Karsten Kroon (born 29 January 1976) is a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer who most recently rode for Tinkoff, a UCI ProTeam.[1] He retired at the end of the 2014 season.[2]
.JPG) Kroon at the 2012 Tour de France | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Karsten Kroon |
| Born | 29 January 1976 Dalen, the Netherlands |
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Weight | 67 kg (148 lb; 10.6 st) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Classics rider |
| Professional teams | |
| 1997–2005 | Rabobank |
| 2006–2009 | Team CSC |
| 2010–2011 | BMC Racing Team |
| 2012–2014 | Team Saxo Bank |
| Major wins | |
Grand Tours
Single-day races and Classics
| |
Career
editBorn in Dalen, Kroon showed his talent as an amateur by winning the professional Ronde van Drenthe in 1996. He joined the Rabobank youth squad in 1997 and won a number of amateur races in two years. In 1999, he moved to the senior squad. His few wins included stage 8, on Bastille Day, of the 2002 Tour de France. Kroon and his teammate, Erik Dekker, finished in a seven-man group, and Kroon won a stage in his first Tour de France with the help of the more experienced Dekker.[3] Kroon led the mountains classification in each of the three Grand Tours, though his lead did not last to the end.[4]
On 10 August 2005 he said that, until 2007, he was to ride for Saxo Bank. He wanted more freedom. "I've never said that I want to be leader," he told Cyclingnews.com, "I only want to get chances".[5] In March and April 2006, he was joint team captain in ProTour races. He finished in the top ten of Tirreno–Adriatico and the Tour of Flanders. He helped Fränk Schleck win the Amstel Gold Race by disrupting the chase when Schleck attacked; Kroon finished fourth.[6] Kroon finally finished on the podium, in La Flèche Wallonne, third in front of Schleck. He also came second in the 2009 Amstel Gold Race, just behind Serguei Ivanov.
In 2010, Kroon joined BMC Racing Team,[7] but returned to Team Saxo Bank for the 2012 season.[1]
Doping
editOn 24 April 2018, it was reported that Kroon had confessed to doping for "a short period during my career". He added: "I was a professional cyclist in a very difficult time and I have a lot of respect for my colleagues who resisted the temptation to use doping."[8]
Major results
edit- 1996
- 1st Ronde van Drenthe
- 1997
- 1st Vlaamse Pijl
- 1st Stage 2 Circuit Franco-Belge
- 1998
- 1st Overall Ster der Beloften
- 1st Stage 2
- Vuelta a Navarra
- 1st Stages 2 & 3
- 1st Stage 6 Circuit des Mines
- 1st Stage 2 Vuelta a León
- 1999
- 10th Clásica de Almería
- 2000
- 4th DAB Classic
- 7th Dwars door Gendringen
- Held Mountain jersey for 13 days Giro d'Italia
- 2001
- 1st Grand Prix of Aargau Canton
- 3rd Sparkassen Giro Bochum
- 9th Brabantse Pijl
- Held King of the Mountains jersey, Vuelta a España
- 2002
- 1st Stage 8 Tour de France
- 2003
- 1st Stage 5 Tour du Poitou-Charentes
- 2004
- 1st Rund um den Henninger Turm
- 2005
- 5th Brabantse Pijl
- 9th Omloop Het Volk
- Held King of the Mountains Jersey for Stage 6, Tour de France
- 2006
- 3-Länder-Tour
- 1st Stages 2 & 5
- 3rd La Flèche Wallonne
- 4th Amstel Gold Race
- 8th Tour of Flanders
- 2007
- 4th Tour of Flanders
- 2008
- 1st Stage 2 Vuelta a Castilla y León
- 1st Stage 5 Sachsen-Tour
- 1st Rund um den Henninger Turm
- 5th Giro di Lombardia
- 9th Amstel Gold Race
- 2009
- 2nd Amstel Gold Race
- 2nd Rund um den Henninger Turm
- 4th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
- 5th Brabantse Pijl
- 2010
- 1st RaboRonde Heerlen
- 9th Amstel Gold Race
- 2012
- 5th Overall Tour de l'Eurometropole
Grand Tour general classification results timeline
edit| Grand Tour | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giro d'Italia | 103 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | DNF |
| Tour de France | — | — | 146 | — | 115 | 135 | — | — | — | — | 138 | — | 143 | — |
| Vuelta a España | — | 107 | — | 100 | — | — | — | 52 | 72 | 76 | — | DNF | — | — |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Kroon returns to Saxo Bank". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 7 October 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ^ "Nuyens set to announce retirement".
- ^ Kroon takes stage victory, BBC Sport, 14 July 2002
- ^ "Kroon tiende Nederlander in bolletjestrui" (in Dutch). Wielcentrum.com. 7 July 2005. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ Kroon to CSC, CyclingNews.com, 10 August 2005
- ^ Mixed fortunes for Kroon and Boogerd, Pro Cycling, 17 April 2006
- ^ VeloNews.com (2009-09-01). "Hincapie confirms to BMC with Ballan, Kroon, Burghardt". VeloNews. Archived from the original on 2009-09-03. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
- ^ "Kroon confesses to doping after Dutch newspaper exposure". cyclingnews.com. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
External links
edit- KarstenKroon.com (fansite)
- Team CSC profile
- Karsten Kroon at Cycling Archives (archived)