The 2005 ProTour was the first year of the newly-introduced UCI ProTour system, in which the ProTour teams are guaranteed, and obliged to, participate in the series of ProTour races. In certain ways the ProTour replaced the UCI World Cup series of one-day races, which in 2004 was won by one-day specialist Paolo Bettini for the third time in a row. The beginning of the ProTour saw difficult negotiations with the organizers of the grand tours such as Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España. Entrance of UCI headquarter at Aigle (Switzerland) Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is a professional cycling union that oversees cycling events in the international community. ... The UCI ProTour logo The UCI ProTour is a competition under the International Cycling Union (UCI). ... The UCI World Cup was a season-long competition for European professional racing cyclists, organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the governing body of competitive cycling. ... Paolo Bettini (born April 1, 1974 in Cecina, Livorno province, Italy) is an Italian road cyclist with the Belgian Quick. ... In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European professional cycling stage races: Tour de France - Tour of France Giro dItalia - Tour of Italy Vuelta a España - Tour of Spain Collectively they are termed the Grand Tours, and all three are similar... The Tour de France is the worlds best known cycling race, a three week long road race that covers a circuit of most areas around France, and sometimes neighbouring countries. ... The Giro dItalia, also simply known as the Giro, is a long distance road bicycle race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May or early June in and around Italy. ... The Vuelta a España bicycle race is one of the three Grand Tours of Europe and, after the Tour de France and the Giro dItalia, is the third most important road cycling stage race in the world. ...

Spring classics

Following tradition, Team CSC had a strong showing in the early season, with a commanding control of the season opener Paris-Nice, placing American Bobby Julich on the top step of the General Classification, combining his strong prologue individual time trial performance and good placing in the Mont Faron queen stage. Sprinter Alessandro Petacchi shed some weight over the winter and built up a strong base to win the classic Milan-Sanremo convincingly, leading to speculation that he will be the undisputed Italian team leader for the World Cycling Championship in Madrid later in the season. The team time trial in the 2004 Tour de France. ... Paris-Nice, nicknamed the race to the sun, is an annual professional cycling stage race held annually each March. ... The General Classification (or GC) in bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for bicycle riders in multi-stage bicycle races. ... An Individual Time Trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: contre la montre - literally against the watch). There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials (TTT). ... Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi beating Oscar Freire at a stage of the 2005 Tirreno-Adtriatico. ... Alessandro Petacchi is a professional road cyclist born on January 3, 1974 in La Spezia, Italy. ... Milan - San Remo, nicknamed la primavera, is an annual cycling race between Milan and San Remo. ... The UCI Road World Championships, often referred to as the World Cycling Championships, is the annual world championship for bicycle road racing organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). ...

Belgian sprinter Tom Boonen of Quick Step-Innergetic showed that he was the strongest kasseinfretter, or cobble-eater, by winning both the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix cobbled classics, propelling him to the top of the UCI ProTour rankings and thus earning him the white leaders jersey. Tom Boonen (born on October 15, 1980 in Mol, Belgium) is one of the worlds best professional road bicycle racers and is the 2005 World Road Race Champion. ... Quick Step-Innergetic is a Belgian UCI ProTour team led by team manager Patrick Lefevre. ... The Tour of Flanders (Dutch: Ronde van Vlaanderen) is a road cycling race held in Flanders, Belgium. ... Begun in 1896, Paris-Roubaix, third of the ten UCI World Cup races, has become the most famous single-day bicycle road race. ...

