Tom Steels

Tom Steels (born 2 September 1971) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, specialising in sprint finishes and one-day races. He was one of the top sprinters in the peloton.

Tom Steels
Personal information
Full nameTom Steels
NicknameTom Bidon
Born (1971-09-02) 2 September 1971
Sint-Gillis-Waas, Belgium
Height1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in)
Weight73 kg (161 lb; 11 st 7 lb)
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider (retired)
Professional teams
1994–1995Vlaanderen 2002
1996–2002Mapei
2003–2004Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
2005–2007Davitamon-Lotto
2008Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner
Major wins
Tour de France, 9 stages
Belgian National Road Race Champion (1997, 1998, 2002, 2004)
Gent–Wevelgem (1996, 1999)
Omloop Het Volk (1996)

Steels competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, in the Men's 1000 metres Time Trial, finishing 19th.[1]

Steels began his professional cycling career in 1994 with the Vlaanderen 2002 team, winning eight times in his first two seasons. His breakthrough was after he signed with Mapei in 1996. That year he won Omloop Het Volk, and Gent–Wevelgem. In 1997, he rode in his first Tour de France, and looked capable of a stage win after coming second on Stage 2.[2] However, during the sprint for the finish for the sixth stage he found himself blocked and boxed in by other sprinters and in frustration threw his water bottle at another rider, an offence for which he was disqualified from that year's Tour.[3] As a result, he earned the nickname "Tom Bidon".[4]

His best season was 1998 when he won the national championship for the second time and returned to the Tour de France to win four stages. The point jersey would also have been his, as the people in front of him all admitted to doping. He was also national champion in 2002 and 2004 and won five more stages in the Tour. 2006 was his first year as a professional that he failed to win a race.

Steels retired from racing at the end of the 2008 season, during which he raced for Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner.[5][6] In October 2010 it was announced that he would work as a coach for Quick Step, a Protour team, during 2011.[7]

He is the uncle of fellow racing cyclist Stijn Steels[8] and of experimental keyboard player Mathijs Steels.[9]

Major results
1994
1995
  • 1 mei Prijs Hoboken
  • Stage West Virginia Mountain Classic
  • GP Rik Van Steenbergen
  • Dwars door ’t Pajottenland
  • Stage Ronde van Nederland
  • Grote Sluitingsprijs Putte-Kapellen
1996
1997
1998
1999
  • 3 Stages, Tour de France
  • Gent–Wevelgem
  • 2 Stages, Ruta del Sol
  • Stage, Paris–Nice
  • Stage, Driedaagse van de Panne
2000
  • 2 Stages, Tour de France
  • Stage, Tour de la Mediterrannée
  • Stage, Paris - Nice
  • Stage, Driedaagse van De Panne
  • 2 Stages, Tour de Wallonie
2001
2002
2003
2004
  •  Belgium national road championship
  • Stage, Étoile de Bessèges
  • Stage, Tour de Luxembourg
  • 2 Stages, Tour de l'Autriche
  • Dernycriterium St Niklaas
2005
  • 2 Stages, Étoile de Bessèges
  • Stage, Volta ao Algarve
  • Stage, Driedaagse van De Panne-Koksijde
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References
  1. "Tom Steels Biography and Olympic Results". Sports-reference.com. 2 September 1971. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  2. "Tour de France, July 5-25 1997". Autobus.cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  3. "Tour de France 1997". Autobus.cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  4. Birnie, Lionel (2 July 2010). "Tom Steels on Mark Cavendish: 'He's the man to beat'". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  5. Bjorn Haake. "Tom Steels Will Call It Quits Next Year". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  6. "Tom Steels | Riders". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  7. Barry Ryan. "Steels To Join Quick Step As Trainer". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  8. Haake, Bjorn (2 February 2015). "Steels with home advantage on Gent track". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  9. Boel, Jonas (21 November 2017). "Steels with his keyboard". focus.knack.be. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
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