Juan Antonio Flecha
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Juan Antonio Flecha is an Argentine cyclist who was born in the town of Junin, in the province of Buenos Aires. When he was very young he moved to Spain.
He gained fame in 2003 when he became the first rider born in Argentina to win a Tour de France stage while riding for the Spanish iBanesto.com team. As he rode across the finish line he performed a unique victory salute: he pantomimed releasing an arrow from a bow in homage to his family name.
The 2004 season saw him as a co-leader in the Italian Fassa Bortolo for the Classics and one-day races, with notable finishes in various races from the Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and victories in Züri-Metzgete and the Giro de Lazio. He often shares team leadership with Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara, with whom he says to work very well with.
The following season with Fassa Bortolo in 2005 saw podium finishes in Gent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix, establishing him as one of the best one-day racers in the UCI ProTour today. Euskaltel Euskadi rider Egoi Martinez said in an interview that in a race "one should have a head and an attitude like the one Juan Antonio Flecha has," in tribute to his perseverence and positive attitude in racing.
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