| Paolo Tiralongo | |
| Fullname: | Paolo Tiralongo |
| Nickname: | L'Ape di Avola (The Bee from Avola) |
| Birth Date: | 8 July 1977 |
| Birth Place: | Avola, Italy |
| Height: | 1.680NaN0 |
| Weight: | 56kg (123lb) |
| Currentteam: | Retired |
| Discipline: | Road |
| Role: | Rider |
| Ridertype: | Climbing specialist |
| Proyears1: | 2000–2002 |
| Proyears2: | 2003–2005 |
| Proyears3: | 2006–2009 |
| Proyears4: | 2010–2017 |
| Majorwins: | Grand Tours
3 individual stages (2011, 2012, 2015) 1 TTT stage (2013) |
Paolo Tiralongo (born 8 July 1977) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer,[1] who rode professionally between 2000 and 2017 for the,, and teams.
In 2009, while riding for, Tiralongo registered his best final result on a Grand Tour, finishing the Vuelta a España in eighth position after riding consistently in the mountain stages. He conceded a little over 9 minutes to the victor, Spaniard Alejandro Valverde of .[2] He joined Astana for the 2010 season, on a 2-year contract.[3] In 2011, Tiralongo took a notable victory on stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia, a summit finish to Macugnaga. He attacked in the final kilometers and went clear of the lead group, but was joined by Alberto Contador in the final few meters. He came first on the line, taking his first victory in more than ten years.[4]
In 2012, he won another stage in the Giro d'Italia, stage 7, which was a hilltop finish atop Rocca di Cambio. With 500 meters to go, Tiralongo followed an attack initiated by Michele Scarponi of and he passed Scarponi inside of the final 100 meters. He lay on the ground afterward, out of breath.[5]
On 24 April 2015, Tiralongo collected his first victory of the season in the final stage of the Giro del Trentino. He passed the last climb (Passo Predaia) with a small leading group and won the sprint after the descent.[6] On 17 May, he won Stage 9 of the 2015 Giro d'Italia.
| Grand Tour | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giro d'Italia | — | — | — | DNF | — | 32 | 15 | 26 | — | 37 | DNF | 18 | 23 | 99 | 45 | 19 | — | 83 | |
| Tour de France | — | — | — | — | — | — | 69 | — | 46 | — | 53 | DNF | — | — | — | — | 74 | — | |
| Vuelta a España | 96 | — | 43 | — | — | — | — | DNF | 27 | 8 | — | — | 38 | 51 | 33 | DNF | — | — |
| — | Did not compete | |
|---|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |