2008 in men's road cycling

none 2008 in road cycling the women's overview 2008 in women's road cycling 2008 In 2008, for the first time in ten years, two Grand Tours were won by one rider, the Spaniard Alberto Contador. Alessandro Ballan succeeded fellow Italian Paolo Bettini as World Champion, winning the road race in his home country, where Varese hosted the World Championships for the second time in history. Bettini and German sprinter Erik Zabel were among the most prominent riders to quit after this season, while Mario Cipollini made a brief comeback in the early months of the year. Despite even tighter controls and warnings concerning doping, and the introduction of the blood passport by the UCI, several major races, including the Giro and Tour were faced with positive tests. In addition, the ongoing feud between the UCI and the race organizations almost came to a definite break in March, when the UCI threatened to suspend riders participating in ASO's Paris–Nice. The cycling federation's ProTour seemed bankrupt halfway through the year when all remaining licensed teams announced their withdrawal. However, at the start of 2009, 16 teams saw their ProTour license renewed and two new teams joined the elite division of cycling. Crédit Agricole and Gerolsteiner stopped sponsorship of a team, and were not succeeded by new sponsors. Other than Gerolsteiner, many German companies who participated in cycling sponsorship in recent years withdrew their financial backing after this year's latest of doping cases related to German cycling. As a result, fewer professional teams and races, among them the Deutschland Tour, will be part of the 2009 season. Amongst professional riders, Mark Cavendish was the most successful with 17 victories, including 4 in the Tour de France and two in the Giro d'Italia.Cycling Quotient http://www.cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/VictoryRankingRider.asp?year=2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20100115010417/http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/VictoryRankingRider.asp?year=2008 2010-01-15 live 2009-04-02 His team, Team High Road (which got a new sponsor midway through the season, ever since going by the name Team Columbia), was by far the most successful with 77 victories.http://www.cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/VictoryRankingTeam.asp?year=2008 CQ Ranking Alejandro Valverde was the most successful allround rider of the year based on the CQ ranking.http://www.cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/cqRankingRider.asp CQ Ranking After the end of the season, seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong announced his comeback to competitive road cycling for 2009, with the Astana Team. Grand Tours RaceDateWinnerSecondThirdFrance Tour de France2008 UCI Road Calendar Retrieved 9 December 2022Jul 5 – Jul 27Spain Carlos SastreAustralia Cadel EvansAustria Bernhard KohlItaly Giro d'ItaliaMay 10 – Jun 1Spain Alberto ContadorItaly Riccardo RiccòItaly Marzio BruseghinSpain Vuelta a EspañaAug 30 – Sep 21Spain Alberto ContadorUSA Levi LeipheimerSpain Carlos Sastre World Championships Varese Italy RaceDateWinnerSecondThird World Championship Road RaceSep 28Italy Alessandro BallanItaly Damiano CunegoDenmark