Alex Zülle (born 5 July 1968) is a Swiss former professional road bicycle racer. During the 1990s he was one of the most successful cyclists in the world, winning the 1996 and 1997 Vuelta a España, taking second place in the 1995 and the 1999 Tour de France. He was world time-trial champion in Lugano in 1996. He admitted doping with EPO and raced for the three most notorious doping teams in 1997–9.
Biography
Early career
thumb|left|Zülle (centre) during the amateur race at the [[1990 UCI Road World Championships]]
Zülle was born and brought up in Wil in the canton of St. Gallen, son of a Swiss father, Walter Zülle and Wilhelmine, from Brabant, Netherlands. As a child he wanted to be a skier but at 18 he was injured in an accident. He began cycling in the Netherlands for rehabilitation before giving up because it was too windy.
His father, having bought cycling equipment, persuaded him to give cycling another go when they returned to Switzerland. After several years as a successful amateur, Zülle turned professional in 1991. He approached the former sporting director of the Swiss team, Helvetia, Paul Köchli, but Köchli signed Laurent Dufaux instead. He remained with ONCE until 1997. Most of its riders were Spanish. Zülle spoke only Swiss-German when he joined but at the end of the Vuelta a España he answered journalists in Spanish.
Festina affair
In 1998, Zülle joined Festina. The team was banned from the 1998 Tour de France amid doping allegations which later became known as the Festina affair. Five Festina riders including Zülle admitted taking EPO. Zülle said he took it to satisfy his sponsors. He also said he was deprived of his spectacles during the police interview. On 28 November 1998, Zülle's haematocrit was found to be 52.3%, 2.3% over the limit.
1999–2004
His career coincided with that of Miguel Induráin, five-times Tour de France winner. Zülle was second in the Tour in 1999. He also won the Vuelta a España and Tour de Suisse, and stages in the Giro d'Italia. Following financial problems for his employer, Team Coast, Zülle transferred to on 27 March 2003 in a rare mid-season switch.
Zülle retired in 2004, and held a party for his fans in Wil in October that year.
Career achievements
Major results
;1990
: 1st Flèche du Sud
;1991
: 1st 20px Overall Grand Prix Guillaume Tell
::1st Prologue, Stage 2 & 4
: 3rd Overall Volta a Catalunya
: 4th Trofeo Masferrer
;1992
: 1st 20px Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
: 1st 20px Overall Vuelta a Asturias
::1st Stage 1b (ITT)
: 1st 20px Overall Vuelta a Burgos
::1st Stage 5 (ITT)
: 1st 20px Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
::1st Stage 1a
: 1st Stage 4 (ITT) Volta a Catalunya
: 1st Stage 2 Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali
: 3rd Gran Piemonte
: 4th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
: 4th Grand Prix des Nations
: 5th Milano–Torino
: 9th Wincanton Classic
;1993
: 1st 20px Overall Paris–Nice
::1st Prologue & Stage 7b (ITT)
: 1st Chur-Arosa
: 1st Josef Voegeli Memorial
: 2nd Overall Vuelta a España
::1st Stages 1 (ITT), 6 (ITT) & 21 (ITT)
: 3rd Overall Tour of the Basque Country
: 3rd Overall Critérium International
: 5th Overall Euskal Bizikleta
: 6th Overall Volta a Catalunya
;1994
: 1st Stage 1 (ITT) Volta a Catalunya
: 1st Stage 6 (ITT) Vuelta a Aragón
: 2nd Overall Vuelta a La Rioja
: 4th Overall Vuelta a España
: 8th Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
;1995
: 1st 20px Overall Tour of the Basque Country
::1st Stages 3 & 5b (ITT)
: 1st 20px Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
::1st Stage 2b
: 1st Challenge Mallorca
: 1st Stage 16 Vuelta a España
: 2nd Overall Tour de Suisse
::1st 20px Points classification
::1st Prologue & Stage 5 (ITT)
: 2nd Overall Tour de France
::1st Stage 9
: 2nd Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
::1st Stage 5b (ITT)
: 2nd Overall Euskal Bizikleta
::1st Stage 4b (ITT)
: 3rd Overall Paris–Nice
;1996
: 1st 20px Time trial, UCI Road World Championships
: 1st 20px Overall Vuelta a España
::1st Stage 15
: 1st 20px Overall Volta a Catalunya
::1st Prologue, Stages 3 (ITT) & 6 (ITT)
: 1st 20px Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
::1st Stage 3 & 5b (ITT)
: 1st GP Miguel Indurain
: 1st Prologue Tour de France
: 2nd Overall Euskal Bizikleta
::1st Stage 4b (ITT)
: 7th Time trial, Olympic Games
: 8th Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
;1997
: 1st 20px Overall Vuelta a España
::1st Stage 21 (ITT)
: 1st 20px Overall Tour of the Basque Country
::1st Stage 5b (ITT)
: 2nd Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
: 2nd Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
: 2nd Milano–Torino
: 3rd La Flèche Wallonne
