside of the final 100 meters. He lay on the ground afterward, out of breath.[5]

On 24 April 2015, Tiralongo collected his first victory of the season in the final stage of the Giro del Trentino. He passed the last climb (Passo Predaia) with a small leading group and won the sprint after the descent.[6] On 17 May, he won Stage 9 of the 2015 Giro d'Italia.

Major results
1998
1st Gran Premio di Poggiana
3rd Overall Giro Ciclistico d'Italia
1999
1st Overall Triptyque Ardennaise
2001
2nd Trofeo dello Scalatore III
3rd Overall Tour of Austria
6th Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi
8th Giro Provincia di Siracusa - Trofeo Arancia Rossa
9th GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
10th Trofeo dello Scalatore I
2002
2nd Overall Tour Méditerranéen
6th Overall Brixia Tour
8th Coppa Ugo Agostoni
10th Trofeo Pantalica
2003
8th Overall Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali
10th Overall Giro del Trentino
10th Giro dell'Appennino
2004
1st Mountains classification Tour Down Under
2nd Overall Brixia Tour
2nd Trofeo Melinda
2nd GP Citta di Rio Saliceto e Correggio
5th Giro del Medio Brenta
7th Tre Valli Varesine
7th Giro della Romagna
8th Giro del Veneto
2005
3rd Milano–Torino
3rd Trofeo Laigueglia
6th Overall Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali
6th Gran Premio Fred Mengoni
8th Giro d'Oro
2008
6th Klasika Primavera
2009
8th Overall Vuelta a España
10th Giro dell'Emilia
2011
1st Stage 19 Giro d'Italia
2012
1st Stage 7 Giro d'Italia
2013
1st Stage 1 (TTT) Vuelta a España
2014
9th Overall Vuelta a Burgos
2015
1st Stage 4 Giro del Trentino
1st Stage 9 Giro d'Italia

Grand Tour general classification results timeline
Grand Tour 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Giro d'Italia — — — DNF — 32 15 26 — 37 DNF 18 23 99 45 19 — 83
Tour de France — — — — — — 69 — 46 — 53 DNF — — — — 74 —
Vuelta a España 96 — 43 — — — — DNF 27 8 — — 38 51 33 DNF — —
Legend
— Did not compete
DNF Did not finish

References
  1. "Giro d'Italia: Tiralongo to retire at season end - News shorts". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. "2009 Vuelta a Espana Stage 21/Final results". Bike World News. Disqus. 20 September 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  3. "2009 Tiralongo signs for Astana - Cyclingnews.com". Retrieved 20 October 2009.
  4. Simon MacMichael (27 May 2011). "Giro d'Italia Stage 19: Astana's Tiralongo takes maiden win after 12 years as a pro". RoadCC. Farrelly Atkinson Ltd. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  5. Westemeyer, Susan (12 May 2012). "Giro d'Italia: Tiralongo wins into Rocca di Cambio". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  6. Kirsten Frattini (24 April 2015). "Richie Porte seals Giro del Trentino overall win". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
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