Matti Breschel World Championship Time TrialSep 25Germany Bert GrabschCanada Svein TuftUSA David Zabriskie Olympic Games Beijing China RaceDateWinnerSecondThird30px Olympic Road RaceAug 9Spain Samuel SánchezItaly Davide RebellinSwitzerland Fabian Cancellara30px Olympic Time TrialAug 13Switzerland Fabian CancellaraSweden Gustav LarssonUSA Levi Leipheimer Monument Classics RaceDateWinnerSecondThirdItaly Milan–San RemoMar 22Switzerland Fabian CancellaraItaly Filippo PozzatoBelgium Philippe GilbertBelgium Tour of FlandersApr 6Belgium Stijn DevolderBelgium Nick NuyensSpain Juan Antonio FlechaFrance Paris–RoubaixApr 13Belgium Tom BoonenSwitzerland Fabian CancellaraItaly Alessandro BallanBelgium Liège–Bastogne–LiègeApr 27Spain Alejandro ValverdeItaly Davide RebellinLuxembourg Fränk SchleckItaly Giro di LombardiaOct 18Italy Damiano CunegoSlovenia Janez BrajkovičColombia Rigoberto Urán UCI ProTour RaceDateWinnerSecondThirdAustralia Tour Down UnderJan 22–27Germany André GreipelAustralia Allan DavisSpain José Joaquín RojasSpain Vuelta al País VascoApr 7–12Spain Alberto ContadorAustralia Cadel EvansNetherlands Thomas DekkerBelgium Gent–WevelgemApr 9Spain Óscar FreireSwitzerland Aurélien ClercBelgium Wouter WeylandtNetherlands Amstel Gold RaceApr 27Italy Damiano CunegoLuxembourg Fränk SchleckSpain Alejandro ValverdeSwitzerland Tour de RomandieApr 29 – May 4Germany Andreas KlödenCzech Republic Roman KreuzigerItaly Marco PinottiSpain Volta a CatalunyaMay 19–25Spain Gustavo CésarColombia Rigoberto UránFrance Rémi PauriolFrance Critérium du Dauphiné LibéréJun 8–15Spain Alejandro ValverdeAustralia Cadel EvansUSA Levi LeipheimerSwitzerland Tour de SuisseJun 14–22Czech Republic Roman KreuzigerGermany Andreas KlödenSpain Igor AntónSpain Clásica de San SebastiánAug 2Spain Alejandro ValverdeRussia Alexandr KolobnevItaly Davide RebellinBelgiumNetherlandsLuxembourg Tour of BeneluxAug 20–27Spain Iván GutiérrezBelgium Sébastien RosselerAustralia Michael RogersFrance GP Ouest-FranceAug 25France Pierrick FédrigoItaly Alessandro BallanSpain David LópezGermany Deutschland TourAug 29 – Sep 6Germany Linus GerdemannSweden Thomas LövkvistSlovenia Janez BrajkovičGermany Vattenfall CyclassicsSep 7Australia Robbie McEwenAustralia Mark RenshawAustralia Allan DavisPoland Tour de PologneSep 14–20Germany Jens VoigtDenmark Lars BakItaly Franco Pellizotti 2.HC Category races RaceDateWinnerSecondThirdMalaysia Tour de LangkawiFeb 9–17Moldova Ruslan IvanovFrance Matthieu SprickSpain Gustavo CésarUSA Tour of CaliforniaFeb 17–24USA Levi LeipheimerGreat Britain David MillarUSA Christian Vande VeldeFrance Paris–NiceMar 9–16Italy Davide RebellinItaly Rinaldo NocentiniUkraine Yaroslav PopovychItaly Tirreno–AdriaticoMar 12–18Switzerland Fabian CancellaraItaly Enrico GasparottoSweden Thomas LövkvistFrance Critérium InternationalMar 29–30Germany Jens VoigtSweden Gustav LarssonSpain Luis León SánchezBelgium Three Days of De PanneApr 1–3Netherlands Joost PosthumaItaly Manuel QuinziatoItaly Enrico GasparottoUSA Tour de GeorgiaApr 21–27Belarus Kanstantsin SivtsovAustralia Trent LoweUSA Levi LeipheimerFrance Four Days of DunkirkMay 6–11France Stéphane AugéFrance Clément LhotellerieFrance Pierrick FédrigoGermany Bayern RundfahrtMay 28 – Jun 1Germany Christian KneesSwitzerland Andreas