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.

Adam Hansen
Hansen at the 2009 Tour Down Under.
Personal information
Full nameAdam James Hansen
NicknameCroc Man, Lumpy
Born (1981-05-11) 11 May 1981 (age 43)
Southport, Queensland, Australia
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight77 kg (170 lb)
Team information
Current teamRetired
Disciplines
  • Road
  • Mountain biking
RoleRider
Rider typeBreakaway specialist
Amateur teams
2003Arboe Mérida
2004Corratec Austria
2005ELK Haus
2006Aposport Krone Linz
2021Leomo Bellmare Racing Team
Professional teams
2007–2010T-Mobile Team
2011–2020Omega Pharma–Lotto[1][2]
2022–2023WSA KTM Graz p/b Leomo[3]
Major wins
Grand Tours
Giro d'Italia
1 individual stage (2013)
Vuelta a España
1 individual stage (2014)

Stage races

Ster Elektrotoer (2010)

One-day races and Classics

National Time Trial Championships (2008)

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

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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

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He has been living in Frýdlant nad Ostravicí, Czech Republic since 2004, and is a vegan.[19]

Major results

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Source: [20]

2004
1st Overall Crocodile Trophy
1st Burgenland Rundfahrt
1st Grosser Preis um den Deutschlandsberg
2005
1st Overall Crocodile Trophy
1st Wien-Lassnitzhöhe
2006
1st Grand Prix Bradlo
1st Lavanttaler Radsporttage
2nd Road race, National Road Championships
2nd Salzkammergut Giro
2nd Giro del Mendrisiotto
10th Overall Giro della Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia
2007
6th Le Samyn
2008
National Road Championships
1st   Time trial
2nd Road race
2nd Hel van het Mergelland
2009
3rd Road race, National Road Championships
2010
1st   Overall Ster Elektrotoer
1st Stage 4
2012
4th Road race, National Road Championships
2013
1st Stage 7 Giro d'Italia
2014
1st Stage 19 Vuelta a España
9th Overall Tour Down Under
1st   Mountains classification
9th Overall Tour of Turkey
2015
9th Overall Tour of Turkey
2016
5th Overall Presidential Tour of Turkey

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

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Grand Tour 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
  Giro d'Italia DNF 108 DNF 94 72 73 77 68 93 60 68 117
  Tour de France 108 DNF 81 72 64 114 100 113
 /  Vuelta a España 89 94 129 123 60 53 55 110 95
Legend
Did not compete
DNF Did not finish

References

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  1. ^ "Lotto-Soudal". Directvelo (in French). Association Le Peloton. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Steff Cras and Matthew Holmes complete Lotto Soudal's 2020 roster". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 27 October 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  3. ^ "WSA KTM Graz p/b Leomo". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  4. ^ Been, José (5 October 2020). "Adam Hansen on his move to Ironman: 'I just can't wait for this new chapter'". CyclingTips. CyclingTips Media Pty Ltd. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Adam Hansen, T-Mobile's "techno geek"". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 14 February 2007. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Hansen to keep racing after completing all three Grand Tours this season". velonation.com. 10 September 2012.
  7. ^ a b Bacon, Ellis; Birnie, Lionel, eds. (2012). "The Grand Slam". The Cycling Anthology: Volume One. London: Yellow Jersey Press. pp. 148–161. ISBN 978-0224092449.
  8. ^ "Giro d'Italia stage 7: Adam Hansen wins into Pescara". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  9. ^ "Hansen slips away to win in Cangas do Morrazo". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 12 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  10. ^ "Vuelta a Espana: Hansen attains his Grand Tour record in Madrid". Cyclingnews.com. 13 September 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  11. ^ "Aussie cyclist has an incredible streak going that we may never see again". Business Insider. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  12. ^ Robertshaw, Henry (10 August 2017). "Adam Hansen thanks fans for inspiring him to take on 19th consecutive Grand Tour at Vuelta a España". cyclingweekly.com. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  13. ^ "Adam Hansen brings record Grand Tour run to an end at Giro d'Italia". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  14. ^ "Adam Hansen runs for CPA president". Cyclistes Professionnels Associés. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Adam Hansen: New target for Grand Tour record". cyclingtips.com.au. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  16. ^ Benson, Daniel (2 October 2020). "Adam Hansen to focus on Ironman in 2021". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  17. ^ Ostanek, Dani (29 September 2020). "All change at Lotto Soudal as 10 riders informed their contracts won't be renewed". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  18. ^ "Adam Hansen (40) maakt in Kroatië comeback in het wielerpeloton" [Adam Hansen (40) is making a comeback in the cycling peloton in Croatia]. WielerFlits.be (in Dutch). WielerFlits BV. 6 March 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  19. ^ Bailey, Mark (20 March 2024). "'I don't like to play the political game': Adam Hansen profile". Cyclist. Diamond Publishing. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  20. ^ "Adam Hansen". FirstCycling.com. FirstCycling AS. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
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