Mikel Landa

Mikel Landa Meana (born 13 December 1989) is a professional Spanish road cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam Bahrain–McLaren.[5][6] His career breakthrough came at the 2015 Giro d'Italia where he won two stages and finished third overall.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Landa and the second or maternal family name is Meana.
Mikel Landa
Landa at the 2017 Tour de France
Personal information
Full nameMikel Landa Meana
Born (1989-12-13) 13 December 1989
Murgia, Spain
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Weight60 kg (132 lb; 9 st 6 lb)[1]
Team information
Current teamBahrain–McLaren
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeClimber
Professional teams
2009–2010Orbea
2011–2013Euskaltel–Euskadi[2]
2014–2015Astana
2016–2017Team Sky
2018–2019Movistar Team[3]
2020–Bahrain–McLaren[4]
Major wins
Grand Tours
Giro d'Italia
Mountains classification (2017)
3 individual stages (2015, 2017)
Vuelta a España
1 individual stage (2015)

Stage races

Giro del Trentino (2016)
Vuelta a Burgos (2017)

Career

Early career

Landa was born in Murgia (Álava), in the Basque Country in northern Spain. Like many Basque cyclists he began his career at the Orbea development team, in 2009, before graduating to the Euskaltel–Euskadi professional team in 2011. After three years with the Euskaltel–Euskadi squad, Landa left the team at the end of the 2013 season – due to its disestablishment – to join Astana.[7] In 2018, as president of the Euskadi Cycling Foundation, a new UCI Continental squad Fundación Euskadi was established, with expectations of returning to the top races.[8]

Astana (2014–2015)

Landa won a stage of the 2014 Giro del Trentino before riding the Giro d'Italia as one of Fabio Aru's mountain domestiques. He helped Aru to finish third overall.

2015 season
Landa (left) with Fabio Aru and Steven Kruijswijk at the 2015 Giro d'Italia

In 2015, Landa attacked from a breakaway on the final climb of the day to win the fifth stage of his home race, the Tour of the Basque Country.[9] Landa rode the Giro d'Italia, again initially as a domestique for Aru. On Stage 8, the second mountain top finish of the race to Campitello Matese, Landa finished second after following an attack by Aru, and then unsuccessfully chasing after leader Beñat Intxausti (Movistar Team) in an attempt to win the stage. By doing so Landa rose to fifth place overall, 42 seconds down on leader Alberto Contador (Tinkoff–Saxo).[10] Landa rose to third overall on Stage 10, when Richie Porte (Team Sky) was given a time penalty for accepting a wheel change from Orica–GreenEDGE rider Simon Clarke.[11] On Stage 14, a 59.4-kilometre (36.9-mile) individual time trial, Landa was caught on the road by Contador, losing over three minutes to him, and dropped to seventh overall, 4 minutes 55 seconds back. However, the next day, Landa won the mountainous Stage 15 after attacking Contador on the final climb to Madonna di Campiglio, and proving stronger than Aru, who he finished six seconds ahead of.[12]

Stage 16 was the queen stage of the race with five Italian Alpine peaks, including the Tonale Pass, the Mortirolo Pass and a mountain finish to Aprica. On the first of two climbs to Aprica, Contador suffered a mechanical problem, after which Team Katusha and Astana immediately pressed on the pace at the front, sparking a bit of controversy over respect and fair play.[13] After a long chase Contador eventually caught up with Landa, Aru and Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL–Jumbo) on the Mortirolo after being 52 seconds down at the start of the climb. Contador then counter-attacked, with Landa proving stronger than Aru, who was unable to follow the move. Landa rode away on the final ascent to Aprica, winning his second stage in a row by 38 seconds over Kruijswijk and Contador. Aru finished 2 minutes and 51 seconds behind, and thus Landa moved ahead of his teammate to second overall.[14] However, on Stage 19 it was Aru who proved the stronger of the two, attacking on the final climb to Breuil-Cervinia and taking 1 minute and 18 seconds on Contador and Landa, who did not respond to his move. On Stage 20, the last mountain stage, Landa attacked on the Colle delle Finestre, taking the Cima Coppi for crossing the highest point of the race in the lead as he crossed the summit with Ilnur Zakarin (Team Katusha), a minute ahead of Aru and a minute and a half ahead of Contador. However, Landa waited for Aru on the descent, and the pair were unable to take sufficient time from Contador on the remainder of the stage, before Aru attacked on the final climb to Sestriere to win the stage. Although Contador lost two and a half minutes, he kept the maglia rosa with a lead of 2' 02" over Aru to win the Giro, with Landa finishing third overall 3 minutes 14 seconds back.[15]