: 5th Overall Vuelta a Murcia
;1998
: Giro d'Italia
::1st Prologue, Stages 6 & 15 (ITT)
: 2nd Overall Tour de Romandie
::1st Stage 4b (ITT)
: 3rd Overall Tour of the Basque Country
: 3rd Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
::1st Stage 5b (ITT)
: 4th Overall Paris–Nice
: 5th Grand Prix Eddy Merckx (with Christophe Bassons)
: 8th Overall Vuelta a España
::1st Stage 21 (ITT)
;1999
: 1st À travers Lausanne
: 1st Stage 13 Vuelta a España
: 2nd Overall Tour de France
: 6th Breitling Grand Prix (with José Vicente García
: 10th Time trial, UCI Road World Championships
;2000
: 1st 20px Overall Volta ao Algarve
::1st Stage 4 (ITT)
: 1st Stage 1 (ITT) Vuelta a España
: 4th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
: 7th Overall Euskal Bizikleta
;2001
: 1st Stage 4 Paris–Nice
: 3rd Overall Vuelta a Asturias
: 9th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
;2002
: 1st 20px Overall Tour de Suisse
::1st Prologue
: 1st 20px Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
::1st Stage 5 (ITT)
: 2nd Overall Tour de Romandie
::1st 20px Points classification
::1st Stage 4 & 5 (ITT)
: 2nd Overall Volta ao Algarve
::1st Stage 2
: 4th GP Triberg-Schwarzwald
: 5th Deutschland Tour
;2003
: 3rd Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León
: 7th Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
;2004
: 5th Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
General classification results timeline
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|colspan=15 align="center"|Grand Tour general classification results
|-
! scope="col" | Grand Tour
! scope="col" | 1991
! scope="col" | 1992
! scope="col" | 1993
! scope="col" | 1994
! scope="col" | 1995
! scope="col" | 1996
! scope="col" | 1997
! scope="col" | 1998
! scope="col" | 1999
! scope="col" | 2000
! scope="col" | 2001
! scope="col" | 2002
! scope="col" | 2003
! scope="col" | 2004
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | 20px|link=|alt=A pink jersey Giro d'Italia
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| 14
| DNF
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | 20px|link=|alt=A yellow jersey Tour de France
| —
| DNF
| 41
| style="background:#ddf;" |8
| style="background:#ddf;" |2
| 26
| DNF
| DNF
| style="background:#ddf;" |2
| DNF
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | 20px|link=|alt=A yellow jersey/20px|link=|alt=A gold jersey Vuelta a España
| —
| DNF
| style="background:#ddf;" |2
| style="background:#ddf;" |4
| 20
| style="background:yellow;" |1
| style="background:yellow;" |1
| style="background:#ddf;" |8
| 37
| 49
| 109
| —
| DNF
| —
|-
|colspan=15 align="center"|Major stage race general classification results
|-
! Major stage race
! scope="col" | 1991
! scope="col" | 1992
! scope="col" | 1993
! scope="col" | 1994
! scope="col" | 1995
! scope="col" | 1996
! scope="col" | 1997
! scope="col" | 1998
! scope="col" | 1999
! scope="col" | 2000
! scope="col" | 2001
! scope="col" | 2002
! scope="col" | 2003
! scope="col" | 2004
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | / Paris–Nice
| —
| —
| style="background:white;" |1
| 53
| style="background:#ddf;" |3
| —
| —
| style="background:#ddf;" |4
| —
| —
| 17
| 17
| —
| 25
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | 20px Tirreno–Adriatico
| style="color:#4d4d4d;" colspan=14|did not contest during his career
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | Tour of the Basque Country
| —
| style="background:#ddf;" |4
| style="background:#ddf;" |3
| —
| style="background:yellow;"|1
| DNF
| style="background:yellow;"|1
| style="background:#ddf;" |3
| —
| —
| style="background:#ddf;" |9
| DNF
| 58
| DNF
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | / Tour de Romandie
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| style="background:#ddf;" |2
| 33
| —
| —
| style="background:#ddf;" |2
| 17
| DNF
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | Critérium du Dauphiné
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| style="background:#ddf;" |4
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | Volta a Catalunya
| style="background:#ddf;" |3
| 14
| style="background:#ddf;" |6
| 21
| —
| style="background:white; border:2px solid green;" |1
| —
| —
| DNF
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | Tour de Suisse
| —
| —
| —
| —
| style="background:#ddf;" |2
| —
| DNF
| —
| —
| —
| 22
| style="background:yellow;"|1
| 22
| 54
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Legend
|-
! scope="row" | —
| Did not compete
|-
! scope="row" | DNF
| Did not finish
|}
See also
- Doping at the Tour de France
- List of doping cases in cycling
- List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences