Czech Republic
17 December 1970
1.90m
82kg
1986
USPS (2002-2004)
The Czech Republic’s Pavel Padrnos is truly a giant among men in the sport of cycling. Standing 1.9m and weighing 82 kg, he towers above most of the other riders in the pro peloton. He is not only one of the most outstanding “rolleurs” (men who excel on the flats and rolling hills), but he also completed two Grand Tours in 2005, aiding Paolo Savoldelli to his Giro d’Italia victory and Lance Armstrong to his historic 7th Tour de France win in July.
He showed excellent early season form at Tirreno-Adriatico with a top three finish in stage five. Running up to the Giro in May, Padrnos competed in such notable events as Milan-San Remo, the Tour of the Basque Country, and Amstel Gold. Following his success at the Giro and Tour, he continued racing at Clásica San Sebastián, the Tour of Germany, and then assisted George Hincapie in his late-season victory at GP Plouay. He closed out his year by racing in America at the Barclays Global Investors Grand Prix in San Francisco.
Padrnos turned in a more-than-solid campaign in 2004, his third with the team. His season began in typical fashion with the Spring Classics, but included the Tour of Catalunya rather than the Dauphiné Libéré. In Spain, Padrnos finished in the top 40 and helped teammate Max Van Heeswijk win the sixth stage to Vallirana.
At the Tour de France, Padrnos did an excellent job in the first week, riding alongside Lance Armstrong through the rainy first week and turning in a solid effort in the team's victory in the team time trial. He exhibited his improved climbing ability in the mountain stages, riding at the front of the peloton until the race hit the high mountains. Padrnos finished the tour 79th overall, 23 places higher than his 2003 finish. The two-time Olympian then joined Armstrong and several team-mates at the Prague Grand Prix, a post-Tour critérium, where he was cheered on by thousands of his countrymen for a job well done. He later participated in the Clásica San Sebastián, the Championship of Zurich and the Tour of Great Britain and concluded his season with a trip to San Francisco for the T-Mobile International.
Padrnos started five straight Tours of Italy (1997-2001), turning in his best finish, 18th, in 1999. Prior to 2002, Padrnos had started three Tours de France, reaching Paris once in 2000, where he finished 85th overall. He has also started two Tours of Spain.
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3rd, Stage 5, Tirreno-Adriatico
95th overall, Tour de France
79th overall, Tour de France |
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