José María Jiménez

Spanish cyclist

For the Uruguayan footballer, see José María Giménez.

Jose María JiménezPersonal information

Full name| José María Jiménez Sastre
Nickname| El Chava (The Guy)
Born| (1971-02-06)6 February 1971
El Barraco, Spain
Died| 6 December 2003(2003-12-06) (aged 32)
Madrid, Spain
Height| 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight| 70 kg (154 lb; 11 st 0 lb)
Team information
Discipline| Road
Role| Rider
Rider type| Climbing specialist
Professional team
1993-2002| Banesto
Major wins
Grand Tours

Vuelta a España

Points classification (2001)
Mountains classification (1997, 1998, 1999, 2001)
9 individual stages (1997, 1998, 1999, 2001)

Stage races

Volta a Catalunya (2000)

One-day races and Classics

National Road Race Championships (1997)

Jose María Jiménez Sastre (6 February 1971 - 6 December 2003) was a Spanish professional road bicycle racer. During his career he excelled as a climber, winning numerous mountain stages.[1] His nickname was El Chava.

## Career

[edit]

After a four month spell as a stagiaire (trainee), Jiménez turned professional at the beginning of the 1993 season with the Spanish team Banesto which he would be a part of for the rest of his career.[2] In his first year, his teammates included Tour de France champions Pedro Delgado and Miguel Induráin.[3] Even at an early point in his career, Jiménez was considered a potential successor of Induráin.[4]

### Vuelta a España

[edit]

Jiménez was particularly successful in the Vuelta a España, winning nine stages in total, the points classification in 2001 and the mountains classification in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2001.[5] His four triumphs in the mountains classification of the Vuelta places him behind only José Luis Laguía as the rider with the most wins in the competition in the history of the race.[6]

His best year in the Vuelta was 1998. Here, he took the overall lead for the first time in his career after winning stage 6.[7] However, he acknowledged that the individual time trial on stage 9 would inevitably cost him the lead, as this was a weakness of his.[7] As expected, Jiménez found himself just over three minutes down on his Banesto teammate Abraham Olano after the time trial.[8] But Jiménez then won stages 10, 11 and 16,[5] before finally taking back the overall lead from Olano with just two stages remaining.[9] However, the following stage was another time trial in which he lost 2.50 to Olano and consequently the overall victory.[10] Kelme rider Fernando Escartín also bested Jiménez by enough to knock him down into 3rd place overall, his final placing.[10] Jiménez would never again lead the Vuelta.[11] His second best overall performance was in 1999, in which he was 5th.[12] Prior to that he was 12th in 1996[13] and 21st in 1997.[14] He concluded his Vuelta career with three stage wins on his way to 17th place overall in 2001.[5]

### Other races

[edit]

Of other noteworthy results, Jiménez won the Spanish National Road Race Championships in 1997 and secured overall victories in the 2000 Volta a Catalunya and in the Vuelta a La Rioja in both 1994 and 1997.[15] He also competed in both of the other Grand Tours, the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia. After a modest Giro d'Italia debut with 26th place in 1995,[16] he was appointed leader of his Banesto team for the 1999 race and started off well by finishing 2nd after Marco Pantani on stage 8.[17] However, a time trial and then a disastrous stage 14 followed, during which he lost over 20 minutes, making him drop to 38th overall.[17] He eventually finished 33rd overall, never to return to the race.[18]

He had more luck in his Tour de France starts, finishing 8th overall in 1997 after a consistent performance which included four top 10 results on individual stages.[19] He also challenged for stage wins in the 2000 edition, managing 3rd on the mountainous stage 10[20] and 2nd on stage 15, only beaten by Marco Pantani.[21] Nonetheless, he finished 23rd overall, some 52 minutes down on winner Lance Armstrong.[22]

### Style

[edit]

Both on and off the bike, Jiménez was, with only a few exceptions, too erratic to ride consistently in stage races.[23]

> "He was a rider in the old style. When things went well, they went very well. When things didn't go well, they didn't go at all. He lost a lot due to reasons beyond his work, leaving cycling like that... all of the sudden."

> — Miguel Induráin[24]

He often attacked without considering the consequences, which however sometimes resulted in spectacular wins in the toughest mountain stages. A particularly memorable instance of this occurred during stage eight of the 1999 Vuelta a España. Jiménez attacked the 23% gradient of the Angliru in rain and fog to catch Pavel Tonkov's long solo break at the line and take the stage in a two-man sprint. As he crossed the line, he did not have the energy for the victory pose. It was the first time in the history of the race that the Angliru was used.[25] However, he would subsequently pay for his attacking style in the next stage, where he would often lose by 10 or more minutes.

