André Greipel Photo Gallery
& Short Professional Biography

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André Greipel, who retired at the end of the 2021 road season at the age of 39, is certainly one of the finest sprinters professional cycling has seen. He accumulated an incredible 158 professional wins, eleven of them at the Tour de France, seven at the Giro d’Italia and four at the Vuelta a España

Greipel was born July 16, 1982 in the city of Rostock, in what was East Germany (East and West Germany were reunified in 1990).

His sprinting abilities allowed him to win from the start. He won important aces both as a junior and as an Under-23 rider, including the U23 Rund um Köln and the sprint classification of the U23 Tour of Thuringia.

But it was in 2008, as a rider for HTC-Highroad team and its successors that he really hit his stride, with a dominating ride at the Tour Down Under and a Giro d'Italia stage win.

Facing competition on his own team from the other great sprinter of the era, Mark Cavendish, in 2011 he moved over to Omega Pharma-Lotto, where he continued to win big races.

With his contract with Lotto up at the end of 2018, and the team seeing that Greipel's wins were coming less often, the team did not sign him for 2019. He signed with Arkéa-Samsic, but with just one win that year, the team allowed him to cancel the contract and move to the Israel Start-Up Nation team. Troubled by crashes and ever-more trouble winning races, he rode his last race on October 23, 2021, the Münsterland Giro, where he finished tenth.

Les Woodland's book Paris-Roubaix: The Inside Story - All the bumps of cycling's cobbled classic is available as an audiobook here.

 

Major victories and high placings:

2006:

• Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt stage 1 & 4

2007:

• Sachsen Tour, stages 1 & 2

2008:

• Tour Down Under, GC, Points & stages 2,4,5 & 6
• Down Under Classic
• Münsterland Giro
• Giro d'Italia stage 17
• Tour of Austria stage 4
• Deutschland Tour stage 4

2009:

• Tour Down Under stage 1
• Paris-Bourges
• Philadelphia International Champonship
• Vuelta a España points classification & stages 4, 5, 16, 21
• Bayern Rundfahrt stages 1, 3, & 5
• Ster Elektrotoer stages 2, 3 & 5
• Tour of Austria stage 1, 7 & 8
• Sachsen Tour stage 1
• Four Days of Dunkirk stage 6

2010:

• Tour Down Under GC & Sprints classification, stages 1, 2 & 4
• Trofeo Magaluf-Palmanova
• Tour of Britain stages 1, 6 & 8
• Tour of Austria points classification, stages 1 & 6
• Tour of Poland stage 2 & 7
• Eneco Tour stage 2 & 6
• Volta ao Algarve Points Classification, stage 2
• Giro d'Italia stage 18
• Tour of Turkey Points classification, stages 1, 2, 5, 6, 8

2011:

• Tour of Belgium Points Classification, stages 2 & 5
• Eneco Tour stages 1 & 2
• Tour de France stage 10
• Volta ao Algarve stage 4
• Three Days of De Panne stage 1
• Tour of Turkey stage 6
• World Road Championships, 3rd place

2012:

• Down Under Classic
• Tour Down Under stages 1, 3 & 6
• ProRace Berlin
• Grand Prix Impanis-Van Petegem
• Tour de France stages 4, 5 & 13
• Tour of Belgium Points Classification, stages 1, 2 & 3
• Tour of Luxembourg Points Classificaton, stage 1 & 2
• Tour of Oman stages 1 & 4
• Tour of Turkey stage 2
• Ster ZLM Toer stage 2
• Danmark Rundt stage 1 & 2

2013:

• Tour Down Under stages 1, 4 & 6
• German Road Race Championships
• Cancer Council Helpline Classic
• Ronde van Zeeland Seaports
• Brussels Cycling Classics
• Tour of Turkey Points Classification, stage 4 & 5
• Tour of Belgium Points Classification, stages 1 & 2
• Tour de France stage 6
• Tour Méditerranéen stage 1
• Eneco Tour stage 4
• Ster ZLM Toer Points Classification

2014:

• Tour Down Under stages 4 & 6
• German Road Race Championships
• Brussels Cycling Classic
• Grote Prijs Jef Scherens
• Münsterland Giro
• Tour of Oman points classification, stage 1, 3 & 6
• Tour of Luxembourg stages 1 & 4
• Tour of Belgium stage 4
• Ster ZLM Toer stage 4
• World Ports Classic stage 1
• Tour of Qatar stage 5

2015:

• Ster ZLM Toer GC & Points Classification, stages 1 & 2
• Vattenfall Cyclassics
• Tour de France stages 2, 5, 15 & 21
• Eneco Tour Points Classification, stage 2
• Tour de Luxembourg Points Classification, stages 1 & 3
• Giro d'Italia stage 6
• Paris-Nice stage 2
• Tour of Turkey stage 4
• Tour of Britain stage 7
• Volta ao Algarve stage 5