DietzikerNetherlands Niki TerpstraLuxembourg Tour de LuxembourgJun 4–8Netherlands Joost PosthumaSwitzerland Michael AlbasiniLuxembourg Fränk SchleckSpain Euskal BizikletaJun 6–8Italy Eros CapecchiSpain Igor AntónSpain Adrián PalomaresAustria Tour of AustriaJuly 6–13Austria Thomas RohreggerRussia Vladimir GusevUkraine Ruslan PidgornyyChina Tour of Qinghai LakeJuly 11–20USA Tyler HamiltonPoland Marek RutkiewiczIran Hossein AskariBelgium Tour de WallonieJuly 26–30Russia Sergei IvanovBelgium Greg Van AvermaetItaly Paolo BettiniDenmark Danmark RundtJuly 30 – Aug 3Denmark Jakob FuglsangGreat Britain Steve CummingsNetherlands Tom StamsnijderSpain Vuelta a BurgosAug 5–9Spain Xabier Zandio EchaideSpain Iñigo LandaluzeColombia Walter PedrazaPortugal Volta a PortugalAug 13–24Spain David BlancoSpain Héctor GuerraSpain Rubén Plaza 1.HC Category races RaceDateWinnerSecondThirdBelgium Omloop Het VolkMar 1Belgium Philippe GilbertBelgium Nick NuyensNorway Thor HushovdBelgium E3 Prijs VlaanderenMar 29Norway Kurt Asle ArvesenGermany David KoppBelgium Greg Van AvermaetSpain GP Miguel InduráinApr 5Germany Fabian WegmannSwitzerland Michael AlbasiniSpain Joaquim RodríguezBelgium ScheldeprijsApr 16Great Britain Mark CavendishBelgium Tom BoonenAustralia Robbie McEwenBelgium La Flèche WallonneApr 23Luxembourg Kim KirchenAustralia Cadel EvansItaly Damiano CunegoGermany Rund um den Henninger TurmMay 1Netherlands Karsten KroonItaly Davide RebellinColombia Mauricio Alberto Ardila CanoUSA Commerce Bank International ChampionshipJun 8Denmark Matti BreschelUSA Kirk O'BeeUSA Fred RodriguezSwitzerland GP du Canton d'ArgovieJun 8France Lloyd MondorySwitzerland Manuel QuinziatoSweden Enrico GasparottoNetherlands Dutch Food Valley ClassicJun 11Germany Robert FörsterGermany Sven KraussBelgium Niko EeckhoutItaly Tre Valli VaresineAug 19Italy Francesco GinanniItaly Leonardo BertagnolliItaly Damiano CunegoItaly Giro del VenetoAug 31Italy Francesco GinanniUkraine Serhiy HoncharItaly Andrea MasciarelliItaly Coppa PlacciSep 6Italy Luca PaoliniItaly Enrico GasparottoItaly Mauro FinettoFranceBelgium Paris–BrusselsSep 13Australia Robbie McEwenBelgium Gert SteegmansItaly Luca PaoliniFrance GP de FourmiesSep 14Italy Giovanni ViscontiFrance Stéphane GoubertItaly Fabio SacchiItaly Giro del LazioOct 5Italy Francesco MasciarelliItaly Filippo PozzatoItaly Danilo Di LucaItaly Giro dell'EmiliaOct 11Italy Danilo Di LucaItaly Davide RebellinRussia Alexandr KolobnevFrance Paris–ToursOct 12Belgium Philippe GilbertBelgium Jan KuyckxFrance Sébastien TurgotItaly Giro del PiemonteOct 16Italy Daniele BennatiItaly Luca PaoliniBelarus Alexandre UsovJapan Japan CupOct 26Italy Damiano CunegoItaly Giovanni ViscontiItaly Ivan Basso National Road Race Championships RaceDateWinnerSecondThirdAustraliaJan 13Australia Matthew LloydAustralia Adam HansenAustralia Rory SutherlandAustriaJun 29Austria Christian PfannbergerAustria Hans Peter ObwallerAustria Stefan RuckerBelgiumJun 29Belgium Jürgen RoelandtsBelgium Sven VanthourenhoutBelgium Niko EeckhoutCanadaJul 6Canada Christian MeierCanada Bruno LangloisCanada Jacob ErkerCzech RepublicSlovakia Czech Republic & SlovakiaJun 29Slovakia Matej JurčoSlovakia Roman BronišCzech Republic Petr BenčíkDenmarkJun 29Denmark Nicki SørensenDenmark Matti BreschelDenmark Jens-Erik