## Death

[edit]

Jiménez received psychological treatment for depression, and retired from professional cycling in 2002, at which point he got married. He died of a heart attack in a psychiatric hospital in Madrid at the age of 32, in December 2003.[26]

Spanish cyclist Carlos Sastre is Jiménez's brother-in-law. He dedicated his victory in the 2008 Tour de France to Jiménez.[27]

## Career achievements

[edit]

### Major results

[edit]

1992
1st  Overall Circuito Montañés
1993
3rd Subida al Naranco
5th Subida a Urkiola
1994
1st  Overall Vuelta a La Rioja

1st Stage 2a
1st Subida a Urkiola
3rd Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia
10th Subida al Naranco
1995
1st  Overall Colorado Classic

1st Stages 1 & 3
2nd Overall Vuelta a La Rioja
2nd Road race, National Road Championships
9th Subida al Naranco
10th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
10th Overall Volta a Catalunya

1st Stage 4

1996
1st Subida a Urkiola
1st  Mountains classification Vuelta a Burgos
9th Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
1997
1st  National Road Race Championship
1st  Overall Vuelta a La Rioja

1st Stage 2
Vuelta a España

1st  Mountains classification
1st Stage 19
2nd Subida al Naranco
2nd Subida a Urkiola
3rd Classique des Alpes
5th Overall Vuelta a Asturias
8th Overall Tour de France
1998
2nd Overall Vuelta a Asturias

1st Stage 5
3rd Overall Vuelta a España

1st  Mountains classification
1st Stages 6, 10, 11 & 16
5th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré

1st  Mountains classification
1st  Combination classification
1st Stage 3
7th Overall Vuelta a Burgos

1st  Mountains classification
9th Overall Route d'Occitanie
1999
2nd Overall Vuelta a Aragón
3rd Overall Volta a Catalunya
3rd Subida a Urkiola
5th Overall Vuelta a España

1st  Mountains classification
1st Stage 8
8th Overall Vuelta a Burgos
2000
1st  Overall Volta a Catalunya

1st Stages 7 & 8 (ITT)
1st Classique des Alpes
2001
Vuelta a España

1st  Points classification
1st  Mountains classification
1st Stages 8, 11 & 12 (ITT)
2nd Subida a Urkiola
3rd Overall Vuelta a La Rioja

### Grand Tour general classification results timeline

[edit]

Grand Tour | 1995  | 1996  | 1997  | 1998  | 1999  | 2000  | 2001

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Giro d'Italia | 26 | —  | —  | —  | 33 | —  | —
Tour de France | 51 | 57 | 8 | DNF | —  | 23 | —
Vuelta a España | —  | 12 | 21 | 3 | 5 | DNF | 17
Legend  —  | Did not compete

|

DNF | Did not finish

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "www.cyclingnews.com - the world centre of cycling". autobus.cyclingnews.com. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
2. ^ "José María Jiménez".
3. ^ "Banesto 1993".
4. ^ "Cyclisme - Jose Maria Jimenez meurt d'une crise cardiaque" (in French). Le Devoir. Associated Press. December 8, 2003. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
5. ^ a b c "Vuelta stats for Jiménez". Retrieved April 26, 2018.
6. ^ "Vuelta mountains classifications". Retrieved April 26, 2018.
7. ^ a b "Stage 6, 1998 Vuelta". Retrieved April 26, 2018.
8. ^ "Stage 9, 1998 Vuelta". Retrieved April 26, 2018.
9. ^ "Stage 20, 1998 Vuelta". Retrieved April 26, 2018.
10. ^ a b "Stage 21, 1998 Vuelta". Retrieved April 26, 2018.
11. ^ "Leader´s jersey stats for Jiménez". Retrieved April 26, 2018.
12. ^ "1999 Vuelta final standings". Retrieved April 26, 2018.
13. ^ "1996 Vuelta final standings". Retrieved April 26, 2018.
14. ^ "1997 Vuelta final standings". Retrieved April 26, 2018.
15. ^ "José María Jiménez Sastre".
16. ^ "Giro d'Italia 1995 Stage 22 results".
17. ^ a b "82nd Giro d'Italia, Grand Tour". autobus.cyclingnews.com. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
18. ^ "José María Jiménez".
19. ^ "José María Jiménez". firstcycling.com.
20. ^ Jones, Jeff. "Armstrong takes Maillot Jaune with magnificent exploit to Hautacam". www.cyclingnews.com. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
21. ^ Tim Maloney. "Pantani powers to second stage win". www.cyclingnews.com. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
22. ^ "2000 Tour de France".
23. ^ "A decade since Chava Jiménez's death". cyclingnews.com. December 6, 2013.
24. ^ "www.cyclingnews.com - the world centre of cycling". autobus.cyclingnews.com. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
25. ^ Martin Hardie (December 8, 2003). "A tribute to Jose-Maria Jimenez". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
26. ^ Henry, Chris (December 8, 2003). "José Maria Jimenez dead at 32". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
27. ^ "Humble star who defied lure of designer drugs". Independent.co.uk. July 27, 2008. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Profile world-of-cycling.com
* Palmarès memoire-du-cyclisme.net (in French)