As the spring classics campaign continues, Bettini was plagued with injuries, but fellow one-day specialist Danilo di Luca of Liquigas-Bianchi found his best form in years and won the Vuelta al País Vasco race. With his confidence boosted, he topped his form with wins in both La Flèche Wallonne and the Amstel Gold Race, leading many to speculate that he would also win the Liège-Bastogne-Liège. However, Jens Voigt committed himself to long breakaways in both la Flèche and Liège, and in the later race was joined by Kazakh Alexandre Vinokourov. Together they managed to keep the peloton behind, and Voigt was beaten in the final sprint by Vinokourov. Danilo di Luca, born on 1976 in Spoltore, is a professional Italian cyclist. ... Pro Cycling Team Liquigas-Bianchi (short form: Liquigas-Bianchi) in an Italian road bicycle racing team in the UCI ProTour. ... The Tour of the Basque Country (Spanish: Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco, Basque: Euskal Herriko txirrindulari itzulia) is an annual cycling stage race held in the Basque Country in April. ... La Flèche Wallonne is a major professional cycle road race held in April each year in Belgium. ... The Amstel Gold Race is a road bicycle racing race held (mostly) in the southern part of the province of Limburg, The Netherlands. ... Liège-Bastogne-Liège, often called La Doyenne (the oldest woman), is one of the five Monuments of the European professional road cycling calendar, and the oldest. ... Jens Voigt Jens Voigt (born September 17, 1971) is a German professional road bicycle racer. ... Alexander Vinokourov, also written Alexandre Vinokourov, (born 1973) is a Kazakh cyclist. ... The peloton (from French, literally meaning ball and related to the English word platoon), bunch or pack is the large main group in a road bicycle race. ...

Grand tours

Having earned the ProTour white leader's jersey, di Luca further increased his lead with a stage win and fourth place in the general classification of the 2005 Giro d'Italia, joining Gilberto Simoni of Lampre-Caffita in igniting the queen mountain stage of Sestriere. The same race also saw Damiano Cunego, who finished at the top UCI ranking last year, fall ill. In the end, the descending skills and strong form of Paolo Savoldelli earned him the maglia rosa in Milan. The 88th Giro dItalia was held in 2005 from May 7 to May 29, running for about 3500 kilometers. ... Gilberto Simoni with team manager Mauro Gianetti. ... Lampre-Caffita in an Italian road bicycle racing team created from a fussion of the already existing Saeco and Lampre teams for the 2005 UCI ProTour. ... Sestriere (French: Sestrières) is an alpine village in Italy, a [[comune of the Province of Turin, at 44°57′N 6°53′E, at 2035 m above sea-level, with 838 inhabitants (2003). ... Damiano Cunego (born in Cerro Veronese, Verona province, September 19, 1981) is a professional cyclist. ... Paolo Savoldelli (born in Clusone, Province of Bergamo, May 7, 1973) is the Italian road racing cyclist for UCI Pro Tour team Discovery Channel and winner of the 2002 and 2005 Giro dItalia. ... The maglia rosa (pink jersey) is awarded to the leader of the General Classification at Giro dItalia. ... Milan (Italian: ; Lombard: Milán (listen)) is the main city of northern Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. ...

The 2005 Tour de France again brought Lance Armstrong to the win, extending his record for consecutive Tour wins to 7. Despite promises of igniting the race with the trio of Jan Ullrich, Andreas Klöden and Vinokourov, the T-Mobile team failed to wrestle the race control from Armstrong's Discovery team, and allegations flew abound of internal dispute within the team. Instead Ivan Basso showed himself as a main contender, though he never seemed to pressure Armstrong. As in the previous editions, Armstrong's team launched a vicious attack on an early mountain stage to discourage other contenders from pursuing the top podium. Spanish racer Alejandro Valverde of Illes Balears showed that he is a serious contender for the future by not only staying with Armstrong, but by sprinting away to win the stage at the finale. However, both Valverde and green jersey contender Tom Boonen were forced to quit due to injuries. The 92nd Tour de France was held from July 2 to July 24, 2005. ... Lance Armstrong (born Lance Edward Gunderson on September 18, 1971 in Plano, Texas) is a retired American professional road racing cyclist. ... Jan Ullrich (born December 2, 1973 in Rostock, East Germany, now Germany) is a retired German professional road bicycle racer. ... Andreas Klöden, (born 22 June 1975 in Mittweida, Germany), is a professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour T-Mobile Team. ... Presentation of the 2006 team in Mallorca. ... Ivan Basso (born November 26, 1977) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer, most recently riding for Team CSC. Basso is among the best mountain riders in the professional field of the 2000s, and is considered one of the strongest stage race riders. ... Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (born April 25, 1980 in Las Lumbreras, Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish cyclist. ... Illes Balears is professional road bicylce racing team, participating in the UCI ProTour. ... The maillot vert (French for green jersey) is the jersey worn by the leader of the Tour de Frances points classification. ...

