Australian road bicycle racer
Adam James Hansen (born 11 May 1981) is an Australian Ironman triathlete and former professional road bicycle racer,[4] who rode professionally in the latter between 2007 and 2020, and also from 2022 to 2023. During his cycling career, he took five victories – including Grand Tour stage wins at the 2013 Giro d'Italia and the 2014 Vuelta a España, which came during a record run of twenty consecutive Grand Tour starts, and finishes, from 2011 to 2018.
In March 2023, he was elected president of the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA), an international non-profit association that safeguards the interests of the professional riders, becoming the first CPA president born outside Europe.
Career
Hansen was born in Southport, Queensland, and turned professional in 2007, working with Dr. Lothar Heinrich of the University of Freiburg.[5] In 2012, Hansen became the second Australian to complete all three Grand Tours – the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España – in a calendar year. He was the only rider to accomplish that feat in 2012, and the 32nd in cycling history.[6] It was after Stage 12 of the Giro that he discovered he had broken his sternum approximately two weeks previous, however since it was healing he continued racing.[7] While he had free rein at the Giro, for the Tour he had to work for André Greipel (to win sprints) and Jurgen Van den Broeck (to achieve a good General Classification position).[7]
In 2013, Hansen broke away early in the seventh stage of the Giro d'Italia, a stage featuring numerous short and steep climbs. Hansen shed his breakaway companions and won in solo fashion in Pescara in pouring rain, more than a minute in advance of the chasing group.[8] In stage 19 of the 2014 Vuelta a España, Hansen attacked the peloton with 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) to go and resisted the disorganised chase to win solo.[9] In completing the 2015 Vuelta a España, his thirteenth grand tour in a row, he broke Bernardo Ruiz's 57-year-old record for consecutive grand tours completed.[10] By completing the 2018 Giro d'Italia, he extended his own record becoming the only rider to complete 20 consecutive Grand Tours.[11][12] The streak ended at 20, as Hansen did not take part in the 2018 Tour de France.[13]
As a software engineer,[14] Hansen has designed his own shoes and ridden with them on numerous occasions. He has also written software for his Lotto–Soudal team, which manages their logistics.[15]
After Lotto–Soudal opted not to extend Hansen's contract beyond the end of 2020, in October of that year he announced that he would focus on Ironman Triathlons in 2021, having previously competed in Ironman Florida in 2019.[16][17] He ended his World Tour cycling career having finished 26 Grand Tours of the 29 he started.
In 2022, Hansen signed for Austrian Continental team WSA KTM Graz p/b Leomo.[18]
Personal life
He has been living in Frýdlant nad Ostravicí, Czech Republic since 2004, and is a vegan.[19]
Major results
Source:[20]
Grand Tour general classification results timeline
References
External links
Media related to Adam Hansen at Wikimedia Commons
