Rein Taaramäe

Rein Taaramäe (born April 24, 1987) is an Estonian road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam Total Direct Énergie.[4]

Rein Taaramäe
Taaramäe at the 2012 Critérium du Dauphiné
Personal information
Full nameRein Taaramäe
NicknameVader (from "Reinuvader Rebane" – a literary fox), Taarakas
Born (1987-04-24) April 24, 1987
Tartu, Estonia
Height1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Weight67 kg (148 lb; 10.6 st)[1]
Team information
Current teamTotal Direct Énergie
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Amateur teams
2006–2007Roue d'or Saint-Amandoise
2007Cofidis (stagiaire)
Professional teams
2008–2014Cofidis
2015Astana
2016–2017Team Katusha
2018–Direct Énergie[2][3]
Major wins
Grand Tours
Giro d'Italia
1 individual stage (2016)
Vuelta a España
1 individual stage (2011)

Stage races

Vuelta a Burgos (2015)
Arctic Race of Norway (2015)
Tour of Slovenia (2016)

Single-day races and Classics

National Road Race Championships (2009, 2013)
National Time Trial Championships
(2009, 2011, 2012, 2019)

Career

Cofidis (2008–14)

Taaramäe turned professional in 2008 for Cofidis after riding for the team as a stagiaire in late 2007 and winning a stage at the Circuit des Ardennes early in the season. In 2008 he won two stages of the Grand Prix du Portugal and a stage of the Tour de l'Avenir. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Taaramäe competed in the road race and the road time trial.

Taaramäe at the 2009 Tour de l'Ain

In 2009 he finished third at the Tour de Romandie and eighth at the Tour de Suisse. Taaramäe won both the Estonian National Road Race Championships and the Estonian National Time Trial Championships.[5] He also won the Tour de l'Ain after winning the last stage to Col du Grand Colombier.[6] In 2010 he finished seventh at the Paris-Nice and third at the Volta a Catalunya.

In 2011, Taaramäe finished 11th overall in the Tour de France. On Stage 14 of the Vuelta a España Taaramae and breakaway companion David de la Fuente were the last two riders of a 17-man breakaway, but with 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) to go de la Fuente dropped back to pace teammate Juan José Cobo up the climb allowing Taaramäe to solo to his first ever Grand Tour stage win. He ultimately withdrew from the race prior to its conclusion in Madrid.

Astana (2015)

In August 2014 Astana general manager Alexander Vinokourov announced that Taaramäe had signed a one-year contract with the team for the 2015 season.[7]

2015 began well for Taaramäe with the victory at the Vuelta a Murcia. Hopes were high with Grand Tours in mind, especially the Tour de France. At the race, Taaramäe was meant to help Vincenzo Nibali in the mountains. Unfortunately Taaramäe was forced to abandon the race during stage 11 due to illness. After the disappointing Tour, Taaramäe went on to win in style back-to-back in the Vuelta a Burgos and the Arctic Race of Norway in August.

Team Katusha (2016–17)

At the end of August 2015, Taaramäe signed an initial one-year deal with Team Katusha. He was named in the start list for the 2016 Giro d'Italia.[8] He won the 20th stage of the race, becoming the first Estonian to win a stage in the Giro.[9] After a short vacation at home in Estonia, Taaramäe went to win the overall at the Tour of Slovenia, together with a stage win on Stage 2.

Major results
2005
3rd Overall Course de la Paix Juniors
2006
1st Time trial, National Under-23 Road Championships
1st GP Ouest–France Espoirs
1st Stage 1 Kreiz Breizh Elites
2007
2nd Time trial, UEC European Under-23 Road Championships
2nd Time trial, National Road Championships
2nd Les Boucles du Sud-Ardèche
3rd Overall Kreiz Breizh Elites
3rd Paris–Troyes
5th Overall Circuit des Ardennes
1st Stage 4
5th Boucle de l'Artois
2008
1st Stage 6 (ITT) Tour de l'Avenir
3rd Overall Grand Prix du Portugal
1st Stages 2 & 3
8th Overall Circuit de la Sarthe
9th Tartu GP
2009
National Road Championships
1st Time trial
1st Road race
1st Overall Tour de l'Ain
1st Stage 5
1st Mountains classification Tour of the Basque Country
3rd Overall Tour de Romandie
8th Overall Tour de Suisse
2010
3rd Overall Volta a Catalunya
7th Overall Paris–Nice
9th Overall Route du Sud
9th Trofeo Inca
2011
1st Time trial, National Road Championships
1st Stage 14 Vuelta a España
3rd Overall Critérium International
1st Young rider classification
4th Overall Paris–Nice
1st Young rider classification
5th Tartu GP
8th Overall Volta ao Algarve
10th Overall Circuit Cycliste Sarthe
2012
National Road Championships
1st Time trial
3rd Road race
2nd Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
3rd Overall Étoile de Bessèges
6th Tallinn–Tartu GP
8th Overall Tour du Poitou-Charentes
2013
National Road Championships
1st Road race
2nd Time trial
3rd Cholet-Pays de Loire
2014
1st Tour du Doubs
2nd Overall Tour of Turkey
1st Stage 3
6th Overall Tour du Limousin
8th Overall Étoile de Bessèges
2015
1st Overall Vuelta a Burgos
1st Stage 2 (TTT)
1st Overall Arctic Race of Norway
1st Vuelta a Murcia
2nd Road race, National Road Championships
6th Overall Volta ao Algarve
2016
1st Overall Tour of Slovenia
1st Stage 2
1st Stage 20 Giro d'Italia
2017
3rd Road race, National Road Championships
9th Overall Tour of Guangxi
2018
2nd Coppa Ugo Agostoni
2nd Tour du Gévaudan Occitanie
3rd Overall Vuelta a Aragón
3rd Overall Tour de l'Ain
3rd Tour du Doubs
4th Famenne Ardenne Classic
2019
1st Time trial, National Road Championships
2nd Overall Tour du Rwanda
3rd Overall Tour de l'Ain
3rd Overall Vuelta a Aragón
3rd Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge
2020
1st Mountains classification Tour of Rwanda

Grand Tour general classification results timeline
Grand Tour 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Giro d'Italia — — — — — — — 29 — — —
Tour de France — DNF 11 36 102 88 DNF — — DNF 66
Vuelta a España 74 — DNF — — — — DNF 147 — —
Legend
— Did not compete
DNF Did not finish
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References
  1. "Rein Taaramäe profile". Archived from the original on 2013-12-27. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  2. "Two-year extension for Calmejane at Direct Energie". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2018. Confirmed signings from 2018 include Axel Journiaux (Neo-Pro), Simon Sellier (Neo-Pro), Rein Taaramäe (Katusha-Alpecin), Jérôme Cousin (Cofidis), and Damien Gaudin (l'Armée de Terre).
  3. "Direct Énergie". Directvelo (in French). Association Le Peloton. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  4. "Total Direct Énergie". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 12 January 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  5. Greg Johnson (28 July 2009). "Taaramae takes road title too". Cycling News. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  6. "Cofidis sweeps Horner aside". Cycling News. 12 August 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  7. "Taaramae signs one-year deal with Astana". cyclingnews.com. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  8. "99th Giro d'Italia Startlist". Pro Cycling Stats. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  9. "Sensational Nibali all but wins the Giro d'Italia as Taaramae takes stage 20". Eurosport. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
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