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Historic Overview Tom Steels

Rider

Overall Rank741
NameTom STEELS
Country
  Belgium
Date of birth02-Sep-1971 - Sint Gillis Waas (Oost Vlaanderen)

Biography

Tom Steels

Tom Steels (born 2 September 1971) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, specialising in sprint finishes and one-day races. He was one of the top sprinters in the peloton.

Steels competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, in the Men's 1000 metres Time Trial, finishing 19th.

Steels began his professional cycling career in 1994 with the Vlaanderen 2002 team, winning eight times in his first two seasons. His breakthrough was after he signed with Mapei in 1996. That year he won Omloop Het Volk, and Gent–Wevelgem. In 1997, he rode in his first Tour de France, and looked capable of a stage win after coming second on Stage 2. However, during the sprint for the finish for the sixth stage he found himself blocked and boxed in by other sprinters and in frustration threw his water bottle at another rider, an offence for which he was disqualified from that year's Tour. As a result, he earned the nickname "Tom Bidon".

His best season was 1998 when he won the national championship for the second time and returned to the Tour de France to win four stages. The points jersey would also have been his, as the people in front of him all admitted to doping. Steels won five more stages in the 1999 and 2000 Tour de France. He was also national champion in 2002 and 2004 which made him the record holder of Belgian road championships. 2006 was his first year as a professional that he failed to win a race.

Steels retired from racing at the end of the 2008 season, during which he raced for Landbouwkrediet – Tönissteiner. In October 2010 he started as a coach for Quick Step, a Protour team, during 2011.

He is the uncle of fellow racing cyclist Stijn Steels.

source - Wikipedia

Badges

9 2 3 54

Major Victories

Gent - Wevelgem 1996, 1999
Omloop Het Volk / Het Nieuwsblad 1996
Dwars door Vlaanderen 1998
Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen 1995
Grote 1 Mei-Prijs Hoboken 1995
Volta Ciclista a Catalunya - stages 2002 (1)
Paris - Nice - stages 1997 (4), 1998 (2), 1999 (1), 2000 (1)
Tour de France - stages 1998 (4), 1999 (3), 2000 (2)
Tour de Suisse - stages 1997 (1)
Vuelta a Andalucia - Ruta del Sol - stages 1998 (2), 1999 (2)
Volta ao Algarve - stages 2005 (1)
Etoile de Bessèges - stages 2003 (1), 2004 (1), 2005 (2)
Driedaagse De Panne - stages 1999 (1), 2000 (1), 2005 (1)
4 Jours de Dunkerque - stages 2002 (1)
Tour de Luxembourg - stages 1997 (1), 2004 (1)
Österreich-Rundfahrt - stages 2003 (1), 2004 (2)
Tour de Wallonie - stages 1997 (2), 2000 (2)
Deutschland Rundfahrt - stages 2001 (1)
Tour de l'Avenir - stages 1994 (1)
Vuelta a España - stages 1996 (2)
Ronde van Nederland - stages 1995 (1)
Tour de Belgique - stages 2003 (1)
Vuelta a Galicia - stages 1996 (1)
More results

Seasons

Tom Steels - Scores by Season

Year Team Score Rank
1. 1994 Vlaanderen 2002 - Eddy Merckx 108 352
2. 1995 Vlaanderen 2002 - Eddy Merckx 340 155
3. 1996 Mapei - GB 1079 43
4. 1997 Mapei - GB 485 125
5. 1998 Mapei - Bricobi 1024 43
6. 1999 Mapei - Quick Step 1543 21
7. 2000 Mapei - Quick Step 602 110
8. 2001 Mapei - Quick Step 175 361
9. 2002 Mapei - Quick Step 371 200
10. 2003 Landbouwkrediet - Colnago - Alken Maes - Daikin 114 477
11. 2004 Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 153 396
12. 2005 Davitamon - Lotto 310 215
13. 2006 Davitamon - Lotto 121 441
14. 2007 Predictor - Lotto 45 819
15. 2008 Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner 10 1459
Overall: 6480 741