Janez Brajkovic
Encyclopedia
Janez Brajkovič is a racing cyclist from Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

. He was the world under-23 Time Trial champion in Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

 and rides for on the UCI ProTour
UCI ProTour
The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI . Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, each of whom are required to compete in every round of the series...

.

Career

Before he turned professional, Brajkovic won the World U-23 TT by beating pre-race favourite Thomas Dekker
Thomas Dekker (cyclist)
Thomas Dekker is a Dutch professional road bicycle racer for Garmin-Cervélo’s development team, Chipotle Development Team. His career highlights include winning Tirreno-Adriatico in 2006 and Tour de Romandie in 2007...

 (formerly of Silence-Lotto) by 18 seconds, with a time of 46:56.39 with an average speed of 46.975 km/h.

Team Discovery (2005–2007)

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 2005 season due to contractual obligations (he was with KRKA – Adria Mobil). In July he turned professional and his debut race in the Eneco Tour of Benelux
Eneco Tour of Benelux
The Eneco Tour of Benelux is a road bicycle racing stage-race. Its name refers to its main sponsor, the energy company Eneco Energie. It is part of both the UCI ProTour and the UCI World Ranking calendar.-History:...

 and had a brilliant debut start. He finished 7th in the time trial, helped sprinter Max van Heeswijk
Max van Heeswijk
Max Lambert Peter van Heeswijk is a Dutch retired professional road racing cyclist.- Major achievements :2000...

 win two stages, and finished in the top 20 in the General Classification won by Bobby Julich
Bobby Julich
Robert Julich, most commonly referred to as Bobby Julich, is an American former professional road bicycle racer who last rode for Team CSC in the UCI ProTour racing series. He got his international breakthrough when he finished 3rd overall in the 1998 Tour de France race, but has since ridden...

 of Team CSC
Team CSC
Team Saxo Bank-SunGard is a professional cycling team from Denmark. It competes in the UCI ProTour. The team is owned and managed by former Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis, under the management of his company Riis Cycling. The sponsor is a Danish investment bank.Founded for 1998 Team home – Jack...

. But to prove it was no fluke he finished 14th in the time trial in the Deutschland Tour
Deutschland Tour
The Deutschland Tour was the most important multi-stage road bicycle race in Germany. Initially the race was held in May/June. Since 2005 it is part of the UCI ProTour and has been moved to August...

, and in the top 20 in the 2005 UCI World Road Race Championships in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

.

Brajkovič started 2006 impressively as well, finished 4th in the final time trial of Tour de Suisse
Tour de Suisse
The Tour de Suisse is a UCI World Tour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...

 5th overall in the General Classification, and at 22 turned out to be Discovery's strongest rider in the race. Before that, in the Volta a Catalunya (Tour of Catalunya), he took 3rd in the stage 1 TT, 7th in stage 4 2:37 behind stage winner Carlos Castano (Kaiku), and 5th overall just 48 seconds down on over GC winner David Cañada
David Cañada
David Cañada Gracia is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist. His win at the 2006 Volta a Catalunya is his best career accomplishment to date. In the 2005 Tour de France, he was in a break-away on stage 2 ; he attacked on the climb near the finish but was overhauled by Bouygues...

 (Saunier Duval-Prodir
Saunier Duval-Prodir
Geox-TMC is a Spanish-based road bicycle racing team, registered for 2011 as a UCI Professional Continental team. Established as Saunier Duval-Prodir in 2004, the team has had success in one-day races such as Clásica de San Sebastián....

). He did not get to ride the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...

, but raced the Vuelta a España
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...

 where he finished second on the first mountain stage, after getting beaten by Danilo Di Luca
Danilo Di Luca
Danilo Di Luca is an Italian professional road racing cyclist who rode for numerous UCI Professional Continental teams throughout his career including Liquigas-Bianchi and . He holds victories in the Giro di Lombardia in 2001, the 2005 UCI ProTour and won both the Giro d'Italia and the spring...

 in the sprint at the summit. After finishing fourth in the second mountain stage to the Alto de El Morredero, he took the lead in the general classification, giving him the leader's jersey in a major tour for the first time in his young career.

On April 22, 2007 Brajkovič won the Tour de Georgia
2007 Tour de Georgia
The 2007 Tour de Georgia was a seven-stage professional bicycle race held from April 16 through April 22, 2007 across the state of Georgia and into Tennessee. The race was part of the 2007 USA Cycling Pro Tour...

 for his first win as a professional. He then endured a dryer spell where he further acclimatised to regular top level competition before finishing an impressive second to Damiano Cunego
Damiano Cunego
Damiano Cunego is an Italian professional road racing cyclist who rides for the Italian UCI ProTeam . His biggest wins are the 2004 Giro d'Italia, the 2008 Amstel Gold Race, and the Giro di Lombardia in 2004, 2007, 2008. He finished second in the UCI Road World Championships in 2008 and in the...

 at the end of season classic Giro di Lombardia.

Team Astana (2008–2009)

In 2008 Janez raced in the Tour of California, Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia, Settimana Ciclistica, Volta a Catalunya, Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, National Road Championship Slovenia, Tour of Austria, Deutschland Tour, World Championships, Military World Championship, Coppa Sabatini, Giro dell'Emilia, G.P. Beghelli and the Tour of Lombardy.

in 2009, Janez took the Leader Jersey in Stage 2 of the Giro del Trentino and held it until Ivan Basso took it on the final climb in Stage 4. Showing strong form, he rode in support of Levi Leipheimer in the Giro D'Italia.

Team Radioshack (2010–2011)

Following the 2009 season, Brajkovič left Astana for Team RadioShack
Team RadioShack
Team RadioShack is a professional road bicycle racing team, with RadioShack as the title sponsor, the creation of which was announced on July 23, 2009. Lance Armstrong co-owns and leads the team, which plans to race in the Grand Tours and the UCI ProTour, as well as running and triathlon events...