The Vuelta brought an exciting race in which Denis Menchov was able to stave off attacks by Roberto Heras and his strong Liberty Seguros team until the closing days of the race. A choreographed attack by Liberty Seguros climbers, and Heras' thrilling ride down a treacherous descent, finally won him the leader's jersey. However, a doping scandal erupted two months after the Vuelta. Urine samples taken from Heras after the final time trial proved to be positive for EPO. Heras was stripped of what had been his record-setting fourth win, and Menchov was elevated to first place. These are the results for the 2005 edition of the Vuelta a España cycling race. ... Denis Nikolayevich Menchov (born 25 January 1978 in Orel, Russia) is a professional Russian road bicycle racer. ... 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. ... The Liberty Seguros cycling team is sponsored by Liberty Seguros, an insurance company under the wing of Liberty Mutual insurance. ... Doping drugs on display at The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland In sports, doping refers to the use of performance-enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids, particularly those that are forbidden by the organizations that regulate competitions. ... Erythropoietin (IPA pronunciation: , alternative pronunciations: ) or EPO is a glycoprotein hormone that is a cytokine for erythrocyte (red blood cell) precursors in the bone marrow. ...

World Championships

Belgian Tom Boonen had the confidence of the entire Belgian team, and won in style in Madrid. Petacchi, despite being the favorite, claimed to have suffered from a cold, and could not keep in contention as the peloton ascended the last climb before the finale. Valverde, having taken the Spanish team leadership after the injury of Óscar Freire, overcame his own injury to finish second, his second podium placing in race that tactically was not well-suited to his style. Tom Boonen (born on October 15, 1980 in Mol, Belgium) is one of the worlds best professional road bicycle racers and is the 2005 World Road Race Champion. ... Óscar Freire Gomez (born 1976) is a Spanish cyclist. ...

The finale brought an exciting race as Paolo Bettini, having regained his form, was unleashed a little too late by Italian selector Franco Ballerini and nearly stayed away with Vinokourov in the closing meters of the race. Franco Ballerini is a retired Italian cyclist born on December 11, 1964 in Florence. ...

Summer and Autumn Classics

Having been left off the Tour de France lineup, Erik Zabel decided to join fellow sprinter Petacchi in the newly-formed Milram team. As his last race with the T-Mobile team, Zabel took the sprinters classic Paris-Tours to end his career in style. Erik Zabel (born July 7, 1970, Berlin) is a German professional racing cyclist. ... Paris-Tours is a French single day classic cycling race which takes place in October towards the end of the European season. ...

Smarting from his disappointment at the World Championships, Bettini won Züri-Metzgete convincingly, with a 40-km solo attack in the rain that was almost derailed by his chain dropping off his chainring after his first acceleration. Proving that he is a better climber than ever before, he won the climbers classic Giro di Lombardia in a three-way sprint with Gilberto Simoni and Frank Schleck. The Championship of Zürich is a classic cycling race, held in the month of October in Zürich. ... A climbing specialist is a road bicycle racer who can ride especially well on highly inclined roads, such as those found among hills or mountains. ... The Tour of Lombardy (Italian: Giro di Lombardia) is an Italian cycling race. ...

