Alex Zülle (born 5 July 1968) is a Swiss former professional road bicycle racer. During the 1990s he was one of the most successful cyclists in the world, winning the 1996 and 1997 Vuelta a España, taking second place in the 1995 and the 1999 Tour de France. He was world time-trial champion in Lugano in 1996. He admitted doping with EPO and raced for the three most notorious doping teams in 1997–9.
Biography
Early career
Zülle was born and brought up in Wil in the canton of St. Gallen, son of a Swiss father, Walter Zülle and Wilhelmine, from Brabant, Netherlands. As a child he wanted to be a skier but at 18 he was injured in an accident. He began cycling in the Netherlands for rehabilitation before giving up because it was too windy.
His father, having bought cycling equipment, persuaded him to give cycling another go when they returned to Switzerland. After several years as a successful amateur, Zülle turned professional in 1991. He approached the former sporting director of the Swiss team, Helvetia, Paul Köchli, but Köchli signed Laurent Dufaux instead.
Zülle then approached Manolo Saiz, but was rebuffed because, among reasons, he did not contract riders who wore earrings. Eventually, Saiz softened and Zülle rode for ONCE as a stagaire or apprentice in the Volta a Catalunya. He attacked frequently and finished third. Saiz relented and Zülle signed his first professional contract in September 1991. He remained with ONCE until 1997. Most of its riders were Spanish. Zülle spoke only Swiss-German when he joined but at the end of the Vuelta a España he answered journalists in Spanish.
Festina affair In 1998, Zülle joined Festina. The team was banned from the 1998 Tour de France amid doping allegations which later became known as the Festina affair. Five Festina riders including Zülle admitted taking EPO. Zülle said he took it to satisfy his sponsors. He also said he was deprived of his spectacles during the police interview. On 28 November 1998, Zülle's haematocrit was found to be 52.3%, 2.3% over the limit.
1999–2004 His career coincided with that of Miguel Induráin, five-times Tour de France winner. Zülle was second in the Tour in 1999. He also won the Vuelta a España and Tour de Suisse, and stages in the Giro d'Italia. Following financial problems for his employer, Team Coast, Zülle transferred to on 27 March 2003 in a rare mid-season switch.
Zülle retired in 2004, and held a party for his fans in Wil in October that year.
Career achievements Major results
1990 1st Flèche du Sud 1991 1st Overall Grand Prix Guillaume Tell 1st Prologue, Stage 2 & 4 3rd Overall Volta a Catalunya 4th Trofeo Masferrer 1992 1st Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme 1st Overall Vuelta a Asturias 1st Stage 1b (ITT) 1st Overall Vuelta a Burgos 1st Stage 5 (ITT) 1st Overall Escalada a Montjuïc 1st Stage 1a 1st Stage 4 (ITT) Volta a Catalunya 1st Stage 2 Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali 3rd Gran Piemonte 4th Overall Tour of the Basque Country 4th Grand Prix des Nations 5th Milano–Torino 9th Wincanton Classic 1993 1st Overall Paris–Nice 1st Prologue & Stage 7b (ITT) 1st Chur-Arosa 1st Josef Voegeli Memorial 2nd Overall Vuelta a España 1st Stages 1 (ITT), 6 (ITT) & 21 (ITT) 3rd Overall Tour of the Basque Country 3rd Overall Critérium International 5th Overall Euskal Bizikleta 6th Overall Volta a Catalunya 1994 1st Stage 1 (ITT) Volta a Catalunya 1st Stage 6 (ITT) Vuelta a Aragón 2nd Overall Vuelta a La Rioja 4th Overall Vuelta a España 8th Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 1995 1st Overall Tour of the Basque Country 1st Stages 3 & 5b (ITT) 1st Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 1st Stage 2b 1st Challenge Mallorca 1st Stage 16 Vuelta a España 2nd Overall Tour de Suisse 1st Points classification 1st Prologue & Stage 5 (ITT) 2nd Overall Tour de France 1st Stage 9 2nd Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme 1st Stage 5b (ITT) 2nd Overall Euskal Bizikleta 1st Stage 4b (ITT) 3rd Overall Paris–Nice 1996 1st Time trial, UCI Road World Championships 1st Overall Vuelta a España 1st Stage 15 1st Overall Volta a Catalunya 1st Prologue, Stages 3 (ITT) & 6 (ITT) 1st Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme 1st Stage 3 & 5b (ITT) 1st GP Miguel Indurain 1st Prologue Tour de France 2nd Overall Euskal Bizikleta 1st Stage 4b (ITT) 7th Time trial, Olympic Games 8th Overall Escalada a Montjuïc 1997 1st Overall Vuelta a España 1st Stage 21 (ITT) 1st Overall Tour of the Basque Country 1st Stage 5b (ITT) 2nd Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme 2nd Overall Escalada a Montjuïc 2nd Milano–Torino 3rd La Flèche Wallonne 5th Overall Vuelta a Murcia 1998 Giro d'Italia 1st Prologue, Stages 6 & 15 (ITT) 2nd Overall Tour de Romandie 1st Stage 4b (ITT) 3rd Overall Tour of the Basque Country 3rd Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme 1st Stage 5b (ITT) 4th Overall Paris–Nice 5th Grand Prix Eddy Merckx (with Christophe Bassons) 8th Overall Vuelta a España 1st Stage 21 (ITT) 1999 1st À travers Lausanne 1st Stage 13 Vuelta a España 2nd Overall Tour de France 6th Breitling Grand Prix (with José Vicente García 10th Time trial, UCI Road World Championships 2000 1st Overall Volta ao Algarve 1st Stage 4 (ITT) 1st Stage 1 (ITT) Vuelta a España 4th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré 7th Overall Euskal Bizikleta 2001 1st Stage 4 Paris–Nice 3rd Overall Vuelta a Asturias 9th Overall Tour of the Basque Country 2002 1st Overall Tour de Suisse 1st Prologue 1st Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 1st Stage 5 (ITT) 2nd Overall Tour de Romandie 1st Points classification 1st Stage 4 & 5 (ITT) 2nd Overall Volta ao Algarve 1st Stage 2 4th GP Triberg-Schwarzwald 5th Deutschland Tour 2003 3rd Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León 7th Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2004 5th Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
General classification results timeline Grand Tour general classification results Grand Tour 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Giro d'Italia — — — — — — — 14 DNF — — — — — Tour de France — DNF 4182 26 DNF DNF2 DNF — — — — / Vuelta a España — DNF24 20118 37 49 109 — DNF —Major stage race general classification results Major stage race 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 / Paris–Nice — —1 533 — —4 — — 17 17 — 25 Tirreno–Adriaticodid not contest during his career Tour of the Basque Country —43 — 1 DNF13 — —9 DNF 58 DNF / Tour de Romandie — — — — — — —2 33 — —2 17 DNF Critérium du Dauphiné — — — — — — — —4 — — — — — Volta a Catalunya3 146 21 —1 — — DNF — — — — — Tour de Suisse — — — —2 — DNF — — — 221 22 54
+ Legend — Did not compete DNF Did not finish
See also Doping at the Tour de France List of doping cases in cycling List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences
References
External links