World cycling

In 1955, at the historical Velodromo Vigorelli in Milan, Guillermo Timoner became the first Spaniard to wear the rainbow jersey. He did so in the motor-paced category, which he practically dominated for an entire decade, and was proclaimed champion in five more occasions (1959, 1960, 1962, 1964 and 1965). Since then, Spanish cycling —which receives Iberia’s support through the Royal Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC)— reaped successes in drips and drabs until the trial boom in the mid-1980s, followed by the resurgence of track and the arrival of the first road and mountain bike wins in the 1990s thanks to a series of cyclists who made history. Here we look at the names of some of these great cyclists and para-cyclists.

Ricardo Ten

With fourteen world titles, this Valencian para-cyclist is already a legend. He only started competing in cycling in 2018 after hanging up his swimming costume —yes, he traded swimming for cycling— at the Rio Games (2016), with seven Paralympic medals on his track record. He’s as good or even better at cycling as at swimming because, as well as his world successes on the track (pursuit, omnium, and scratch) and on the road (road race, time trial), he has won four more Paralympic medals, the last three in Paris.

Óscar Freire

In 1999, a practically unknown cyclist from Cantabria surprised everyone in Verona (Italy) by becoming the world road racing champion, beating sprinters such as Markus Zberg, Oscar Camenzind or Jan Ullrich to the finish line. In 2001, he beat Paolo Bettini in Lisbon and, in 2003, with his third victory —again in Verona— he made history by becoming the fourth rider to win three World Championships, after Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbergen and Eddy Merckx.

Marga Fullana

When talking about cycling, we must mention mountain bike, a modality in which sprinters ride around circuits in the middle of nature. Marga Fullana, with five titles, is the Spanish female cyclist who has won the most awards at the World Championships. She wore her first rainbow jersey in Åre (Sweden) where she won both the individual and relay races. A double win she repeated in 2000, at the championships held in Sierra Nevada (Spain). She won her last title in 2008 in Val di Sole (Italy).

Joan Llaneras

Known as the king of track, this Mallorcan is the best Spanish track cyclist with seven world titles, as well as two Olympic gold medals, which he won in Sidney (2000) and Beijing (2008). His seven rainbow jerseys can be classified as follows: four in the points race category (Manchester 1996, Bordeaux 1998, Manchester 2000 and Palma de Mallorca 2007) and three in the madison category alongside Miquel Alzamora (Perth 1997) and Isaac Gálvez (Berlin 1999 and Bordeaux 2006).

Gemma Abant

With three world titles, is the Spanish queen of trial, a modality created in Spain by the father of Ot Pi, another great champion, which consists of overcoming obstacles while keeping the feet off the ground. Her reign started in 2008 in Val di Sole (Italy), it continued in Mont-Sainte-Anne (Canada) in 2010 and ended in Saalfelden Leogang (Austria) in 2013. Incidentally, her twin sister Mireia has also won five World Championship medals.

Abraham Olano

The epically tough 1995 Duitama World Championship (Colombia) made Spanish cycling history and his success is still engraved in the memory of fans. Olano won the gold for road racing and silver for time trial, while Miguel Induráin won silver for road racing and gold for time trial. A crushing Spanish victory! In 1998, at the World Championship in Valkenburg (the Netherlands), this cyclist from Gipuzkoa added time trial to his track record.

José Antonio Hermida

Alongside Marga Fullana, José Antonio Hermida is the other great cyclist on the Spanish mountain bike scene. Raised at the foot of the Pyrenees —Puigcerdà (Girona)—, in 1996 he became the junior world champion. In the elite category, he won four world titles, three in the relay race (1999, 2000 and 2005) and one individually (2010), in a final that he won by only 29 hundredths of a second and which was the biggest milestone of his career alongside the silver he won at the Athens Games (2004).

Joane Somarriba

In 2003, Igor Astarloa was proclaimed world champion for road racing in Hamilton (Canada) against all odds; that same year, his countrywoman, a legend of Spanish female cycling, made the best time in the time trial category. As well as wearing the rainbow jersey, Joane won her third and last Tour de France (called Grande Boucle at the time). This track record was topped by two Giro d’Italia.

We cannot forget figures like Alejandro Valverde, who won the highly-anticipated rainbow jersey at the age of 38 at the World Championship held in Innsbruck (Austria), or sprinters like Dori Ruano or Sergi Escobar. But if Spain stands out in one discipline, it is trial, where cyclists like Benito Ros or Abel Mustieles have really dominated the scene. And we cannot end this list without mentioning other para-cyclists, like Alfonso Cabello or Javier Otxoa, who went from winning the Hautacam stage in the 2000 Tour de France to being the world champion of time trial in 2009 after a serious accident which upended his career in 2001. They are all part of the cycling history of Spain... and the world!