MadsenFranceJun 29France Nicolas VogondyFrance Arnaud CoyotFrance Julien LoubetGermanyJun 29Germany Fabian WegmannGermany Erik ZabelGermany Gerald CiolekGreat BritainJun 29Great Britain Robert HaylesGreat Britain Peter KennaughGreat Britain Dean DowningIrelandJun 29Ireland Dan MartinIreland Paídi O'BrienIreland Brian KenneallyItalyJun 29Italy Filippo SimeoniItaly Giovanni ViscontiItaly Filippo PozzatoLuxembourgJun 27Luxembourg Fränk SchleckLuxembourg Benoît JoachimLuxembourg Christian PoosNetherlandsJun 29Netherlands Lars BoomNetherlands Koos MoerenhoutNetherlands Steven de JonghNew ZealandJan 13New Zealand Julian DeanNew Zealand Heath BlackgroveNew Zealand Scott LyttleNorwayJun 29Norway Kurt Asle ArvesenNorway Stian RemmeNorway Lars Petter NordhaugPortugalJun 29Portugal João CabreiraPortugal Tiago MachadoPortugal Cândido BarbosaRussiaJun 29Russia Sergey IvanovRussia Aleksandr BazhenovRussia Roman KlimovSpainJun 29Spain Alejandro ValverdeSpain Óscar SevillaSpain Óscar PereiroSwedenJun 29Sweden Jonas LjungbladSweden Nicklas AxelssonSweden Thomas LövkvistSwitzerlandJun 29Switzerland Markus ZbergSwitzerland Martin ElmigerSwitzerland Mathias FrankUkraineJun 28Ukraine Ruslan PidgornyyUkraine Denis KostiukUkraine Volodymyr ZagorodniyUSAAug 31USA Tyler HamiltonUSA Blake CaldwellUSA Danny Pate National Time Trial Championships RaceDateWinnerSecondThirdAustraliaJan 10Australia Adam HansenAustralia Rory SutherlandAustralia Ben DayAustriaJun 28Austria Stefan DeniflAustria Josef BenetsederAustria Matthias BrändleBelgiumAug 15Belgium Stijn DevolderBelgium Leif HosteBelgium Dominique CornuCanadaJul 4Canada Svein TuftCanada Ryan RothCanada Zach BellCzech RepublicSlovakia Czech Republic & SlovakiaJun 27Czech Republic František RaboňCzech Republic Jan HruškaSlovakia Matej JurčoDenmarkJun 26Denmark Lars BakDenmark Frank HøjDenmark Michael BlaudzunFranceJun 26France Sylvain ChavanelFrance Christophe KernFrance Noan LelargeGermanyJun 27Germany Bert GrabschGermany Stefan SchumacherGermany Tony MartinGreat BritainJun 27Great Britain Michael HutchinsonGreat Britain Wouter SyybrandyGreat Britain Matthew BrottrillIrelandJun 27Ireland Paul HealionIreland Neil DelahayeIreland John HeverinItalyJun 22Italy Marco PinottiItaly Luca CelliItaly Maurizio BiondoLuxembourgJun 26Luxembourg Kim KirchenLuxembourg Christian PoosLuxembourg Benoît JoachimNetherlandsAug 31Netherlands Lars BoomNetherlands Joost PosthumaNetherlands Koen de KortNew ZealandJan 11New Zealand Logan HutchingsNew Zealand Paul OdlinNew Zealand Gordon McCauleyNorwayJun 27Norway Edvald Boasson HagenNorway Geir LienNorway Knut Anders FostervoldPortugalJun 28Portugal Sérgio PaulinhoPortugal Tiago MachadoPortugal Hélder OliveiraRussiaJun 27Russia Vladimir GusevRussia Timofey KritskiyRussia Vladimir KarpetsSpainJun 28Spain Luis León SánchezSpain Rubén PlazaSpain Iván GutiérrezSwedenJun 25Sweden Fredrik EricssonSweden Gustav LarssonSweden Thomas LövkvistSwitzerlandJun 29Switzerland Fabian CancellaraSwitzerland Rubens BertogliatiSwitzerland Andreas DietzikerUkraineJun 26Ukraine Andrey GrivkoUkraine Sergey MatveevUkraine Denis KostiukUSASep 1USA David ZabriskieUSA Tom ZirbelUSA Christian Vande Velde References See also 2008 in women's road cycling 2008 in track cycling Category:Men's road cycling by year