Athletes - David Zabriskie

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	Athletes - David Zabriskie

David Zabriskie (born January 12, 1979 in Salt Lake City) is a professional road bicycle racer from the United States with a talent for winning individual time trials. His career highlights include stage wins in all three Grand Tour stage races, as well as the US National Time Trial Championship.

Zabriskie made his professional debut with the US Postal Service cycling team in 2001, after having displayed his talent for time trials by winning the US National Time Trial Championships (junior and under-23 age categories) and the Grand Prix des Nations (under-23 category). Following a year plagued by crashes and injuries, he returned to form in 2004, winning the Elite US National Time Trial Championships and stage 11 of the Vuelta a España, his first Grand Tour stage win -- especially notable among his victories for not being a time trial. In the 2005 season Zabriskie switched to Danish Team CSC, where he racked up another Grand Tour stage victory by winning the 8th stage of the 2005 Giro d'Italia.

Despite success on the international cycling scene, Zabriskie did not receive much attention in his native United States until the 2005 Tour de France, when he won the stage 1 time trial -- making him the first American to win stages in all three Grand Tours. Zabriskie beat Lance Armstrong by two seconds and set the record for the fastest ever time trial in the Tour de France, clocking an average speed of 54.676 km/h. He wore the leader's jersey, the maillot jaune, until the team time trial on stage 4, where he crashed within the final two kilometres, a crash diagnosed as a chain slip though Zabriskie himself didn't know what had happened. After the crash, Zabriskie suffered from his injuries and on stage 8, he arrived last, 51'12" after winner Pieter Weening. Zabriskie abandoned in the 9th stage (from Gérardmer to Mulhouse), after 11 km.

David Zabriskie was only the third American to ever wear the leader's jersey at the Tour de France, after Armstrong and three time Tour de France winner Greg Lemond, making Zabriskie the first American to wear the jersey without winning the Tour. Zabriskie was honored back home in Utah by the declaration of "Dave Zabriske Day" by both Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Carroon and Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson.

Before Zabriskie had fully recovered from his crash in the Tour de France, he walked through a closed glass door, cutting himself badly enough to end his 2005 season.

The 2006 season is starting out well, with a strong 2nd place finish in the Amgen Tour of California.

Zabriskie is known for his qurky nature, including singing before stages and the interviews he does with fellow riders in the pro-peleton which are posted on his site.

Quotes

David Zabriskie has conducted a number of flash-interviews in the peloton with various riders, displaying them on . They usually go down like the following interview of Alessandro Petacchi:

DZ: Could I ask you a question?
AP: Yes.
DZ: Do you like Star Wars?
AP: Star Wars?
DZ: The movies.
AP: Yes.
DZ: Thank you.

"Rock and Roll dude"
*Zabriskie's response when asked to comment on his time trial win at the Giro d'Italia.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for David Zabriskie ]

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