2005 ProTour Results

Date	Race	Country	Winner	Nationality	Team
March 6-13	Paris-Nice	France	Bobby Julich	United States	CSC
March 9-15	Tirreno-Adriatico	Italy	Óscar Freire	Spain	RAB
March 19	Milano-Sanremo	Italy	Alessandro Petacchi	Italy	FAS
April 3	Ronde van Vlaanderen	Belgium	Tom Boonen	Belgium	QSI
April 5-9	Vuelta al País Vasco	Spain	Danilo di Luca	Italy	LIQ
April 6	Gent-Wevelgem	Belgium	Nico Mattan	Belgium	DVL
April 10	Paris-Roubaix	France	Tom Boonen	Belgium	QSI
April 17	Amstel Gold Race	Netherlands	Danilo di Luca	Italy	LIQ
April 20	La Flèche Wallonne	Belgium	Danilo di Luca	Italy	LIQ
April 24	Liège-Bastogne-Liège	Belgium	Alexander Vinokourov	Kazakhstan	TMO
April 26-1	Tour de Romandie	Switzerland	Santiago Botero	Colombia	PHO
May 7-29	Giro d'Italia	Italy	Paolo Savoldelli	Italy	DSC
May 16-22	Volta a Catalunya	Spain	Yaroslav Popovych	Ukraine	DSC
June 5-12	Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré	France	Íñigo Landaluze	Spain	EUS
June 11-19	Tour de Suisse	Switzerland	Aitor González	Spain	EUS
June 19	Eindhoven Team Time Trial	Netherlands	Gerolsteiner	Germany	GST
July 2-24	Tour de France	France	Lance Armstrong	United States	DSC
July 31	HEW Cyclassics	Germany	Filippo Pozzato	Italy	QSI
August 3-10	Eneco Tour of Benelux	Belgium  Netherlands	Bobby Julich	United States	CSC
August 13	Clásica de San Sebastián	Spain	Constantino Zaballa	Spain	SDV
August 15-23	Deutschland Tour	Germany	Levi Leipheimer	United States	GST
August 27-18	Vuelta a España	Spain	Denis Menchov	Russia	RAB
August 28	GP Ouest France-Plouay	France	George Hincapie	United States	DSC
September 12-18	Tour de Pologne	Poland	Kim Kirchen	Luxembourg	FAS
September 25	World Cycling Championship	Spain	Tom Boonen	Belgium	QSI
October 2	Züri-Metzgete	Switzerland	Paolo Bettini	Italy	QSI
October 9	Paris-Tours	France	Erik Zabel	Germany	TMO
October 15	Giro di Lombardia	Italy	Paolo Bettini	Italy	QSI

