Daniel Moreno


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Daniel Moreno Fernández (born 5 September 1981) is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2018 for the Relax–GAM, Omega Pharma–Lotto, Team Katusha, Movistar Team and EF Education First–Drapac p/b Cannondale teams. He specialised in mountain and high-mountain races along with Grand Tours like the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, winning three stages of the latter in 2011 and 2013.

Daniel Moreno

Moreno in 2009

Personal information
Full nameDaniel Moreno Fernández
NicknameMuñeco
Born5 September 1981 (age 43)
Madrid, Spain
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight59 kg (130 lb; 9.3 st)
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeClimber
Amateur teams
2003–2004Alcosto–Fuenlabrada
2003Alcobaça CC–De Borla–Ruben & Rita
2004Relax–Bodysol (stagiaire)
Professional teams
2005–2007Relax–Fuenlabrada
2008–2009Caisse d'Epargne
2010Omega Pharma–Lotto
2011–2015Team Katusha
2016–2017Movistar Team
2018EF Education First–Drapac p/b Cannondale[1]
Major wins
Grand Tours
Vuelta a España
3 individual stages (2011, 2013)

Stage races

Vuelta a Burgos (2012)

One-day races and Classics

Gran Piemonte (2011)
GP Miguel Induráin (2012)
La Flèche Wallonne (2013)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Moreno and the second or maternal family name is Fernández.

In 2003, Moreno was a member of the Alcosto–Fuenlabrada team, and he won the Volta a Portugal do Futuro. From September 2004, Moreno rode as a stagiaire with Relax–Bodysol. At his very first race, the annual Tour of Britain, he achieved a prominent result by finishing 5th in the general classification.

Relax–Fuenlabrada (2005–07)

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In 2005, he remained full-time with Relax–Fuenlabrada. He advanced further by ranking 2nd at the Clásica de Ordizia and the Vuelta a Andalucía.

In 2006, he achieved his first victories by taking stage wins at the Clásica Internacional de Alcobendas and the Volta ao Alentejo. He supplemented his triumphs with three podiums at the Volta ao Alentejo, the Clásica Internacional de Alcobendas and the Vuelta a Burgos.

In 2007 it also turned out to be successful year for Moreno. He won stages at the Tour de San Luis, Vuelta a Chihuahua, and the Escalada a Montjuïc.[2] Along with that, he showed himself to good advantage by taking 2nd place in a stage of the Vuelta a España and, thus, reaching 12th position in the final general classification. In September he announced his move to French team Agritubel for the next year[3] but then Moreno renounced his own statement.

However, with the collapse of Relax–GAM in late 2007, the rider lost his permanent contract together with an opportunity to compete at professional races.

Moreno managed to return to the peloton only in March 2008 after signing a contract with the Spanish team Caisse d'Epargne.

There he spent two seasons (2008–2009) working as a domestique for Alejandro Valverde[4] and then moved to Omega Pharma–Lotto for a year.[5]

Team Katusha (2011–15)

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In 2011 he joined Russian Team Katusha[6] and became a domestique for his team leader, Joaquim Rodríguez. Accompanying Rodríguez in mountain races, Moreno managed to win several significant competitions including the Giro del Piemonte and the Vuelta a Burgos. On 23 August he triumphed in stage 4 of the Vuelta a España, joining the lone escapee of Chris Anker Sørensen in the final kilometres. Sorensen had been part of an earlier break and Moreno sat on his wheel, attacking in the final 400 metres (1,300 ft) as the peloton was charging behind.[7] The next day he successfully assisted Rodríguez at Valdepeñas de Jaén. The coordinated performance of the two Spaniards brought Moreno to 3rd place while Rodríguez topped the podium. During all three weeks of the racem Moreno rode at his best and, thus, ranked 9th in the general classification. In October, Moreno won the Italian classic Giro del Piemonte, after shaking off the leading group of thirteen after the flamme rouge on an uphill false flat.[8]

In 2012 Moreno kept on going forward. He triumphed at the GP Miguel Induráin,[9] took first place on stage 4 of the Vuelta a Andalucía and won 2 stages of the Critérium du Dauphiné. Moreno also firmly assisted Rodríguez to second overall at the Giro d'Italia. The Vuelta a España and other home races were among his top priorities for the ongoing season.[10]

He went on to win the 2.HC classified Vuelta a Burgos, surviving a scare in the last stage after getting dropped on the Lagunas de Neila [es] mountain finish by two serious overall classification contenders, Colombians Esteban Chaves of Colombia–Coldeportes and Sergio Henao of Team Sky. Moreno ultimately limited his losses to 22 seconds on that stage, retaining the leader's jersey by 10 seconds over Henao. He also won 2 stages and the points classification at the race.[11]

He also had a solid 5th-place finish in the Vuelta a España, where he helped his team leader Rodríguez in the mountain stages; Rodríguez took third overall.[12]

In 2013, Moreno won the World Tour race La Flèche Wallonne, after following an attack initiated by Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing Team) on the final climb, the Mur de Huy. He passed Gilbert and Carlos Betancur (Ag2r–La Mondiale) to grab the victory.[13] He later continued his good form into the Critérium du Dauphiné where he finished 3rd overall. At the Vuelta a España, he won stages 4 and 9 and finished 10th in the final general classification.

Movistar Team (2016–17)

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In October 2015, Movistar Team announced that they had signed Moreno on a two-year contract from 2016.[14]

EF Education First–Drapac (2018)

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In November 2017, it was announced that Moreno was to join the EF Education First–Drapac p/b Cannondale team for the 2018 season.[1]

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

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Legend
Did not compete
DNF Did not finish
  1. ^ a b "Daniel Moreno to EF Education First-Drapac". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 11 November 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  2. ^ Moreno wins in Montjuïc – Cyclingnews.com, October 22, 2007
  3. ^ Daniel Moreno firmará con Agritubel para 2008 – Diario Vasco – 07.09.2007[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Caisse d'Epargne: Team Profile – Cyclingnews.com, 2010
  5. ^ Moreno to race for Omega Pharma-Lotto in 2010 – Cyclingnews.com, October 20, 2009
  6. ^ Katusha signs three: Daniel Moreno, Alberto Losada, and Leif Hoste – Velonation.com, September 23, 2010
  7. ^ Peter Cossins (23 August 2011). "Moreno climbs to stage victory in the Sierra Nevada". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  8. ^ "97th Giro del Piemonte – Gran Piemonte". Daily Peloton. 2002–2011 by Daily Peloton. 13 October 2011. Archived from the original on 22 December 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  9. ^ Moreno claims GP Indurain – Eurosport.yahoo.com, March 31, 2012
  10. ^ "Moreno recovers for Dauphine stage win, plans a vacation – Velonews.com, June 6, 2012". Archived from the original on June 8, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  11. ^ Hymas, Peter (5 August 2012). "Moreno wins 2012 Vuelta a Burgos". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  12. ^ "Vuelta a España 2012 stage 21 results". Velo News. 2012 Competitor Group, Inc. 9 September 2012. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  13. ^ "Moreno victorious on Mur de Huy". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 17 April 2013. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  14. ^ "Dani Moreno joins Movistar for 2016". cyclingnews.com. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.