Landa rode the Vuelta a España again in support of Aru, after Astana's other leader Vincenzo Nibali was disqualified on the second stage for holding onto a team car. Landa won the mountainous stage 11 from Andorra la Vella to Cortals d'Encamp from the breakaway, ignoring team orders to drop back and assist Aru.[16] However, Landa did work for Aru during the rest of the race as Aru traded the race lead with Tom Dumoulin (Team Giant–Alpecin), and played a key role in the decisive move on stage 20 when he and Aru dropped Dumoulin on the penultimate climb before being joined by teammates from the breakaway to ride away from Dumoulin, who lost over three minutes and thus the Vuelta to Aru.

Team Sky (2016–2017)

In September 2015 Landa confirmed that he would join Team Sky for the 2016 season.[17]

2016 season

After missing several early season races through illness, Landa made his first appearance for Team Sky at the Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali, finishing 11th overall.[18] Landa then rode his home race, the Tour of the Basque Country, where he won the second stage to take the race lead.[19] Landa led Team Sky at the Giro del Trentino in his last warm up race before the Giro d'Italia. He won Stage 2 to take the race lead, and successfully defended it on the following two stages despite attacks from Astana duo Tanel Kangert and Jakob Fuglsang to take overall victory by a single second over Kangert.[20] Landa abandoned the Giro d'Italia part-way through Stage 10 after being hampered by illness overnight and being diagnosed with viral gastroenteritis. This came just a day after he had impressed in the Stage 9 individual time trial, after which he was sitting in 8th place overall.[21] Landa was named in the start list for the Tour de France.[22] He helped Chris Froome win the race for a third time by acting as a mountain domestique.

2017 season
Landa at the 2017 Giro d'Italia

In January 2017 it was announced that Landa would share leadership with Geraint Thomas at the Giro d'Italia.[23] However, on stage 9, as the peloton approached the final climb of the day to Blockhaus, Wilco Kelderman of Team Sunweb collided with a police motorcycle which had been parked at the side of the road. This caused him to swerve to his right into the Sky riders, who were in a line in the peloton, and resulted in Landa and the majority of his team mates being brought down. Landa was able to remount and continue, but he finished the stage in 165th place, 26 minutes and 56 seconds down on the stage winner, Nairo Quintana. With his hopes of a high overall finish in the race over, Landa rode aggressively in several breakaways in the mountains. He finished third on Stage 14 and won his second Cima Coppi on Stage 16, beating Igor Antón (Team Dimension Data) to the summit of the Stelvio Pass.[24] Landa finished 2nd in the stage after just being outsprinted by Vincenzo Nibali at the finish line in Bormio. Landa also finished 2nd two days later in stage 18 behind Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing Team),[25] and he won stage 19 in the summit finish to Piancavallo.