2016:

• German Road Race Champonships
• Trofeo Porreres-Felanitx-Ses Salines-Campos
• Trofeo Playa de Palma
• Giro d'Italia stages 5, 7 & 12
• Tour de France stage 21
• Tour of Britain stage 1
• Tour de Luxembourg stage 1
• Tour of Turkey stage 3

2017:

• Trofeo Porreres-Felanitx-Ses Salines-Campos
• Omloop Eurometropool
• Volta ao Algarve Points Classification, stage 4
• Giro d'Italia stage 2
• Paris-Nice stage 5

2018:

• Tour Down Under stages 1 & 6
• Tour of Belgium Points Classification, stages 1 & 2
• Tour of Britain stages 1 & 4
• Fours Days of Dunkirk 2nd in GC, stages 2 & 5

2021:

• Trofeo Alcúdia-Port d'Alcúdia
• Vuelta a Andalucia stage 4
  

Professional Teams:

2002 - 2004: TEAG Team Köstritzer
2005: Wiesenhof
2006 - 2010: T-Mobile/High Road/Columbia/HTC-Columbia
2011 - 2018: Omega Pharma-Lotto/Lotto-Belisol/Lotto-Soudal
2019: Arkéa-Samsic
2020 - 2021: Israel Start-Up Nation

Nickname: The Gorilla

 

Photos: By Fororeporter Sirotti unless otherwise noted.

André Greipel wins the first stage of the 2010 Tour Down Under

And André wins again in stage four.

2010 Tour Down Under Stage six

2011 Tour Down Under

Greipel wins 2011 Tour de France stage ten with a bike throw.

Greipel wins the 2012 Down Under Classic

2012 Down Under Classic with Eddy Merckx

2012 Tour Down Under

2012 Tour Down Under stage two

After stage three of the 2012 Tour Down Under

Greipel in stage four of the 2012 Tour Down Under

Gripel finishes 2012 Gent-Wevelgem

Greipel riding the 2012 Tour of Luxembourg prologue

André Greipel riding the 2012 Tour de France prologue.

Greipel before the start of 2012 Tour de France stage two

Greipel wins 2012 Tour de France stage four.

Greipel looks back just after winning stage one of the 2013 Tour Down Under

Here Greipel wins 2013 Tour Down Under stage six.

2013 Tour de France stage 6

Winning stage six earned him a trip to the podium.

André Greipel before the stage of 2014 Tour Down Under stage four in the obligatory photo holding a baby kangaroo.

2014 Tour Down Under Stage four.

Greipel on the podium after stage four.

2014 Tour de France stage six

Greipel (on the left) wins the second stage of the Ster ZLM Toer.

2015 Giro d'Italia stage six.

Greipel just after winning 2015 Giro stage six.

Greipel wins 2015 Tour de France stage two, just.

But that's good enough for getting the green jersey.

Greipel wins a big one, the final stage of the 2015 Tour de France.

With that stage win, Greipel gets to spend a few moment on the podium in Paris.

2016: Early season at the Illes Balears, Trofeo Felanitx-Ses Salines

Another of the 2016 Illes Balears races, the Trofeo Palma

Greipel checking out the course of the 2016 Paris-Roubaix.

Before the stage of Giro stage six

2016 Giro d'Italia stage seven

And part of Greipel's rewards for winning the stage.

Not Greipel's strong point. Here he follows a Cofidis rider climbing in stage twelve of the 2016 Tour de France.

2016 Tour de France stage 21. Photo: ASO

Here's Sirotti's shot of the finish.

At the start of 2016 Vuelta a España stage 6

Racing in stage 6 of the 2016 Vuelta a España

Greipel loading up on drinks for the German team at the 2016 World Championships

Again in good shape for the start of the season. Here Greipel is winning the 2017 Trofeo Porreres-Felanitx, part of the Illes Balears set of races.

2017 Paris-Nice stage five.

2017 Giro d'Italia stage two.

Greipel enjoying his stage two win.

2018 Tour Down Under stage one.

Greipel with Jens Voigt on the podium after winning the stage.

Greipel strikes again at the 2018 Tour Down Under. Here he wins stage six.

2018 Tour of Britain stage one.

2018 Tour of Belgium stage two. Greipel digs deep to take the stage with its uphill finish.

2018 Four Days of Dunkirk stage two.

Greipel at the start of the 2019 Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne.

One of Greipel's last wins, the 2021 Trofeo Alcudia at the Illes Balears set of races.

Here is a photo of André's last win, stage four of the 2021 Vuelta a Andalucia - Ruta del Sol

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