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Roberto Heras Hernández (born 1 February 1974 in Béjar, Spain) is a professional cyclist who won the Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain) a record-tying three times. He broke the record with a fourth win in 2005, but was later disqualified after a urine sample during that year's Vuelta tested positive for the banned drug EPO.
Heras turned professional in 1995 racing for the Spanish cycling team Kelme. His first win as a pro came in 1996, when he won the Subida al Naranco, and later that year he also took an important victory in the twelfth stage of the Vuelta a España. Next year he won yet another stage at the Vuelta and the Clásica de Amorebieta. In 1999 he won stages at the Volta a Catalunya and the Giro d'Italia, and he stood for the first time on the Vuelta's podium, where he was third despite not winning any stage. In 2000 he took 2 stages and the overall win at the Vuelta, which attracted the attention of US Postal cycling team.
From 2000, he raced alongside Lance Armstrong on the US Postal Service team. As a climbing specialist, he greatly assisted Armstrong's progress in the mountain stages of the Tour de France. Heras achieved his highest finishing position to date in the 2000 Tour when he was fifth.
He had, however, already established himself as a contender for leading honours in other Tours. He was fifth overall and a stage winner in the 1997 Vuelta, sixth (and another stage victory) a year later, and was on the podium in third place in 1999; that year he also finished sixth and won a stage in the Giro d'Italia. His first Vuelta win came the following year, 2000 (when he also won two stages and the points classification), followed by three consecutive victories in 2003, 2004 and 2005, earning him the distinction of the most wins in the Vuelta. As of 2004, he had won eight stages in the Vuelta.
At the end of the 2003 season, he left US Postal to become the leader of the Spanish Liberty Seguros team. He was thought to be a contender for the 2004 Tour de France, but was forced to abandon after the 16th stage due to illness.
His victory in the 2004 Vuelta a España was his third overall victory in the race, a record he shared at the time with Tony Rominger. During the first mountain stages of the Vuelta, it seemed it would be a rather easy win for him, but in the last week he had to see off an important challenge from Santiago Pérez.
One year later, Heras won a record-breaking fourth time the Vuelta, winning two mountain stages, including an epic victory atop the Estación de Esquí de Pajares and excelling unpredictably in the last time trial, a completely flat one which he lost by less than a second.
However, a drug test finalized in November 2005, two months after the race's end, showed a positive test for EPO from the day of said time trial (stage 20). * He has been fired from his team, and faces a two year suspension from racing. He was stripped of his 2005 Vuelta win. The Vuelta victory was given to Russian Denis Menchov. Heras has vowed to appeal this result, alleging inaccuracies in the testing process and mishandling of his samples.
Accomplishments
All results are general classification (overall) rankings unless otherwise indicated:- 2005 - disqualified for doping after finishing 1st
- 2004 - 1st
- 2003 - 1st
- 2002 - 4th
- 2001 - 2nd
- 2000 - 1st; Stage 7 and 20 wins
- 1999 - 3rd
- 1998 - 6th
- 1997 - 5th
- 1999 - 6th
- 2002 - 1st
- 1999 - 2nd; Stage 6 win
1974 births | Living people | Spanish cyclists | Doping cases in cycling | Vuelta a España winners
Roberto Heras | Roberto Heras | Roberto Heras | Roberto Heras | רוברטו הראס | Roberto Heras | Roberto Heras | Roberto Heras | Roberto Heras
"Roberto Heras"