March 6 is the 65th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (66th in Leap years). ... March 13 is the 72nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (73rd in leap years). ... Paris-Nice, nicknamed the race to the sun, is an annual professional cycling stage race held annually each March. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Robert Julich,[1] most commonly referred to as Bobby Julich, (born on November 18, 1971, in Corpus Christi, Texas) is an American professional road bicycle racer who has resided in Glenwood Springs, Colorado since childhood. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... March 9 is the 68th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (69th in Leap years). ... March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (75th in leap years). ... Tirreno-Adriatico, the race of the two seas, is an elite cycle race following a route between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic coasts of Italy. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Óscar Freire Gomez (born 1976) is a Spanish cyclist. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... March 19 is the 78th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (79th in leap years). ... Milan - San Remo, nicknamed la primavera, is an annual cycling race between Milan and San Remo. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Alessandro Petacchi is a professional road cyclist born on January 3, 1974 in La Spezia, Italy. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... April 3 is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 272 days remaining. ... The Tour of Flanders (Dutch: Ronde van Vlaanderen) is a road cycling race held in Flanders, Belgium. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium_(civil). ... Tom Boonen (born on October 15, 1980 in Mol, Belgium) is one of the worlds best professional road bicycle racers and is the 2005 World Road Race Champion. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium_(civil). ... April 5 is the 95th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (96th in leap years). ... April 9 is the 99th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (100th in leap years). ... The Tour of the Basque Country (Spanish: Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco, Basque: Euskal Herriko txirrindulari itzulia) is an annual cycling stage race held in the Basque Country in April. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Danilo di Luca, born on 1976 in Spoltore, is a professional Italian cyclist. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... April 6 is the 96th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (97th in leap years). ... The Gent-Wevelgem is a professional cycle road race held in Belgium in early April each year. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium_(civil). ... Nico Mattan, born 17th July 1971, is a belgian bike rider, who rides for the DFL-Cyclingnews-Litespeed. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium_(civil). ... April 10 is the 100th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (101st in leap years). ... Begun in 1896, Paris-Roubaix, third of the ten UCI World Cup races, has become the most famous single-day bicycle road race. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Tom Boonen (born on October 15, 1980 in Mol, Belgium) is one of the worlds best professional road bicycle racers and is the 2005 World Road Race Champion. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium_(civil). ... April 17 is the 107th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (108th in leap years). ... The Amstel Gold Race is a road bicycle racing race held (mostly) in the southern part of the province of Limburg, The Netherlands. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... Danilo di Luca, born on 1976 in Spoltore, is a professional Italian cyclist. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... April 20 is the 110th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (111th in leap years). ... La Flèche Wallonne is a major professional cycle road race held in April each year in Belgium. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium_(civil). ... Danilo di Luca, born on 1976 in Spoltore, is a professional Italian cyclist. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... April 24 is the 114th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (115th in leap years). ... Liège-Bastogne-Liège, often called La Doyenne (the oldest woman), is one of the five Monuments of the European professional road cycling calendar, and the oldest. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium_(civil). ... Alexander Vinokourov Alexander Vinokourov, also written Alexandre Vinokourov, (born 16 September 1973 in Petropavlovsk, Soviet Union, now Petropavl, Kazakhstan) is a Kazakh (ethnic Russian) professional road bicycle racer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Kazakhstan. ... April 26 is the 116th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (117th in leap years). ... May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI ProTour. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Switzerland. ... Santiago Botero Echeverry (born October 27, 1972 in Medellín, Colombia) is a Colombian professional road bicycle racer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Colombia. ... May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (128th in leap years). ... May 29 is the 149th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (150th in leap years). ... The Giro dItalia, also simply known as the Giro, is a long distance road bicycle race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May or early June in and around Italy. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Paolo Savoldelli (born in Clusone, Province of Bergamo, May 7, 1973) is the Italian road racing cyclist for UCI Pro Tour team Discovery Channel and winner of the 2002 and 2005 Giro dItalia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (137th in leap years). ... May 22 is the 142nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (143rd in leap years). ... The Tour of Catalonia is a popular road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Yaroslav Popovych is a cyclist with the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team, and considered by many as a possible successor to Lance Armstrong as team leader. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ukraine. ... June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining. ... The Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré is an annual cycling road race, run over eight stages in the Dauphiné region in France during the first half of June. