Paolo Tiralongo

Paolo Tiralongo
	Tiralongo at the 2011 Tour de Romandie
Personal information
Full name	Paolo Tiralongo
Nickname	L'Ape di Avola (The Bee from Avola)
Born	8 July 1977 (age 47); Avola, Italy
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	56 kg (123 lb)
Team information
Current team	Retired
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Climbing specialist
Professional teams
2000–2002	Fassa Bortolo
2003–2005	Ceramiche Panaria–Fiordo
2006–2009	Lampre–Fondital
2010–2017	Astana
Major wins
	Grand Tours Giro d'Italia 3 individual stages (2011, 2012, 2015) Vuelta a España 1 TTT stage (2013)

Paolo Tiralongo (born 8 July 1977) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer,^[1] who rode professionally between 2000 and 2017 for the Fassa Bortolo, Ceramica Panaria–Navigare, Lampre–NGC and Astana teams.

Career

In 2009, while riding for Lampre–NGC, Tiralongo registered his best final result on a Grand Tour, finishing the Vuelta a España in eighth position after riding consistently in the mountain stages. He conceded a little over 9 minutes to the victor, Spaniard Alejandro Valverde of Caisse d'Epargne.^[2] He joined Astana for the 2010 season, on a 2-year contract.^[3] In 2011, Tiralongo took a notable victory on stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia, a summit finish to Macugnaga. He attacked in the final kilometers and went clear of the lead group, but was joined by Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank–SunGard) in the final few meters. He came first on the line, taking his first victory in more than ten years.^[4]

In 2012, he won another stage in the Giro d'Italia, stage 7, which was a hilltop finish atop Rocca di Cambio. With 500 meters to go, Tiralongo followed an attack initiated by Michele Scarponi of Lampre–ISD and he passed Scarponi inside of the final 100 meters. He lay on the ground afterward, out of breath.^[5]

On 24 April 2015, Tiralongo collected his first victory of the season in the final stage of the Giro del Trentino. He passed the last climb (Passo Predaia) with a small leading group and won the sprint after the descent.^[6] On 17 May, he won Stage 9 of the 2015 Giro d'Italia.

Major results

1998: 1st Gran Premio di Poggiana; 3rd Overall Giro Ciclistico d'Italia
1999: 1st Overall Triptyque Ardennais; 3rd Road race, National Under-23 Road Championships
2001: 2nd Trofeo dello Scalatore III; 3rd Overall Tour of Austria; 6th Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi; 8th Giro della Provincia di Siracusa; 9th GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano; 10th Trofeo dello Scalatore I
2002: 2nd Overall Tour Méditerranéen; 6th Overall Brixia Tour; 8th Coppa Ugo Agostoni; 10th Trofeo Pantalica
2003: 8th Overall Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali; 10th Overall Giro del Trentino; 10th Giro dell'Appennino
2004: 1st Mountains classification Tour Down Under; 2nd Overall Brixia Tour; 2nd Trofeo Melinda; 2nd GP Citta di Rio Saliceto e Correggio; 5th Giro del Medio Brenta; 7th Tre Valli Varesine; 7th Giro della Romagna; 8th Giro del Veneto
2005: 3rd Milano–Torino; 3rd Trofeo Laigueglia; 6th Overall Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali; 6th Gran Premio Fred Mengoni; 8th Giro d'Oro
2008: 6th Klasika Primavera
2009: 8th Overall Vuelta a España; 10th Giro dell'Emilia
2011: 1st Stage 19 Giro d'Italia
2012: 1st Stage 7 Giro d'Italia
2013: 1st Stage 1 (TTT) Vuelta a España
2014: 9th Overall Vuelta a Burgos
2015: 1st Stage 4 Giro del Trentino; 1st Stage 9 Giro d'Italia

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Grand Tour	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Giro d'Italia	—	—	—	DNF	—	32	15	26	—	37	DNF	18	23	99	45	19	—	83
Tour de France	—	—	—	—	—	—	69	—	46	—	53	DNF	—	—	—	—	74	—
Vuelta a España	96	—	43	—	—	—	—	DNF	27	8	—	—	38	51	33	DNF	—	—