Rein Taaramäe
.jpg) Taaramäe at the 2012 Critérium du Dauphiné | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Rein Taaramäe |
| Nickname | Vader (from "reinuvader" – a Fox), Taarakas |
| Born |
April 24, 1987 Tartu, Estonia |
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] |
| Weight | 67 kg (148 lb; 10.6 st)[1] |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Team Katusha |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | GC rider |
| Amateur team(s) | |
| 2007 | Cofidis (stagiaire) |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 2008–2014 | Cofidis |
| 2015 | Astana |
| 2016– | Team Katusha |
| Major wins | |
| |
|
Infobox last updated on 20 July 2017 | |
Rein Taaramäe (born April 24, 1987 in Tartu) is an Estonian road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam cycling team Team Katusha.
Career
Taaramäe turned professional in 2008 for Cofidis after riding for the team as a stagiaire in late 2007 and winning a stage at the Circuit des Ardennes early in the season. In 2008 he won two stages of Grand Prix du Portugal and a stage of Tour de l'Avenir. At the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, Taaramäe competed in the road race and the road time trial.
In 2009 he finished third at the Tour de Romandie and eighth at the Tour de Suisse. Taaramäe won both the national road race and time trial championships.[2] He also won Tour de l'Ain after winning the last stage to Col du Grand Colombier.[3] In 2010 he finished seventh at the Paris-Nice and third at the Volta a Catalunya.
In 2011, Rein finished 11th overall in the 2011 Tour de France. On Stage 14 of the 2011 Vuelta a España Taaramae and breakaway companion David de la Fuente were the last two riders of a 17-man breakaway, but with 2 km to go de la Fuente dropped back to pace teammate Juan José Cobo up the climb allowing Taaramae to solo to his first ever Grand Tour stage win. He ultimately withdrew from the race prior to its conclusion in Madrid.
In August 2014 Astana Pro Team general manager Alexander Vinokourov announced that Taaramäe had signed a one-year contract with the team for the 2015 season.[4]
2015 began well for Rein with the victory at Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia. Hopes were high with Grand Tours in mind, especially Le Tour. At 2015 Tour de France Taaramäe was meant to help Nibali in the mountains. Unfortunately Taaramäe was forced to abandon the race during stage 11 due to illness. After the disappointing Tour Taaramäe went on to win in style back-to-back 2015 Vuelta a Burgos and 2015 Arctic Race of Norway in August. Simultaneously rumors of Taaramäe leaving Astana started to emerge and at the end of August Taaramäe signed a one-year deal with Team Katusha.
He was named in the start list for the 2016 Giro d'Italia.[5] He won the 20th stage of the race, becoming the first Estonian to win a stage in the Giro.[6] After a short vacation at home in Estonia, Taaramäe went to win the overall at Tour de Slovenie, together with stage win at Stage 2. Taaramäe's next main starts will be at 2016 Tour de Pologne, 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio and 2016 Vuelta a España.
Career achievements
Major results
- 2005
- 3rd overall, juniors Course de Paix
- 2006
- 1st
National Under-23 Time Trial Championships - 1st, GP Ouest-France – U23 version
- 2007
- 1st, Stage 4, Circuit des Ardennes
- 2nd
, European Under-23 Time Trial Championships - 2nd, National Time Trial Championship
- 2008
- 1st, Stages 2 & 3, Grand Prix du Portugal
- 1st, Stage 6, Tour de l'Avenir
- 2009
- 1st National Time Trial Championships
- 1st National Road Race Championships
- 1st
Overall, Tour de l'Ain
- 1st, Stage 5
- 1st
Mountains Classification, Vuelta al País Vasco - 3rd Overall, Tour de Romandie
- 8th Overall, Tour de Suisse
- 2010
- 3rd Overall, Volta a Catalunya
- 7th Overall, Paris–Nice
- 9th Overall, Route du Sud
- 2011
- 1st National Time Trial Championships
- 1st, Stage 14, Vuelta a España
- 3rd Overall, Critérium International
- 1st
Youth classification
- 1st
- 4th Overall, Paris–Nice
- 1st Youth classification
- 1st
- 8th Overall, Volta ao Algarve
- 10th Overall, Circuit Cycliste Sarthe
- 2012
- 1st National Time Trial Championships
- 2nd Overall, Vuelta a Andalucía
- 3rd Overall, Étoile de Bessèges
- 8th Overall, Tour du Poitou Charentes
- 2013
- 1st National Road Race Championships
- 2nd, National Time Trial Championships
- 3rd, Cholet-Pays de Loire
- 2014
- 1st Tour du Doubs
- 2nd Overall, Tour of Turkey
- 1st, Stage 3
- 6th Overall, Tour du Limousin
- 8th Overall, Étoile de Bessèges
- 2015
- 1st Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia
- 1st
Overall, Vuelta a Burgos - 1st
Overall, Arctic Race of Norway - 6th Overall, Volta ao Algarve[7]
- 2016
- 1st, Stage 20, Giro d'Italia
- 1st Overall, Tour de Slovenie
- 1st, Stage 2
Grand Tour general classification results timeline
| Grand Tour | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Giro |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | 29 |
| Tour |
— | WD | 11 | 36 | 102 | 88 | WD | — |
| Vuelta |
74 | — | WD | — | — | — | — | WD |
WD = Withdrew; In Progress = IP
References
- 1 2 "Rein Taaramäe profile".
- ↑ Greg Johnson (28 July 2009). "Taaramae takes road title too". Cycling News. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
- ↑ "Cofidis sweeps Horner aside". Cycling News. 12 August 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
- ↑ "Taaramae signs one-year deal with Astana". cyclingnews.com. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
- ↑ "99th Giro d'Italia Startlist". Pro Cycling Stats. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
- ↑ "Sensational Nibali all but wins the Giro d'Italia as Taaramae takes stage 20". Eurosport. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
- ↑ "Volta ao Algarve: Greipel wins final stage". cyclingnews.com. 22 February 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rein Taaramäe. |
- Rein Taaramäe's blog (Estonian)
- Rein Taaramäe profile at Cycling Archives
- Palmarès by cyclingbase.com
- Taaramae believes in top 10 placing at Tour de France Cyclingnews.com story in March 2011
- Taaramae comes of age, still makes mistakes Cyclingnews.com story in March 2010