Rubén Plaza Explained
Rubén Plaza Molina (born 29 February 1980) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer,[3] who competed professionally between 2001 and 2019 for the,,, (over three spells),, and teams. During his career, he recorded a top 5 overall placing in the 2005 Vuelta a España, and won three Grand Tour stages.
Following his retirement, Plaza has worked as a directeur sportif for UCI Continental team since 2021,[4] and for UCI ProTeam,[5] since the start of the 2023 season.
Career
Plaza was born in Ibi, Spain. In 2006 he was implicated in the Operación Puerto doping case, but was later acquitted of any involvement. Nevertheless, after an abridged 2007 season with he spent 2008 and 2009 with smaller Continental level teams in Portugal. Despite this, in 2009 he was able to take his second victory in the Spanish national championships, before finishing 4th overall in the Volta a Portugal, a result which was later upgraded to 3rd by the disqualification of his Liberty Seguros teammate Nuno Ribeiro for a doping violation.[6] The simultaneous positive tests of two of the team's other riders caused the team to disband, leaving Plaza without a ride for 2010. Despite being linked to the team, Plaza returned to, the signing made official in December 2009.[7]
In 2015, he won Stage 16 of the Tour de France, his second Grand Tour stage win.[8]
In 2015, he also won Stage 20 of the Vuelta a España. He was named in the start list for the 2016 Giro d'Italia.[9]
Major results
Source: [10]
- 1997
National Junior Road Championships
1st Road race
3rd Time trial
- 1998
1st Time trial, National Junior Road Championships
- 2003
1st Road race, National Road Championships
1st Stage 5 Regio-Tour
- 2004
1st Stage 5 (ITT) Troféu Joaquim Agostinho
3rd Trofeo Cala Millor
4th Overall Vuelta a Murcia
6th Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
10th Circuito de Getxo
- 2005
1st Overall Grande Prémio Internacional Costa Azul
1st Mountains classification
1st Stage 2
1st Overall Vuelta a Aragón
1st Stage 4 (ITT)
1st Stage 2 Vuelta a Murcia
3rd Time trial, National Road Championships
4th Time trial, UCI Road World Championships
5th Overall Vuelta a España
1st Stage 20 (ITT)
5th Klasika Primavera
6th Overall Critérium International
- 2006
1st Clásica a los Puertos de Guadarrama
2nd Overall Vuelta a La Rioja
2nd Time trial, National Road Championships
4th Overall Vuelta a Asturias
1st Stage 5
4th Overall Troféu Joaquim Agostinho
1st Stage 1
9th Subida a Urkiola
- 2007
1st Overall Vuelta a La Rioja
4th Overall Clásica Internacional de Alcobendas
5th Overall Euskal Bizikleta
10th Overall Vuelta a Burgos
- 2008
1st Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
1st Stage 1 (ITT) Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid
2nd Time trial, National Road Championships
3rd Overall Volta a Portugal
1st Prologue
9th Overall Volta ao Algarve
- 2009
National Road Championships
1st Road race
3rd Time trial
1st Stage 2 GP CTT Correios de Portugal
2nd Overall Vuelta a Murcia
1st Stage 4
3rd Overall Volta ao Algarve
3rd Overall Volta a Portugal
1st Stage 6
4th Overall Circuit de Lorraine
1st Stage 3
- 2010
3rd Time trial, National Road Championships
10th Overall Tour de France
- 2012
10th Overall Circuit de la Sarthe
- 2013
1st Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León
1st Stage 3
3rd Time trial, National Road Championships
4th Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid
6th Overall Route du Sud
9th Overall Vuelta a Asturias
- 2015
1st Stage 16 Tour de France
Vuelta a España
1st Stage 20
Combativity award Stage 20
- 2018
1st Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León
1st Stage 3
9th Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia
- 2019
6th Overall Tour of Antalya
10th GP Miguel InduráinGrand Tour general classification results timeline
Notes and References
- News: Cycling Academy add Hermans and Plaza for 2018. Pat. Malach. Cyclingnews.com. 24 August 2017. 4 January 2018.
- News: Israel Cycling Academy finalises 2019 roster, adds Sorensen as DS. Cyclingnews.com. 4 December 2018. 20 January 2019.
- News: Israel Cycling Academy become Israel Start-Up Nation as WorldTour beckons. Daniel. Ostanek. Cyclingnews.com. 11 December 2019. 2 January 2020. Departing riders include Rubén Plaza, who retires, and Kristian Sbaragli, who is heavily linked with a move to Mathieu van der Poel's Corendon squad..
- News: Ruben Plaza and his ICA boys. . Cycling Academy Ltd.. 18 April 2021. 19 July 2023.
- Web site: Israel - Premier Tech. UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. 19 July 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230604145353/https://www.uci.org/team-details/17703. 4 June 2023.
- Web site: Ribeiro, Nozal and Guerra positive for CERA.
- Web site: Rubén Plaza returns to Caisse d'Epargne.
- News: Tour de France stage 16: Plaza gives Lampre–Merida a win in Gap. Cyclingnews.com. 20 July 2015. 20 July 2015.
- Web site: 99th Giro d'Italia Startlist . 6 May 2016 . Pro Cycling Stats.
- Web site: Rubén Plaza. FirstCycling.com. FirstCycling AS. 19 July 2023.