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... June 11 is the 162nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (163rd in leap years), with 203 days remaining. ... June 19 is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 195 days remaining. ... The Tour of Switzerland (Tour de Suisse) is a ProTour bicycle race held annually in June. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Switzerland. ... This article describes the Spanish cyclist Aitor Gonzales Aitor González (born February 27, 1975 in Zumárraga, Spain), is an active professional Spanish cyclist. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... June 19 is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 195 days remaining. ... The UCI ProTour Eindhoven Team Time Trial is a time trial of approximately 50 kilometres for teams of six riders. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... Rund um den Henninger-Turm (2005) Team Gerolsteiner is a german road bicycle racing team in the UCI ProTour. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... July 2 is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 182 days remaining. ... July 24 is the 205th day (206th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 160 days remaining. ... The Tour de France is the worlds best known cycling race, a three week long road race that covers a circuit of most areas around France, and sometimes neighbouring countries. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Lance Armstrong (born Lance Edward Gunderson on September 18, 1971 in Plano, Texas) is a retired American professional road racing cyclist. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... July 31 is the 212th day (213th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 153 days remaining. ... Before the start of the 2004 HEW Cyclassics The HEW Cyclassics is an annual one-day pro and amateur cycling race in and around Hamburg. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Filippo Pozzato (born September 10, 1981 and living in Sandrigo, Veneto, Italy) is an Italian road cyclist with the Belgian Quick Step-Innergetic professional cycling team. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... August 3 is the 215th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (216th in leap years), with 150 days remaining. ... August 10 is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... The Eneco Tour of Benelux or Eneco Tour is a multi-stage road cycling race and is part of the UCI ProTour. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium_(civil). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... Robert Julich,[1] most commonly referred to as Bobby Julich, (born on November 18, 1971, in Corpus Christi, Texas) is an American professional road bicycle racer who has resided in Glenwood Springs, Colorado since childhood. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... August 13 is the 225th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (226th in leap years), with 140 days remaining. ... The Clasica San Sebastian is a bicycle race held every summer since 1981 in the Basque region of Spain. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... August 23 is the 235th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (236th in leap years), with 130 days remaining. ... The Tour of Germany (German: Deutschland Tour or sometimes Deutschland-Rundfahrt) is the most important multi-stage road bicycle race in Germany. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Levi Leipheimer (born October 24, 1973 in Butte, Montana) is an American professional cyclist currently riding for the German cycling team Gerolsteiner. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... August 27 is the 239th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (240th in leap years), with 126 days remaining. ... September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ... The Vuelta a España bicycle race is one of the three Grand Tours of Europe and, after the Tour de France and the Giro dItalia, is the third most important road cycling stage race in the world. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Denis Nikolayevich Menchov (born 25 January 1978 in Orel, Russia) is a professional Russian road bicycle racer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Russia_(bordered). ... August 28 is the 240th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (241st in leap years), with 125 days remaining. ... GP Plouay is an elite cycle race held in late Summer around a circuit based on the small village of Plouay. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... George Hincapie (born June 29, 1973 in Queens, New York City) is an American professional road bicycle racer residing in Greenville, South Carolina. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ... September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ... The peloton in the 2004 Tour of Poland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Poland_corrected_(bordered). ... Kim Kirchen (born July 3, 1978 in Luxembourg) is a Luxembourgish cyclist. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Luxembourg. ... September 25 is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The UCI Road World Championships, often referred to as the World Cycling Championships, is the annual world championship for bicycle road racing organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Tom Boonen (born on October 15, 1980 in Mol, Belgium) is one of the worlds best professional road bicycle racers and is the 2005 World Road Race Champion. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium_(civil). ... October 2 is the 275th day (276th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 90 days remaining. ... The Championship of Zürich is a classic cycling race, held in the month of October in Zürich. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Switzerland. ... Paolo Bettini (born April 1, 1974 in Cecina, Livorno province, Italy) is an Italian road cyclist with the Belgian Quick. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... October 9 is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Paris-Tours is a French single day classic cycling race which takes place in October towards the end of the European season. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Erik Zabel (born July 7, 1970, Berlin) is a German professional racing cyclist. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... October 15 is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years). ... The Tour of Lombardy (Italian: Giro di Lombardia) is an Italian cycling race. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Paolo Bettini (born April 1, 1974 in Cecina, Livorno province, Italy) is an Italian road cyclist with the Belgian Quick. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ...

