Rafael Valls Ferri (born 25 June 1987) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2009 and 2021 for seven different teams. Valls took four victories during his professional career – a stage at the 2010 Tour de San Luis, a stage and the general classification at the 2015 Tour of Oman, and a win in the 2019 Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia one-day race.
.JPG) Valls at the 2015 Tour de France. | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Rafael Valls Ferri |
| Born | 25 June 1987 Cocentaina, Spain |
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Weight | 64 kg (141 lb) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Team Jayco–AlUla |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role |
|
| Rider type | Climber |
| Amateur teams | |
| 2007 | Relax–GAM (stagiaire) |
| 2008 | Scott–American Beef (stagiaire) |
| Professional teams | |
| 2009 | Burgos Monumental–Castilla y León |
| 2010–2011 | Footon–Servetto–Fuji |
| 2012–2013 | Vacansoleil–DCM[1] |
| 2014–2015 | Lampre–Merida |
| 2016–2017 | Lotto–Soudal |
| 2018–2019 | Movistar Team[2][3] |
| 2020–2021 | Bahrain–McLaren[4][5] |
| Managerial team | |
| 2023– | Team Jayco–AlUla |
| Major wins | |
| Stage races | |
Following his retirement, Valls now works as a directeur sportif for UCI WorldTeam Team Jayco–AlUla.[6]
Career
editBorn in Cocentaina, Valls left Vacansoleil–DCM at the end of the 2013 season, and joined Lampre–Merida for the 2014 season.[7] In 2015, Valls had his biggest victory to that point by winning the Tour of Oman and its fourth stage.[8] In September 2015 it was announced that Valls would join Lotto–Soudal from 2016 on a two-year deal.[9] In August 2020, he was named in the startlist for the 2020 Tour de France.[10] However, he crashed on the opening stage, and abandoned the race.[11]
At the end of the following year, Valls retired from the sport, despite holding a contract until the end of the 2022 season.[12]
Major results
editSource: [13]
- 2005
- 3rd Time trial, National Junior Road Championships
- 2008
- 9th Overall Grand Prix du Portugal
- 2009
- 4th Overall Circuito Montañés
- 10th Overall Tour de l'Avenir
- 2010
- 2nd Trofeo Inca
- 3rd Overall Tour de San Luis
- 1st
Mountains classification - 1st Stage 2
- 1st
- 9th Trofeo Deia
- 2014
- 8th Overall Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali
- 2015
- 1st Overall Tour of Oman
- 1st Stage 4
- 8th Overall Paris–Nice
- 8th Overall Volta a Catalunya
- 2016
- 8th Overall Tour Down Under
- 2017
- 7th Overall Tour Down Under
- 10th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné
- 2019
- 1st Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia
- 2020
- 9th Overall Route d'Occitanie
Grand Tour general classification results timeline
edit| Grand Tour | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Giro d'Italia
|
— | DNF | — | 29 | — | — | — | — | DNF | — | — | 96 |
 Tour de France
|
53 | — | 41 | — | DNF | 78 | — | — | — | — | DNF | — |
 Vuelta a España
|
— | — | DNF | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
References
edit- ^ Atkins, Ben (3 January 2012). "Vacansoleil-DCM presented with twelve new riders for 2012". VeloNation. VeloNation LLC. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
- ^ "Movistar sign Valls for 2018". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 28 September 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ "Movistar Team launches 2019 season with highest hopes". Telefónica. Telefónica, S.A. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
- ^ Ostanek, Daniel (26 December 2019). "2020 Team Preview: Bahrain McLaren". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
- ^ "Bahrain Victorious". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 1 January 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
- ^ Marcos, Alberto (22 September 2023). "Rafa Valls y la odisea de Jayco AlUla en La Vuelta: "Los ciclistas han crecido a palos"" [Rafa Valls and Jayco AlUla's odyssey in La Vuelta: "The cyclists have grown up hard"]. Rouleur (in Spanish). Gruppo Media Ltd. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
- ^ "Spanish reinforcement: Rafael Valls Ferri in Lampre-Merida". Lampre–Merida. New Master SRL. 12 September 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
- ^ "Rafael Valls jubilant after winning 2015 Tour of Oman". Velonews. 22 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ "Lotto Soudal sign Rafa Valls on two-year contract". cyclingnews.com. 25 September 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- ^ "107th Tour de France: Startlist". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
- ^ "The Tour de France ice rink: Who crashed and who's hurt". Cycling Tips. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- ^ Dabbs, Ryan (21 December 2021). "'After suffering several crashes, I'm not in the mindset to compete at that level': Rafael Valls announces retirement". Cycling Weekly. Future plc. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
- ^ "Rafael Valls". FirstCycling.com. FirstCycling AS. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
External links
edit- Rafael Valls at ProCyclingStats
- Rafael Valls at Cycling Archives
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