| Tom Zirbel | |
| Birth Date: | 30 October 1978 |
| Birth Place: | Clear Lake, Iowa, United States |
| Currentteam: | Retired |
| Discipline: | Road |
| Role: | Rider |
| Ridertype: | Time trialist |
| Proyears1: | 2006–2009 |
| Proyears2: | 2011 |
| Proyears3: | 2012–2016 |
| Proteam3: | [1] |
Tom Zirbel (born October 30, 1978) is an American former road bicycle racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2006 and 2016 for the, and teams.
Born in Clear Lake, Iowa, Zirbel rode for from 2006 to 2009. He came fourth in the UCI Road World Championships time trial in September 2009, and had signed to join UCI ProTour team the following season.
In December 2009, a urine test taken at the United States National Time Trial Championships the previous August, in which Zirbel came second, tested positive for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA).[2] Zirbel denied having taken the substance knowingly, but he nevertheless voluntarily accepted a two-year suspension, and immediately announced his retirement. His suspension was reduced in March 2011 to 18 months, which had already been served, in recognition of assistance given to the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). He suggested that, despite earlier comments about retiring, he would seek to resume his racing career. He maintains that he ingested the banned product inadvertently.[3]
In 2011, Zirbel rode for . On May 28, 2011, he placed 2nd in the United States National Time Trial Championships, behind David Zabriskie. He joined for the 2012 season.[1] In an interview with cyclingnews.com in early 2016, Zirbel confirmed that the upcoming season would be his last as a professional cyclist before retiring.[4] In September of that year, he set a new American national hour record in Aguascalientes, Mexico, completing 53.037km (32.956miles) to break the 1997 record of 51.505km (32.004miles) set by Norman Alvis.[5]