2005 ProTour Points System

2005 ProTour Individual Rankings

	Rider	Nation	Team	Points
1	Danilo di Luca	Italy	Liquigas-Bianchi	229
2	Tom Boonen	Belgium	Quick-Step	171
3	Davide Rebellin	Italy	Team Gerolsteiner	151
4	Jan Ullrich	Germany	T-Mobile Team	140
5	Lance Armstrong	United States	Discovery Channel	139
6	Alexandre Vinokourov	Kazakhstan	T-Mobile Team	136
7	Levi Leipheimer	United States	Team Gerolsteiner	131
8	Paolo Bettini	Italy	Quick-Step	130
9	Bobby Julich	United States	Team CSC	130
10	George Hincapie	United States	Discovery Channel	129
11	Alessandro Petacchi	Italy	Fassa Bortolo	128
12	Gilberto Simoni	Italy	Lampre-Caffita	111
13	Fränk Schleck	Luxembourg	Team CSC	110
14	Denis Menchov	Russia	Rabobank	109
15	Francisco Mancebo	Spain	Illes Balears	107

Danilo di Luca, born on 1976 in Spoltore, is a professional Italian cyclist. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Pro Cycling Team Liquigas-Bianchi (short form: Liquigas-Bianchi) in an Italian road bicycle racing team in the UCI ProTour. ... Tom Boonen (born on October 15, 1980 in Mol, Belgium) is one of the worlds best professional road bicycle racers and is the 2005 World Road Race Champion. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium_(civil). ... Quick Step-Innergetic is a Belgian UCI ProTour team led by team manager Patrick Lefevre. ... Devide Rebellin is a cyclist, who was on the Gerolsteiner team in the Tour De France. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Rund um den Henninger-Turm (2005) Team Gerolsteiner is a german road bicycle racing team in the UCI ProTour. ... Jan Ullrich (born December 2, 1973 in Rostock, East Germany, now Germany) is a retired German professional road bicycle racer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Presentation of the 2006 team in Mallorca. ... Lance Armstrong (born Lance Edward Gunderson on September 18, 1971 in Plano, Texas) is a retired American professional road racing cyclist. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team (UCI Team Code: DSC) is a US-based professional road bicycle racing team. ... Alexander Vinokourov, also written Alexandre Vinokourov, (born 1973) is a Kazakh cyclist. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Kazakhstan. ... Presentation of the 2006 team in Mallorca. ... Levi Leipheimer (born October 24, 1973 in Butte, Montana) is an American professional cyclist currently riding for the German cycling team Gerolsteiner. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Rund um den Henninger-Turm (2005) Team Gerolsteiner is a german road bicycle racing team in the UCI ProTour. ... Paolo Bettini (born April 1, 1974 in Cecina, Livorno province, Italy) is an Italian road cyclist with the Belgian Quick. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Quick Step-Innergetic is a Belgian UCI ProTour team led by team manager Patrick Lefevre. ... Robert Julich,[1] most commonly referred to as Bobby Julich, (born on November 18, 1971, in Corpus Christi, Texas) is an American professional road bicycle racer who has resided in Glenwood Springs, Colorado since childhood. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... The team time trial in the 2004 Tour de France. ... George Hincapie (born June 29, 1973 in Queens, New York City) is an American professional road bicycle racer residing in Greenville, South Carolina. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team (UCI Team Code: DSC) is a US-based professional road bicycle racing team. ... Alessandro Petacchi is a professional road cyclist born on January 3, 1974 in La Spezia, Italy. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... 2005 Rund um den Henninger Turm Fassa Bortolo (2000-2005) was a professional road bicycle racing team founded in 2000 and lead by Giancarlo Ferretti. ... Gilberto Simoni with team manager Mauro Gianetti. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Lampre-Caffita in an Italian road bicycle racing team created from a fussion of the already existing Saeco and Lampre teams for the 2005 UCI ProTour. ... Fränk Schleck (born 15 April 1980) is a Luxembourgian professional road bicycle racer currently riding for Team CSC. Before the 2005 season, Fränk Schleck got the company of his kid brother Andy Schleck on Team CSC, and they split the 2005 national championships between them, Fränk winning... Image File history File links Flag_of_Luxembourg. ... The team time trial in the 2004 Tour de France. ... Denis Nikolayevich Menchov (born 25 January 1978 in Orel, Russia) is a professional Russian road bicycle racer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Russia_(bordered). ... The Rabobank team during the 2005 Rund um den Henninger Turm race. ... Francisco Mancebo (born March 9, 1976 in Madrid) is a Spanish pro cyclist for team Illes Balears. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Illes Balears is professional road bicylce racing team, participating in the UCI ProTour. ...

