José Belda
Personal information | |
---|---|
Full name | José Belda Mira |
Born | (1975-06-06) 6 June 1975 (age 49) Ontinyent, Spain |
Team information | |
Current team | Retired |
Discipline | Road |
Role | Rider |
Amateur teams | |
2009–2011 | Asfaltos Guerola |
2012 | Gsport–Valencia Terra i Mar |
José Belda Mira (born 6 June 1975) is a Spanish former amateur road racing cyclist.
Career
Hailing from Ontinyent, in the Province of Valencia, Belda started cycling at the age of 26, later than most. He made his competition debut in the highest amateur level in Spain at 30 years old.[1] In 2006, he celebrated his first victory at this level, winning the second stage of the Vuelta a Galicia.[2]
In 2007, Belda was unable to compete in the GP Macario due to having a hematocrit level above 50%.[1] A few months later, he won his first Vuelta a Tenerife.[3] In 2008, Belda celebrated several more victories, including the Quebrantahuesos, one of the most well-known and difficult amateur races in the country.[4]
From 2009 to 2011, Belda was the best amateur cyclist in Spain. Victorious on numerous occasions, he was particularly famous during the 2011 season by winning 30 races, including many of the stage races on the Spanish amateur calendar (Volta ás Comarcas de Lugo, Vuelta a Castellón, Vuelta a Tenerife, Tour of the Province of Valencia, Vuelta a Galicia, Vuelta a Cantabria). These impressive performances, although attracting the attention of Spanish professional teams, such as Geox–TMC and Movistar Team, also caused doubts among other Spanish cyclists.
In 2012, Belda's success continued. In May, he stood out among professionals, when he finished third in the queen stage and fourth overall in the Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid, a UCI Europe Tour 2.1 event, while riding with the Spanish national team.[5] After this performance, Eusebio Unzué, the team manager of Movistar Team, planned to offer Belda a professional contract with the team for the following season. However, the UCI announces that they have received two positive anti-doping tests from Belda, for methyltestosterone and ritalinic acid, both in races Belda won.[1] After these tests, Belda served a two-year suspension, ultimately ending his career.[6]
Major results
- 2006
- 1st Stage 2 Vuelta a Galicia
- 2007
- 1st
Overall Vuelta a Tenerife
- 1st Stage 2
- 2008
- 2nd Overall Vuelta a Tenerife
- 1st Stages 4 & 5a
- 2009
- 1st
Time trial, National Amateur Road Championships
- 1st
Overall Vuelta a Tenerife
- 1st Stages 1, 3 & 5a
- 1st Stage 4 Circuito Montañés
- 1st Gran Premio Primavera de Ontur
- 5th Overall Cinturón a Mallorca
- 2010
- 1st
Overall Vuelta a Tenerife
- 1st Stages 2, 4 & 5a
- 1st Stage 1 Vuelta a Cantabria
- 2nd Time trial, National Amateur Road Championships
- 10th Overall Cinturó de l'Empordà
- 2011
- 1st
Time trial, National Amateur Road Championships
- 1st Gran Premio Primavera de Ontur
- 1st Trofeo Olías Industrial
- 1st Prueba Loinaz
- 1st Ronda al Maestrazgo
- 1st
Overall Vuelta a Tenerife
- 1st Stages 1, 3, 4 & 5
- 1st
Overall Vuelta a Castellón
- 1st Stages 1, 2 & 4
- 1st
Overall Volta ás Comarcas de Lugo
- 1st
Overall Tour of the Province of Valencia
- 1st Stages 1 & 4
- 1st
Overall Vuelta a Galicia
- 1st Stage 1
- 1st
Overall Vuelta a Cantabria
- 1st Stage 1
- 6th Overall Vuelta Ciclista a León
- 6th Overall Cinturón a Mallorca
- 1st Stage 1
- 2012
1stOverall Vuelta Ciclista a León
1st Stage 2
- 1st Trofeo Olías Industrial
- 1st
Overall Vuelta a Tenerife
- 1st Stage 1b
- 2nd Volta ao Ribeiro
- 2nd Overall Vuelta a Ávila
- 3rd Overall Vuelta a Castellón
- 1st Stage 3
- 4th Overall Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid
References
- ^ a b c "Dos positivos del Armstrong aficionado (in Spanish)". abc.es. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
- ^ "Elite y sub-23: José Belda se lleva la segunda etapa de la Vuelta a Galicia (in Spanish)". fccv.es. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
- ^ Agustín Arias. "Belda y Reyes". eldia.es. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
- ^ "José Belda fue el más rápido en la Quebrantahuesos". elperiodicodearagon.com. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
- ^ "José Belda: "He demostrado que también puedo ir rápido en profesionales"". esciclismo.com. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
- ^ "José Belda". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 11 August 2018.