Igor Antón


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

Igor Antón Hernández (born 2 March 1983) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2018 for the Euskaltel–Euskadi, Movistar Team and Team Dimension Data squads.[3]

Igor Antón

Antón at the 2008 Euskal Bizikleta.

Personal information
Full nameIgor Antón Hernández
NicknameFuji[1]
Born2 March 1983 (age 41)
Galdakao, Basque Country, Spain
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight58 kg (128 lb)
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeClimbing specialist
Amateur team
2002–2004Olarra-Consultec
Professional teams
2005–2013Euskaltel–Euskadi[2]
2014–2015Movistar Team
2016–2018Team Dimension Data
Major wins
Grand Tours
Giro d'Italia
1 individual stage (2011)
Vuelta a España
4 individual stages (2006, 2010, 2011)

Born in Galdakao, Basque Country, Antón's first major achievement after turning professional in 2005, was winning the sixteenth stage of the 2006 Vuelta a España, between Almería and the Calar Alto Observatory.[4]

After impressing his team directors in 2007, where he won a stage at the Tour de Romandie, Antón was soon picked out to be the team leader for the general classification (GC) in the 2007 Vuelta a España where he ended up finishing 8th overall. The year started well, and in June he came second in the Euskal Bizikleta. Later in the same month, Antõn won the second stage in the UCI ProTour race Tour de Suisse. In the GC he came home third. In September at the Vuelta a España, Antón was in the best form of his career and held the pace of the likes of Alberto Contador and Alejandro Valverde up the mountains. A fall on the stage to Alto de L'Angliru ended his ambitions in the Vuelta. The fall caused a fractured collarbone, and Antón's season came to an early end.

The 2009 season started slowly for Antón. He started the Tour de France in July, but failed to make a great impression. The Tour was filled with bad luck for Antón as he had at least three falls during the start of the three-week race. However, Antón came out of the Tour in great form and took the season's only victory on 2 August, when he won the Subida a Urkiola.

In 2010, Anton proved to be a formidable rider in the Classics, taking 4th at La Flèche Wallonne and 6th at Liège–Bastogne–Liège. In the Vuelta a España, Anton won Stage 4 and Stage 11 giving him the leader's jersey. However, on Stage 14 whilst wearing the leader's jersey, Anton crashed heavily on a descent and was forced to retire.

In 2011, Anton won two grand tour stages. He won Stage 14 in the Giro d'Italia[1] and Stage 19 in the Vuelta a España which were both summit finishes, the latter almost a 'home' stage with familiar climbs in Biscay and concluding in Bilbao.[1]

In 2012, Anton built his whole season on the 2012 Vuelta a España. He ended up finishing 9th overall after an impressive race in the mountains.

Antón joined the Movistar Team for the 2014 season, after his previous team – Euskaltel–Euskadi – folded at the end of the 2013 season.[5]

In May 2015, Antón renewed with victory after a four-year drought. He won the mountainous first stage of the Vuelta a Asturias with fourteen seconds of an advantage over former Euskaltel teammate Amets Txurruka of Caja Rural–Seguros RGA.[6] He would not let go of the lead on stage two, which was the last stage of the race. He finished with the lead group of five riders.[7]

Anton retired from racing after the last stage of the 2018 Vuelta a España.[3] He was celebrated by the public on the streets of Madrid, when riding in front of the peloton for a while. A few months later, his career was honoured by local football club Athletic Bilbao at their stadium prior to a derby match against Eibar.[1]

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

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  1. ^ a b c d "Pedalling towards victory". Athletic Bilbao. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Euskaltel-Euskadi (EUS) – ESP". UCI World Tour. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Anton hangs up his bike after 14 years". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 16 September 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Anton reaches heights of Calar Alto". Eurosport.com.
  5. ^ "Igor Anton signs two-year deal with Movistar after folding of Euskaltel-Euskadi team". Sky Sports. BSkyB. 10 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  6. ^ Emil Axelgaard (2 May 2015). "Anton back to his winning ways in Asturias mountains". Cycling Quotes. CyclingQuotes.com 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  7. ^ Emil Axelgaard (3 May 2015). "Herrada and Anton make it a great day for Movistar in Asturias". Cycling Quotes. CyclingQuotes.com 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2015.