2005 ProTour Team Rankings

	Code	Team	Country	Website	Points
1	CSC	Team CSC	Denmark	[1]	390
2	PHO	Phonak Hearing Systems	Switzerland	[2]	353
3	RAB	Rabobank	Netherlands	[3]	349
4	DVL	Davitamon-Lotto	Belgium	[4]	322
5	LSW	Liberty Seguros-Würth	Spain	[5]	320
6	GST	Gerolsteiner	Germany	[6]	303
7	SDV	Saunier Duval - Prodir	Spain	[7]	293
8	DSC	Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team	United States	[8]	274
9	C.A	Crédit Agricole	France	[9]	264
10	IBA	Illes Balears	Spain	[10]	262
11	COF	Cofidis	France	[11]	258
12	QSI	Quick Step-Innergetic	Belgium	[12]	253
13	FAS	Fassa Bortolo	Italy	[13]	245
14	TMO	T-Mobile Team	Germany	[14]	244
15	LIQ	Liquigas-Bianchi	Italy	[15]	228
16	LAM	Lampre-Caffita	Italy	[16]	211
17	BTL	Bouygues Télécom	France	[17]	183
18	DOM	Domina Vacanze	Italy	[18]	161
19	EUS	Euskaltel-Euskadi	Spain	[19]	147
20	FDJ	Française des Jeux	France	[20]	130

Team classification winner got 20 points, second 19, third 18 etc. Wildcard teams didn't score points, but ProTour teams didn't move up either. For example, no team received 20 points in Vuelta as team competition was won by Comunidad Valenciana. The team time trial in the 2004 Tour de France. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Denmark. ... Team Phonak in a Team time trial event at the Giro del Mediterraneo. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Switzerland. ... The Rabobank team during the 2005 Rund um den Henninger Turm race. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... Davitamon-Lotto is a Belgian professional cycling team. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium_(civil). ... The Liberty Seguros-Würth cycling team is sponsored by Liberty Seguros, an insurance company under the wing of Liberty Mutual insurance. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Rund um den Henninger-Turm (2005) Team Gerolsteiner is a german road bicycle racing team in the UCI ProTour. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Saunier Duval-Prodir Team is a Spanish road bicycle racing team, which participate in the 2005 UCI ProTour. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team (UCI Team Code: DSC) is a US-based professional road bicycle racing team. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Crédit Agricole is the main sponsor of a French professional cycling team managed by Roger Legeay. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Illes Balears is professional road bicylce racing team, participating in the UCI ProTour. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Cofidis is a French professional road bicycle racing team sponsored by the insurance company Cofidis. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Quick Step-Innergetic is a Belgian UCI ProTour team led by team manager Patrick Lefevre. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium_(civil). ... 2005 Rund um den Henninger Turm Fassa Bortolo (2000-2005) was a professional road bicycle racing team founded in 2000 and lead by Giancarlo Ferretti. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Presentation of the 2006 team in Mallorca. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Pro Cycling Team Liquigas-Bianchi (short form: Liquigas-Bianchi) in an Italian road bicycle racing team in the UCI ProTour. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Lampre-Caffita in an Italian road bicycle racing team created from a fussion of the already existing Saeco and Lampre teams for the 2005 UCI ProTour. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Bouygues Télécom (UCI Team Code: BTL) is a professional road bicycle racing team that competes on the UCI ProTour. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Domina Vacanze is a professional road bicycle racing team from Italy. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Euskaltel-Euskadi is a professional road bicycle racing team. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... La Française des Jeux is a French cycling team, sponsored by a French company that sells gambling games. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... The Vuelta a España bicycle race is one of the three Grand Tours of Europe and, after the Tour de France and the Giro dItalia, is the third most important road cycling stage race in the world. ...

2005 ProTour Nation Rankings

	Country	Points
1	Italy	749
2	United States	559
3	Spain	459
4	Germany	405
5	Australia	307
6	Belgium	304
7	Netherlands	280
8	Luxembourg	191
9	France	163
10	Russia	153
11	Kazakhstan	144
12	Switzerland	131
13	Colombia	119
14	Ukraine	101
15	Denmark	97
16	Norway	72
17	Sweden	67
18	Austria	62
19	Slovenia	53
20	Czech Republic	15
21	New Zealand	7
22	Estonia	3
23	Croatia	1

Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Australia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium_(civil). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Luxembourg. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Russia_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Kazakhstan. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Switzerland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Colombia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ukraine. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Denmark. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Norway. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Austria. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Slovenia_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_New_Zealand. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Estonia_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Croatia. ...

External links

• Official Website
• UCI ProTour Cycling Wiki