* v
* t
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Vuelta a España mountains classification winners

* 1935: Edoardo Molinar
* 1936: Salvador Molina
* 1941: Fermín Trueba
* 1942: Julián Berrendero
* 1945: Julián Berrendero
* 1946–47: Emilio Rodriguez
* 1948: Bernardo Ruiz
* 1950: Emilio Rodriguez
* 1955: Giuseppe Buratti
* 1956: Nino Defilippis
* 1957–58: Federico Bahamontes
* 1959: Antonio Suárez
* 1960–62: Antonio Karmany
* 1963–65: Julio Jiménez
* 1966: Gregorio San Miguel
* 1967: Mariano Díaz
* 1968: Francisco Gabica
* 1969: Luis Ocaña
* 1970: Agustín Tamames
* 1971: Joop Zoetemelk
* 1972: José Manuel Fuente
* 1973–74: José Luis Abilleira
* 1975–76: Andrés Oliva
* 1977: Pedro Torres
* 1978: Andrés Oliva
* 1979: Felipe Yáñez
* 1980: Juan Fernández
* 1981–83: José Luis Laguía
* 1984: Felipe Yáñez
* 1985–86: José Luis Laguía
* 1987: Luis Herrera
* 1988: Álvaro Pino
* 1989: Óscar Vargas
* 1990: José Martín Farfán
* 1991: Luis Herrera
* 1992: Carlos Hernández Bailo
* 1993: Tony Rominger
* 1994: Luc Leblanc
* 1995: Laurent Jalabert
* 1996: Tony Rominger
* 1997–99: José María Jiménez
* 2000: Carlos Sastre
* 2001: José María Jiménez
* 2002: Aitor Osa
* 2003–04: Félix Cárdenas
* 2005: Joaquín Rodríguez
* 2006: Egoi Martínez
* 2007: Denis Menchov
* 2008–11: David Moncoutié
* 2012: Simon Clarke
* 2013: Nicolas Edet
* 2014: Luis León Sánchez
* 2015–16: Omar Fraile
* 2017: Davide Villella
* 2018: Thomas De Gendt
* 2019: Geoffrey Bouchard
* 2020: Guillaume Martin
* 2021: Michael Storer
* 2022: Richard Carapaz
* 2023: Remco Evenepoel
* 2024: Jay Vine

* v
* t
* e

Vuelta a España points classification winners

* 1945: Delio Rodríguez
* 1955: Fiorenzo Magni
* 1956: Rik Van Steenbergen
* 1957: Vicente Iturat
* 1958: Salvador Botella
* 1959: Rik Van Looy
* 1960: Arthur Decabooter
* 1961: Antonio Suárez
* 1962: Rudi Altig
* 1963: Bas Maliepaard
* 1964: José Pérez Francés
* 1965: Rik Van Looy
* 1966: Jos van der Vleuten
* 1967–68: Jan Janssen
* 1969: Raymond Steegmans
* 1970: Guido Reybrouck
* 1971: Cyrille Guimard
* 1972: Domingo Perurena
* 1973: Eddy Merckx
* 1974: Domingo Perurena
* 1975: Miguel María Lasa
* 1976: Dietrich Thurau
* 1977: Freddy Maertens
* 1978: Ferdi Van Den Haute
* 1979: Alfons De Wolf
* 1980: Sean Kelly
* 1981: Francisco Javier Cedena
* 1982: Stefan Mutter
* 1983: Marino Lejarreta
* 1984: Guido Van Calster
* 1985–86: Sean Kelly
* 1987: Alfonso Gutiérrez
* 1988: Sean Kelly
* 1989: Malcolm Elliott
* 1990–91: Uwe Raab
* 1992: Djamolidine Abdoujaparov
* 1993: Tony Rominger
* 1994–97: Laurent Jalabert
* 1998: Fabrizio Guidi
* 1999: Frank Vandenbroucke
* 2000: Roberto Heras
* 2001: José María Jiménez
* 2002–04: Erik Zabel
* 2005: Alessandro Petacchi
* 2006: Thor Hushovd
* 2007: Daniele Bennati
* 2008: Greg Van Avermaet
* 2009: André Greipel
* 2010: Mark Cavendish
* 2011: Bauke Mollema
* 2012–13: Alejandro Valverde
* 2014: John Degenkolb
* 2015: Alejandro Valverde
* 2016: Fabio Felline
* 2017: Chris Froome
* 2018: Alejandro Valverde
* 2019–20: Primož Roglič
* 2021: Fabio Jakobsen
* 2022: Mads Pedersen
* 2023–24: Kaden Groves

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