Philip Deignan

Philip Deignan
Personal information
Full name Philip Deignan
Nickname Philly, Deigy, Lippy, Nando, Tony, Andrew
Born (1983-09-07) 7 September 1983
Letterkenny, County Donegal, Republic of Ireland
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight 67 kg (148 lb)
Team information
Current team Team Sky
Discipline Road
Role Rider
Rider type Climbing domestique
Amateur team(s)
2004 Vélo-Club La Pomme Marseille
Professional team(s)
2005–2008 AG2R Prévoyance
2009–2010 Cervélo TestTeam
2011 Team RadioShack
2012–2013 UnitedHealthcare[1]
2014– Team Sky
Major wins

Grand Tours

Vuelta a España
1 individual stage (2009)

Stage races

Tour of the Gila (2013)
Infobox last updated on
4 January 2015

Philip Deignan (Irish: Pilib Ó Duígeannáin; born 7 September 1983) is an Irish Olympian and professional road racing cyclist for UCI ProTeam Team Sky.[2] He was educated at Saint Eunan's College.

Career

Early career

Born in Letterkenny, County Donegal, Deignan first set foot on a bike in 1997 during the annual Sligo to Letterkenny charity cycle organised by Paddy Delap.[3][4] He has been professional since 2005. Before that he was riding for amateur club Vélo-Club La Pomme Marseille where he performed well.

In the Baby Giro (Giro d'Italia for amateurs) of 2004 after recovering from an earlier crash, he performed well on the mountainous stages.[5][6] He won the final stage & overall classification of the 2004 Ronde de l'Isard as an amateur. His first professional road race win was in the Tour du Doubs when he attacked a breakaway group that contained his fellow Irishman and teammate at the time Mark Scanlon.[7] Other notable performances were ninth place in the UCI World Championships Under 23 road race,[8] fifth place in European championship under 23 road race, and second place on a mountainous stage of the 2006 Tour de l'Avenir stage race.[9]

After an injury plagued early season, Deignan entered and finished his first grand tour with the 2007 Vuelta a España, there he finished prominently with 10th, 12th and 16th in several mountain stages.

He qualified to represent Ireland at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.[10][11] He finished in 81st place (15 minutes and 53 seconds behind winner Samuel Sánchez and five minutes behind team mate Nicholas Roche) in the 150.2-mile road race on 9 August. Deignan along with Roche and Roger Aiken made up the Irish team for the 2008 World Championships in Varese on 28 September. None of the three finished the demanding 260 km race.[12]

Cervelo Test Team (2009–2011)

Deignan riding for Cervelo in 2010

For the 2009 season Deignan rode with the Cervélo TestTeam. He raced the Giro d'Italia, achieving a top ten finish in one stage and featuring prominently in others, with his team winning 4 stages in total. On 17 September 2009 he achieved his first grand tour stage victory, in stage 18 of the Vuelta a España into Avila, after a 2-man battle with the Czech Roman Kreuziger of Liquigas. By finishing 10 minutes clear of the peloton he climbed to 9th in the general classification.[13] He became the first Irishman to win a stage on a Grand Tour since Stephen Roche's last-stage success at the Tour de France in 1992.[14][15] Deignan was selected to ride for Ireland in the 2009 World Elite Road Race Championship in Mendrisio, Switzerland (23–27 September) alongside Nicolas Roche and Dan Martin.[16] After his Vuelta performance, Deignan reached a personal high 2009 world ranking of 71st. Deignan was the best Irish finisher when placing 40th at the 2009 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race in Mendrisio. He ended the 2009 season UCI ranked 75th, with 61 points,[17] which helped Ireland to 16th in the team rankings.

RadioShack (2011)

It was announced after illness ruined his 2010 season, Deignan signed for Team RadioShack for 2011.[18][19]

United Healthcare (2012–2013)

After one season with RadioShack, he signed on with UnitedHealthcare for the 2012 season.[1] Deignan was able to rebuild his career with the US-based squad, winning the Tour of the Gila in 2013, and recording top ten overall finishes in the three biggest US stage races, the Tour of Utah (6th), the Tour of California (9th) and the USA Pro Cycling Challenge (10th).

Team Sky (2013–)

Subsequently, Deignan announced he was returning to the UCI World Tour in 2014 by joining Team Sky.[2] He rode the Giro d'Italia which began in Belfast and travelled to Dublin in the opening stages. Deignan led Sky at the Tour de Pologne, finishing seventh overall. He also rode the Vuelta a Espana, where he helped Chris Froome to second overall.

Personal life

Deignan married fellow professional road racing cycling Lizzie Armitstead in Otley on 17 September 2016.[20]

Career achievements

Major results

Grand Tour General Classification results timeline

Grand Tour 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Pink jersey Giro 79 56 47 43 WD
Yellow jersey Tour
golden jersey Vuelta 71 9 WD 39

References

  1. 1 2 Frattini, Kirsten (23 September 2011). "McCartney and Deignan join UnitedHealthcare in 2012". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  2. 1 2 Wynn, Nigel (6 September 2013). "Philip Deignan signs to Team Sky for 2014". Cycling Weekly. IPC Media. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  3. Deignan's first taste of cycling
  4. "Town honours Paddy Delap". Donegal Democrat. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  5. "Deignan third on penultimage stage of Baby Giro". irishcycling.com. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
  6. "Deignan shines in mountain stage in Baby Giro". irishcycling.com. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
  7. "First pro win for Deignan". Irishcycling.com. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
  8. "Deignan ninth in World Championships under 23 road race". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
  9. "Irish squad announced for worlds". irishcycling.com. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
  10. http://www.rte.ie/sport/olympics2008/deignanp.html RTÉ Sport: Irish Olympic Team – Philip Deignan
  11. BBC Sport: Beijing biker
  12. "Menchov wins Tour of Spain, Deignan 71st overall". Irishcycling.com. Retrieved 24 September 2007.
  13. "Deignan claims grand tour stage". Irish Times. 18 September 2009. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
  14. Deignan on course for top 10, RTÉ News, 18 September 2009
  15. Historic win for Deignan in Spain, RTÉ News, 17 September 2009
  16. Irish team for 2009 World Championships, Cycling Ireland, 10 September 2009
  17. 2009 Final UCI World Rankings , UCI website, 19 October 2009
  18. Philip Deignan signs for RadioShack, cyclingnews website, 12 October 2010
  19. "Cycling: Relieved Deignan joins Armstrong's Radioshack team". Irish Independent. 12 October 2010. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  20. Jack, Jim (19 September 2016). "Crowds cheer on Lizzie Armitstead as she marries fellow cyclist Philip Deignan". Wharfedale Observer.
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