.jpg) Brajkovič at the2012 Tour de France | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Janez Brajkovič |
| Nickname | JB Junior[a] |
| Born | (1983-12-18)18 December 1983 (age 41) Metlika, Slovenia |
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft9+1⁄2 in)[2] |
| Weight | 60 kg (132 lb; 9 st 6 lb)[2] |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Time-trialist |
| Professional teams | |
| 2005 | KRKA–Adria Mobil |
| 2005–2007 | Discovery Channel |
| 2008–2009 | Astana |
| 2010–2011 | Team RadioShack |
| 2012–2014 | Astana[3] |
| 2015–2016 | UnitedHealthcare |
| 2017 | Bahrain–Merida |
| 2018–2020 | Adria Mobil |
| Major wins | |
Grand Tours
| |
Janez "Jani" Brajkovič (born 18 December 1983) is aracing cyclist fromMetlika, Slovenia, who most recently rode forUCI Continental teamAdria Mobil.[4] He was the world under-23 Time Trial champion in2004.
In 2018, while riding for theAdria Mobil team, Brajkovič was suspended after a positive anti-doping test.[5] He was banned for just over a year, and once his suspension was complete, he rejoined the Adria Mobil team.[6]
Before he turned professional, Brajkovič won the under-23 world time trial title in2004 by beating pre-race favouriteThomas Dekker (formerly ofLotto–Domo) by 18 seconds, with a time of 46:56.39 – an average speed of 46.975 kilometres per hour (29.189 miles per hour).
Brajkovič joined Discovery Channel midway through the 2005 season. Brajkovič was signed up as a first year professional but missed the first half of the season due to contractual obligations; he was still contracted withKRKA–Adria Mobil. In July he turned professional and made his début at theEneco Tour and had a brilliant début start. He finished 7th in the time trial, helped sprinterMax van Heeswijk win two stages, and finished in the top 20 overall in a race won byBobby Julich ofTeam CSC. But to prove it was no fluke he finished 14th in the time trial in theDeutschland Tour, and eleventh in theroad race at theUCI Road World Championships.
Brajkovič started 2006 impressively as well, finishing 4th in the final time trial ofTour de Suisse to take 5th overall in the general classification. Before that, in theVolta a Catalunya, he took 3rd in the stage 1 time trial, and finished 5th overall just 48 seconds down on race winnerDavid Cañada (Saunier Duval–Prodir). He did not get to ride theTour de France, but raced theVuelta a España where he finished second on the first mountain stage, after getting beaten byDanilo Di Luca in the sprint at the summit. After finishing fourth in the second mountain stage to thePuerto de El Morredero [es], he took the lead in the general classification, giving him the leader's jersey in a major tour for the first time.
On 22 April 2007 Brajkovič won theTour de Georgia for his first win as a professional. He then endured a dry spell where he further acclimatised to regular top level competition before finishing second toDamiano Cunego at theGiro di Lombardia end of season classic.
In 2008 Brajkovič raced in theTour of California, theVuelta a Murcia,Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda, theVolta a Catalunya, theCritérium du Dauphiné Libéré, theSlovenian National Road Race Championships, theTour of Austria, theDeutschland Tour, theUCI Road World Championships, the Military World Championship, theCoppa Sabatini, theGiro dell'Emilia, theGran Premio Bruno Beghelli and theGiro di Lombardia.
In 2009, Brajkovič took the leader's jersey in Stage 2 of theGiro del Trentino and held it untilIvan Basso took it on the final climb in Stage 4. Showing strong form, he rode in support ofLevi Leipheimer in theGiro d'Italia.
Following the 2009 season, Brajkovič leftAstana forTeam RadioShack, joining many of his former Astana teammates and managerJohan Bruyneel. During the 2010 season, he won theCritérium du Dauphiné after being able to followTour de France championAlberto Contador in the mountains and besting him in the longer time trial of the race. Following this victory, he was selected by the team to ride in his firstTour de France, mainly to supportLance Armstrong.
His2011 Tour de France with Team RadioShack ended early on stage 5 after a crash prevented him from finishing.
On 30 September 2011, it was announced that Brajkovič would be returning toAstana for the 2012 season.[3] He won theTour of Slovenia in 2012. Brajkovic later rode theTour de France where he ended up finishing 9th overall.
After having a relatively quiet 2013 season, Brajkovič wore the red leader's jersey after his team won the stage 1 team time trial in theVuelta a España. He wore it for one day and then lost it to teammateVincenzo Nibali.
The 2014 season was statistically the worst year of Brajkovič's career. He failed to record a stage win for the first time, which was attributed to many injuries and illnesses.
On 29 October 2014, it was announced that Brajkovič would be joining professional continental teamUnitedHealthcare after 3 seasons atAstana. Brajkovič expressed an interest in wanting to return and ride in theUnited States for his third different American team.[7]
Brajkovič joined newly formed teamBahrain–Merida for the 2017 season.[8]
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After an unsuccessful 2017 season, Brajkovič rejoined his first professional teamAdria Mobil.[9] In July 2018 the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) informed the team about a positive anti-doping test formethylhexanamine recorded by Brajkovič. Brajkovič could have received a ban of up to two years, but this was reduced to ten months by the UCI.[5] He initially did not extend his contract beyond the end of 2018.
After his suspension ended in September 2019, he re-signed with Adria Mobil.[6] His first race was the 2.1-classifiedCRO Race.
After his doping sentence, Brajkovič took to his personal website on 8 August 2019 to discuss his suffering with aneating disorder. He alleged that his positive test was the result of methylhexanamine contained in a food supplement he took while not being able to eat properly. He stated that he knew numerous fellow professional cyclists who suffered from the condition as well and that too little was done to prevent it.[10]
Time trial,UCI Under-23 Road World Championships
Road raceTime trial
Time trial,UEC European Under-23 Road Championships
Time trial,UEC European Under-23 Road Championships
after Stages 7–8
OverallTour de Georgia
Young rider classificationTime trial
OverallCritérium du DauphinéTime trial, National Road Championships
OverallTour of Slovenia
Held after Stage 1| Grand Tour general classification results | ||||||||||||||||
| Grand Tour | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Giro d'Italia | — | — | — | 18 | — | — | — | — | DNF | — | — | — | ||||
 Tour de France | — | — | — | — | 43 | DNF | 9 | DNF | — | — | — | 45 | ||||
| /Vuelta a España | 30 | DNF | — | — | — | 22 | — | 26 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Major stage race general classification results | ||||||||||||||||
| Race | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | ||||
| Paris–Nice | — | — | — | — | 11 | 7 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
 / Tirreno–Adriatico | — | 5 | — | DNF | — | — | — | 50 | 62 | — | — | — | ||||
 Volta a Catalunya | 5 | 10 | 7 | — | 9 | 15 | 44 | — | — | — | — | 85 | ||||
| Tour of the Basque Country | 17 | — | — | 40 | — | — | DNF | DNF | 45 | — | — | 56 | ||||
| Tour de Romandie | — | 10 | — | — | 5 | 7 | 9 | 23 | DNF | — | — | 51 | ||||
 Critérium du Dauphiné | — | — | 46 | — | 1 | 9 | 7 | — | — | — | — | 24 | ||||
| Tour de Suisse | 5 | DNF | — | — | — | — | — | 14 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