, joining many of his former Astana teammates and manager Johan Bruyneel
Johan Bruyneel
Johan Bruyneel is a former road bicycle racer in professional cycling and a directeur sportif for UCI ProTour team . Retiring from racing in 1998, he became director of , a US-based UCI ProTour cycling team...

. During the 2010 season, he won the Critérium du Dauphiné
2010 Critérium du Dauphiné
The 2010 Critérium du Dauphiné was the 62nd edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné stage race, and the first since it was renamed. It took place from 6–13 June, and was part of both the 2010 UCI ProTour and World Calendar...

 after being able to follow Tour de France champion Alberto Contador
Alberto Contador
Alberto Contador Velasco is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . He was the winner of the 2007 Tour de France with the team. With the Astana team he has won the 2008 Giro d'Italia, the 2008 Vuelta a España, the 2009 Tour de France, the 2010 Tour de France and won 2011 Giro...

 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 first Tour de France, mainly to support Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support...

. His 2011 Tour de France with Team Radioshack ended early on stage 5 after a crash prevented him from finishing.

Results

2004
1st World U23 Championship Individual Time Trial
2nd European U23 Championship Individual Time Trial
2nd Gran Premio Palio del Recioto

2005
3rd European U23 Championship Individual Time Trial

2006
5th Overall Tour de Suisse
Tour de Suisse
The Tour de Suisse is a UCI World Tour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...

5th Overall Volta a Catalunya

2007
1st Overall Tour de Georgia
2007 Tour de Georgia
The 2007 Tour de Georgia was a seven-stage professional bicycle race held from April 16 through April 22, 2007 across the state of Georgia and into Tennessee. The race was part of the 2007 USA Cycling Pro Tour...

1st Youth classification
5th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico

2008
2nd Giro di Lombardia
2008 Giro di Lombardia
The 2008 Giro di Lombardia is the 102nd edition of this single day road bicycle racing monument race. The event took place on October 18, 2008, with Damiano Cunego winning it, his fourth victory of the year, and the third of his career in the Giro di Lombardia and his second consecutive victory...

3rd Overall Deutschland Tour
2008 Deutschland Tour
The 2008 Deutschland Tour road cycling race took place from August 29 to September 6, 2008 in Germany and Austria. It was won by Team Columbia's Linus Gerdemann of Germany...

7th Overall Volta a Catalunya
2008 Volta a Catalunya
The 2008 Volta a Catalunya road cycling race took place from May 19 to May 25, 2008 in Catalonia, Spain. Gustavo César took overall victory, becoming first rider of non-ProTour team to win a ProTour race general classification....


2009
1st National Time Trial Champion
2009 National Cycling Championships
The 2009 national road cycling championships began in January in Australia and New Zealand. Most of the European national championships took place in June.-Jerseys:...

2nd Overall Giro del Trentino
Giro del Trentino
The Giro del Trentino is an Italian cycle road race. It is run typically mid-to-late April over four stages in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region of Italy....


2010
1st Overall Critérium du Dauphiné
2010 Critérium du Dauphiné
The 2010 Critérium du Dauphiné was the 62nd edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné stage race, and the first since it was renamed. It took place from 6–13 June, and was part of both the 2010 UCI ProTour and World Calendar...

1st Stage 3 ITT
4th Overall Giro di Sardegna
Giro di Sardegna
Giro di Sardegna is a stage road bicycle race held on the island of Sardinia, an Italian region. The race returned in 2009 after 11 years. It is now rated 2.1 and is part of the UCI Europe Tour.-Winners:...

4th Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León
Vuelta a Castilla y León
The Vuelta Ciclista a Castilla y León is a professional road bicycle stage race held in Castile and León, Spain. Since 2005, Vuelta a Castilla y León has been a part of the UCI Europe Tour.-Past winners:-External links:*...

5th Overall Tour de Romandie
2010 Tour de Romandie
The 2010 Tour de Romandie cycling road race started on 27 April and finished on 2 May in Switzerland. It was the 6th event in the 2010 UCI ProTour, and the 13th event in the World Calendar. The race winner had been declared as Alejandro Valverde, who won the final stage to take the race by 11...

9th Overall Volta a Catalunya
2010 Volta a Catalunya
The 2010 Volta a Catalunya was the 90th running of the race.It was the second race of the UCI ProTour calendar of 2010, and took place from March 22 to March 28.-Participating teams:...

9th Overall Tour of California
2010 Tour of California
The 2010 Tour of California was the fifth running of the Tour of California cycling stage race. It was held from May 16–23, and was the first edition of the race held in the month of May, after the first four occurred in February. It was rated as a 2.HC event on the UCI America Tour...


2011
1st National Time Trial Champion
3rd Overall Tour of Utah
2011 Tour of Utah
The 2011 Tour of Utah was the eighth edition of the Tour of Utah. For the first time, the race was included on the UCI America Tour, with a classification of 2.1. As such, the race is only open to teams on the UCI Pro Tour, UCI Professional Continental and UCI Continental circuits...

7th Overall Paris–Nice
2011 Paris–Nice
The 2011 Paris–Nice was the 69th running of the Paris–Nice cycling stage race, often known as the Race to the Sun. It started on 6 March in Houdan and ended on 13 March in Nice and consisted of eight stages, including a time trial...

7th Overall Tour de Romandie
2011 Tour de Romandie
The 2011 Tour de Romandie, was the 65th running of the Tour de Romandie cycling stage race. It started on 26 April in Martigny and ended on 1 May in Geneva and consisted of six stages, including a race-commencing prologue stage and also a penultimate day individual time trial...


External links

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