Landa was named in the start list for the Tour de France, initially as a mountain domestique for Chris Froome. On Stage 12 which finished with a short steep climb to Peyragudes, Landa finished fourth, five seconds behind stage winner Romain Bardet whilst Froome came seventh, 22 seconds down on Bardet.[26] On Stage 13, Landa was part of a four man breakaway with Warren Barguil, Quintana and Alberto Contador. Barguil won the stage, with the quartet finishing 1:39 ahead of the other overall contenders.[27] On Stage 15, Froome suffered a broken spoke on the Peyra Taillade climb, but with some assistance from Landa and other teammates, he was able to chase back up to the group before the summit.[28][29] Landa ultimately placed fourth behind Froome, Rigoberto Urán and Bardet, finishing just 1 second behind Bardet in third.[30]

On 29 July, one week after the end of the Tour de France, Landa placed fifth in a five-rider group sprint in the Clásica de San Sebastián, which was won by teammate Michał Kwiatkowski.[31] The following week, Landa took overall victory at the Vuelta a Burgos, as well as winning two stages and the points and mountains classifications.

Movistar Team (2018–2019)
Landa at the 2018 Liège–Bastogne–Liège

On 15 August 2017, it was announced that Landa had signed with Movistar Team for a two-year contract, commencing in 2018.[3] Landa took his first victory of 2018 on Stage 4 of Tirreno–Adriatico, after attacking on the mountain top finish at Sarnano Sassotetto.[32]

Bahrain–McLaren

In August 2019, Landa confirmed that he had signed with the Bahrain–Merida team, later renamed as Bahrain–McLaren, for the 2020 season.[5]

Major results
2010
5th Overall Tour de l'Avenir
10th Overall Ronde de l'Isard
2011
Vuelta a Burgos
1st Mountains classification
1st Stage 5
2012
2nd GP Miguel Induráin
7th Overall Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid
7th Vuelta a La Rioja
2013
2nd Overall Vuelta a Asturias
1st Points classification
2nd Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid
6th Overall Vuelta a Burgos
6th Clásica de San Sebastián
2014
10th Overall Giro del Trentino
1st Stage 4
2015
Vuelta a España
1st Stage 11
Combativity award Stage 11
1st Stage 5 Tour of the Basque Country
1st Stage 2 (TTT) Vuelta a Burgos
2nd Overall Giro del Trentino
3rd Overall Giro d'Italia
1st Stages 15 & 16
1st Azzurri d'Italia classification
2016
1st Overall Giro del Trentino
1st Mountains classification
1st Stage 2
1st Stage 2 Tour of the Basque Country
2017
1st Overall Vuelta a Burgos
1st Points classification
1st Mountains classification
1st Stages 1 & 3
Giro d'Italia
1st Mountains classification
1st Stage 19
2nd Time trial, National Road Championships
4th Overall Tour de France
5th Overall Tour of the Alps
5th Clásica de San Sebastián
6th Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
2018
2nd Overall Tour of the Basque Country
6th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
1st Stage 4
6th Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
7th Overall Tour de France
Combativity award Stage 19
2019
4th Overall Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali
1st Stage 2
4th Overall Giro d'Italia
6th Overall Tour de France
Combativity award Stage 15
7th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
7th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
2020
2nd Overall Vuelta a Burgos
1st Points classification
3rd Overall Vuelta a Andalucía

General classification results timeline
Grand Tour general classification results
Grand Tour 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Giro d'Italia — — 34 3 DNF 17 — 4
Tour de France — — — — 35 4 7 6
Vuelta a España 69 39 28 25 — — — —
Major stage race general classification results
Stage race 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Paris–Nice Has not contested during his career
Tirreno–Adriatico 80 — — — — 31 6 —
Volta a Catalunya — 33 36 47 — DNF — —
Tour of the Basque Country — DNF 14 22 12 — 2 7
Tour de Romandie 35 78 — — — — — —
Critérium du Dauphiné 83 — — — 12 — — —
Tour de Suisse — — — — — — 16 —
Legend
— Did not compete
DNF Did not finish
IP In Progress

