Sylvain Chavanel stage 3 Paris-Nice 2009

SYLVAIN CHAVANEL

Date of birth: 30/06/1979

From: Châtellerault, France

Team: IAM Cycling

Previous teams: Omega Pharma-QuickStep (2009-2013); Cofidis (2005-2008); Bonjour/Brioches la Boulangère (2000-2004)

Sylvain Chavanel career profile

A successful amateur, Sylvain Chavanel, soon came to the attention of directeur sportif Jean-René Bernardeau signing his first professional contract with the Bonjour squad in 2000.

Early victories came in 2002, with success at the Four Days of Dunkirk and the Trophée des Grimpeurs.

Taking several wins throughout the early stages of his career, Chavanel was soon lauded as the next great French hope to replace the legacy left by the likes of Bernard Hinault and Laurent Fignon. Feeling the weight of expectation upon his young shoulders, his anxiety was oft reflected in his style of racing; his trademark style of attacking in the final kilometres of a race, where the peloton is at full gas, earned him plaudits and criticism alike.

With the expectation, however, came an enormous pay packet as Chavanel moved the larger French team, Cofidis, for the 2005 season.

For several years Chavanel was France’s main contender in the Tour de France, although it took several years of frustrating events in the race discover that his talents were to lie elsewhere.

After drawing criticism from non other than Bernard Hinault, Chavanel restructured his training programme over the winter of 2007-2008 and returned a revitalised rider. Focusing on one-day races and shorter stage races, the Frenchman took the Dwars door Vlaanderen, Brabantse Pijl, the French national time trial title and stages in the Tour de France, Paris-Nice and the Tour of Catalonia.

Chavanel signed for Quick Step in 2009 and had a strong spring campaign, finishing third in Paris-Nice, fifth in E3 Prijs Vlaanderen, eighth at the Paris–Roubaix and ninth at February's Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne.

The Frenchman won two Tour de France stages in 2010, and wore the maillot jaune for two days.

In 2014, Chavanel signed for the Swiss IAM Cycling team.

Sylvain Chavanel results

2014

Four Days of Dunkirk; stage three

Tour du Poitou Charentes; stage four (ITT)

Tour du Poitou Charentes overall

National road race champion

GP Plouay

2013

Paris-Nice; stage six

Paris-Nice; points classification

Three Days of De Panne; stage 3b ITT

Three Days of De Panne; overall

French national time trial champion

Eneco Tour; stage five ITT

2012

Three Days of De Panne; stage 3b ITT

Three Days of De Panne; overall

French national time trial champion

2011

French national road race champion

2010

Tour de France; stage two

Tour de France; stage seven

2009

Paris-Nice; stage three

Paris-Nice; points classification

ENECO Tour; prologue

Ronde d'Aix

2008

Tour de France; stage 19

Tour de France; super combativity award

Paris-Nice; stage seven

Tour of Catalonia; stage four

Tour of the Mediterranean; stage five

Dwars door Vlaanderen

Brabantse Pijl

French national time trial champion

2006

Tour du Poitou-Charentes et de la Vienne; overall

French national time trial champion

2005

Circuit de la Sarthe; overall

Circuit de la Sarthe; stage five

Tour du Poitou Charentes et de la Vienne; overall

Duo Normand (with Thierry Marichal)

French national time trial champion

2004

Tour of Belgium; overall

Tour du Poitou Charentes et de la Vienne; overall

Tour du Poitou Charentes et de la Vienne; stage three

Tour du Poitou Charentes et de la Vienne; stage four

Polynormande

2003

Circuit de la Sarthe; stage four

Tour du Haut Var

2002

Four Days of Dunkirk; overall

Trophée des Grimpeurs

Sylvain Chavanel photos

Click on the thumbnails of Sylvain Chavanel below to open a larger image in a new window.

Sylvain Chavanel

Sylvain Chavanel

Sylvain Chavanel

Sylvain Chavanel

Sylvain Chavanel

Sylvain Chavanel

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