| Daniel Moreno | |
| Fullname: | Daniel Moreno Fernández |
| Nickname: | Muñeco |
| Birth Date: | 5 September 1981 |
| Birth Place: | Madrid, Spain |
| Weight: | 59kg (130lb) |
| Currentteam: | Retired |
| Discipline: | Road |
| Role: | Rider |
| Ridertype: | Climber |
| Amateuryears1: | 2003–2004 |
| Amateurteam1: | Alcosto–Fuenlabrada |
| Amateuryears2: | 2003 |
| Amateurteam2: | Alcobaça CC–De Borla–Ruben & Rita |
| Amateuryears3: | 2004 |
| Amateurteam3: | (stagiaire) |
| Proyears1: | 2005–2007 |
| Proyears2: | 2008–2009 |
| Proyears3: | 2010 |
| Proyears4: | 2011–2015 |
| Proyears5: | 2016–2017 |
| Proyears6: | 2018 |
| Majorwins: | Grand Tours 3 individual stages (2011, 2013)Stage races Vuelta a Burgos (2012)One-day races and Classics Gran Piemonte (2011) GP Miguel Induráin (2012) |
Daniel Moreno Fernández (born 5 September 1981) is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2018 for the,,, and teams. He specialised in mountain and high-mountain races along with Grand Tours like the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, winning three stages of the latter in 2011 and 2013.
In 2003, Moreno was a member of the Alcosto–Fuenlabrada team, and he won the Volta a Portugal do Futuro. From September 2004, Moreno rode as a stagiaire with . At his very first race, the annual Tour of Britain, he achieved a prominent result by finishing 5th in the general classification.
In 2005, he remained full-time with . He advanced further by ranking 2nd at the Clásica de Ordizia and the Vuelta a Andalucía.
In 2006, he achieved his first victories by taking stage wins at the Clásica Internacional de Alcobendas and the Volta ao Alentejo. He supplemented his triumphs with three podiums at the Volta ao Alentejo, the Clásica Internacional de Alcobendas and the Vuelta a Burgos.
In 2007 it also turned out to be successful year for Moreno. He won stages at the Tour de San Luis, Vuelta a Chihuahua, and the Escalada a Montjuïc.[1] Along with that, he showed himself to good advantage by taking 2nd place in a stage of the Vuelta a España and, thus, reaching 12th position in the final general classification. In September he announced his move to French team for the next year[2] but then Moreno renounced his own statement.
However, with the collapse of in late 2007, the rider lost his permanent contract together with an opportunity to compete at professional races.
Moreno managed to return to the peloton only in March 2008 after signing a contract with the Spanish team .
There he spent two seasons (2008–2009) working as a domestique for Alejandro Valverde[3] and then moved to for a year.[4]
In 2011 he joined Russian [5] and became a domestique for his team leader, Joaquim Rodríguez. Accompanying Rodríguez in mountain races, Moreno managed to win several significant competitions including the Giro del Piemonte and the Vuelta a Burgos. On 23 August he triumphed in stage 4 of the Vuelta a España, joining the lone escapee of Chris Anker Sørensen in the final kilometres. Sorensen had been part of an earlier break and Moreno sat on his wheel, attacking in the final as the peloton was charging behind.[6] The next day he successfully assisted Rodríguez at Valdepeñas de Jaén. The coordinated performance of the two Spaniards brought Moreno to 3rd place while Rodríguez topped the podium. During all three weeks of the racem Moreno rode at his best and, thus, ranked 9th in the general classification. In October, Moreno won the Italian classic Giro del Piemonte, after shaking off the leading group of thirteen after the flamme rouge on an uphill false flat.[7]
In 2012 Moreno kept on going forward. He triumphed at the GP Miguel Induráin,[8] took first place on stage 4 of the Vuelta a Andalucía and won 2 stages of the Critérium du Dauphiné. Moreno also firmly assisted Rodríguez to second overall at the Giro d'Italia. The Vuelta a España and other home races were among his top priorities for the ongoing season.[9]
He went on to win the 2.HC classified Vuelta a Burgos, surviving a scare in the last stage after getting dropped on the mountain finish by two serious overall classification contenders, Colombians Esteban Chaves of and Sergio Henao of . Moreno ultimately limited his losses to 22 seconds on that stage, retaining the leader's jersey by 10 seconds over Henao. He also won 2 stages and the points classification at the race.[10]
He also had a solid 5th-place finish in the Vuelta a España, where he helped his team leader Rodríguez in the mountain stages; Rodríguez took third overall.[11]
In 2013, Moreno won the World Tour race La Flèche Wallonne, after following an attack initiated by Philippe Gilbert on the final climb, the Mur de Huy. He passed Gilbert and Carlos Betancur to grab the victory.[12] He later continued his good form into the Critérium du Dauphiné where he finished 3rd overall. At the Vuelta a España, he won stages 4 and 9 and finished 10th in the final general classification.
In October 2015, announced that they had signed Moreno on a two-year contract from 2016.[13]
In November 2017, it was announced that Moreno was to join the team for the 2018 season.
| Grand Tour | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giro d'Italia | — | — | — | — | 26 | 29 | 20 | — | 41 | — | — | — | — | |
| Tour de France | — | — | — | — | 21 | — | — | 17 | — | — | 31 | — | — | |
| Vuelta a España | 36 | 12 | 12 | 11 | — | 9 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 18 | 38 |
| — | Did not compete | |
|---|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |