Abraham Olano won the World Road Championship in 1995, and the World Time Trial Championship in 1998, becoming the first and so far only male cyclist to win both.
20 Facts About Abraham Olano
2.
Abraham Olano achieved distinction in Grand Tours: he won Vuelta a Espana in 1998 and was second in 1995, made it twice to the final podium at Giro d'Italia, and placed three times in the top-ten at Tour de France, with the fourth place in 1997 as his personal best.
3.
Abraham Olano started racing 11 years old at the Oria Cycling school, and already at junior level he won several races.
4.
In 1993, Abraham Olano switched to CLAS Cajastur, which was later merged with Mapei.
5.
In 1995, Abraham Olano won three stages in the Vuelta a Espana, finishing second in overall classification to Laurent Jalabert.
6.
Later in the year Abraham Olano was a vital part of a hugely successful Spanish team at the World Cycling Championship in Colombia.
7.
The route for the road race was one of the hardest courses ever for a World Championship, and Abraham Olano showed his stamina by riding the last kilometer solo with a flat tyre.
8.
Abraham Olano established his abilities in stage races in 1996; he won the Tour de Romandie, finished third in the Giro d'Italia, and finished ninth in the Tour de France.
9.
Abraham Olano won the silver medal in the time trial at the 1996 Olympic Games, losing out to Miguel Indurain by a margin of only 12 seconds.
10.
In 1998, Abraham Olano won his only grand tour, the Vuelta a Espana, fighting off furious challenges from mountain specialistsFernando Escartin and Roberto Heras as well as fellow all-rounders Laurent Jalabert and Alex Zulle, all at the height of their careers.
11.
Abraham Olano won back the jersey on the second time trial, but the events and subsequent media speculation soured his relationship with Banesto, and he decided for a switch to the ONCE team for the following season.
12.
Abraham Olano finished 1998 in style, winning the World Championship Time Trial in Valkenburg, ahead of compatriot Melcior Mauri.
13.
Abraham Olano is the only male rider of the modern era to win the world Championship in both the Road race and the time trial.
14.
In 1999, Abraham Olano was back to defend the Vuelta title.
15.
Abraham Olano defended his lead through several mountain stages, but a crash on the stage to Alto de Angliru cost him a broken rib, and he was eventually forced to abandon the race.
16.
Abraham Olano would make his last mark at the grand Tours with a 2nd place in the 2001 Giro d'Italia.
17.
Abraham Olano was one of the very best time trialists of his generation, and a rider with enormous stamina.
18.
Abraham Olano is one of the people responsible for designing stages for the Vuelta a Espana.
19.
Abraham Olano was fired from this position after a report from the French senate revealed that he had delivered a suspicious sample during the 1998 Tour de France, indicating use of EPO.
20.
In November 2006 Abraham Olano ran the San Sebastian marathon in a time of 2:39:19.