 Tiralongo at the2011 Tour de Romandie | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Paolo Tiralongo |
| Nickname | L'Ape di Avola (The Bee from Avola) |
| Born | (1977-07-08)8 July 1977 (age 48) Avola,Italy |
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) |
| Weight | 56 kg (123 lb) |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Climbing specialist |
| Professional teams | |
| 2000–2002 | Fassa Bortolo |
| 2003–2005 | Ceramiche Panaria–Fiordo |
| 2006–2009 | Lampre–Fondital |
| 2010–2017 | Astana |
| Major wins | |
Grand Tours
| |
Paolo Tiralongo (born 8 July 1977) is an Italian former professionalroad bicycle racer,[1] who rode professionally between 2000 and 2017 for theFassa Bortolo,Ceramica Panaria–Navigare,Lampre–NGC andAstana teams.
In 2009, while riding forLampre–NGC, Tiralongo registered his best final result on aGrand Tour, finishing theVuelta a España in eighth position after riding consistently in the mountain stages. He conceded a little over 9 minutes to the victor, SpaniardAlejandro Valverde ofCaisse d'Epargne.[2] He joined Astana for the 2010 season, on a 2-year contract.[3] In 2011, Tiralongo took a notable victory onstage 19 of theGiro d'Italia, a summit finish toMacugnaga. He attacked in the final kilometers and went clear of the lead group, but was joined byAlberto Contador (Saxo Bank–SunGard) in the final few meters. He came first on the line, taking his first victory in more than ten years.[4]
In 2012, he won another stage in theGiro d'Italia,stage 7, which was a hilltop finish atopRocca di Cambio. With 500 meters to go, Tiralongo followed an attack initiated byMichele Scarponi ofLampre–ISD and he passed Scarponi inside of the final 100 meters. He lay on the ground afterward, out of breath.[5]
On 24 April 2015, Tiralongo collected his first victory of the season in the final stage of theGiro del Trentino. He passed the last climb (Passo Predaia) with a small leading group and won the sprint after the descent.[6] On 17 May, he won Stage 9 of the2015 Giro d'Italia.
Mountains classificationTour Down Under| Grand Tour | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Giro d'Italia | — | — | — | DNF | — | 32 | 15 | 26 | — | 37 | DNF | 18 | 23 | 99 | 45 | 19 | — | 83 |
 Tour de France | — | — | — | — | — | — | 69 | — | 46 | — | 53 | DNF | — | — | — | — | 74 | — |
 Vuelta a España | 96 | — | 43 | — | — | — | — | DNF | 27 | 8 | — | — | 38 | 51 | 33 | DNF | — | — |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
