Óscar Freire
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Óscar Freire Gomez (born February 15, 1976 in Torrelavega, Cantabria) is a Spanish cyclist. Freire is a sprinter who, unlike many other sprinters, does not need much help from his teammates to get into good position for a win. He usually draws his own plan in which he hopes the element of surprise gives him the victory.
He became professional in 1998 at the Vitalicio Seguros team. That year he only won a stage in the Vuelta a Castilla y Léon. The next year he was (until October) less successful. He got a ticket for the Spanish team at the World Championship in Verona, but only because they could not find someone else. The World Championship would be his last race, thereafter he would end his season. But, by complete surprise, he became world champion, beating a group with important favourites. A photograph of Freire, taken just after he won, in which he is calling his grandmother (who had no television) he had won became famous. He spent the money he won on an elevator for his grandmother's apartment.
The next year he got a contract with the then best cycling team Mapei. That year he won 11 races, including two stages in the Vuelta a España, and he finished second at the World Championship. In 2001 he became world champion again. In 2002 he was less successful, but still he won a stage in the Tour de France. In 2003 he moved to the Rabobank team. 2004 was a more successful year again. He won Milan-Sanremo, a stage in the Vuelta a España and became world champion (again in Verona) for the third time, a record he shares with Alfredo Binda, Rik van Steenbergen and Eddy Merckx. He began the 2005 season winning three stages, the points classification and the GC yellow jersey at the Tirreno-Adriatico, as well as the Brabantse Pijl (or (Flèche Brabançonne).
In 2006, Freire won his second consecutive Brabantse Pijl (Flèche Brabançonne), a one-day race on the UCI Europe Tour. His stage 3 win at the Tirreno-Adriatico gave him the rights to wear the event's yellow jersey as the event's overall leader for 2 days. At the Tour de Suisse, he survived an early break of four riders to record an impressive solo win on Stage 7.
In the 2006 Tour de France, Freire won the 5th and 9th stage.
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