References
  1. "Mikel Landa". Movistar Team. Movistar Team. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  2. "Basque Country's Euskaltel present UCI World Tour team". EITB. EiTB Group. 23 October 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2013. The Basque backbone remains with Samuel Sanchez, Igor Anton, Ion Izagirre, Mikel Landa, Gorka Izagirre, Pello Bilbao, Mikel Astarloza and Mikel Nieve.
  3. "Mikel Landa to leave Team Sky and join Nairo Quintana at Movistar in 2018". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  4. "Movistar Team launches 2019 season with highest hopes". Telefónica. Telefónica, S.A. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  5. "Mikel Landa signs for Bahrain Merida". Cycling News. Future plc. 5 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  6. "Mikel Landa to join BAHRAIN MERIDA Pro Cycling Team". Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team. Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team. 5 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  7. Corsi, Luca (10 August 2013). "Mikel Landa, al Astana" [Mikel Landa, to Astana]. El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). Grupo Vocento. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  8. Belbin, Giles (October 2018). "Jersey Tales No6: Euskaltel-Euskadi. With rider development as its core purpose, the Basque outfit built a cult following during its time in the pro ranks". Cyclist: The thrill of the Ride.079: 35–36.
  9. Daniel Benson (10 April 2015). "País Vasco: Landa wins penultimate stage". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  10. "Giro d'Italia: Intxausti wins stage 8 summit finish at Campitello Matese". cyclingnews.com. Archived from the original on 2014-12-29.
  11. "Giro d'Italia: Richie Porte docked two minutes". cyclingnews.com.
  12. Stephen Puddicombe (24 May 2015). "Astana unable to break Contador as Mikel Landa wins Giro d'Italia stage 15". Cycling Weekly. IPC Media Sports & Leisure network. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  13. "Tinkov: I don't think Astana and Katusha showed any class". cyclingnews.com.
  14. Richard Windsor (26 May 2015). "Mikel Landa takes second stage victory on gruelling day at Giro d'Italia". Cycling Weekly. IPC Media Sports & Leisure network. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  15. "Giro d'Italia stage 20: Aru wins in Sestriere". cyclingnews.com.
  16. Fotheringham, Alasdair (3 September 2015). "Vuelta a Espana: 'I needed a win so I took my day,' says Mikel Landa". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  17. Clarke, Stuart (16 September 2015). "Mikel Landa confirms he will ride for Team Sky in 2016". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  18. "Landa puts doubts to bed after finally starting his season – Cyclingnews.com".
  19. "Mikel Landa climbs into overall lead in Tour of the Basque Country – Cycling Weekly". 5 April 2016.
  20. "Giro del Trentino 2016: Stage 4 Results – Cyclingnews.com".
  21. "Landa abandons Giro d'Italia – Cyclingnews.com".
  22. "2016 > 103rd Tour de France > Startlist". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  23. "Thomas and Landa to have joint leadership of Team Sky at Giro d'Italia - Cyclingnews.com".
  24. "Giro d'Italia: Landa goes close after conquering the Stelvio – Cyclingnews.com".
  25. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-14. Retrieved 2015-10-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  26. Ryan, Barry (13 July 2017). "Tour de France: Bardet wins stage 12 as Froome loses yellow to Aru". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  27. Wynn, Nigel (14 July 2017). "Fabio Aru fends off Chris Froome's attacks to retain Tour de France lead as Warren Barguil wins stage". Cycling Weekly. Time Inc. UK. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  28. Wynn, Nigel (16 July 2017). "Chris Froome's Tour de France lead put under serious pressure as Mollema wins chaotic stage". Cycling Weekly. Time Inc. UK. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  29. Fotheringham, William (16 July 2017). "Tour de France: Chris Froome gives 'maximum' after broken spoke". theguardian.com. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  30. "Tour de France: Froome seals overall in time trial, Uran tops Bardet". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 22 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  31. Windsor, Richard (29 July 2017). "Michal Kwiatkowski wins Clásica San Sebastián 2017". Cycling Weekly. Time Inc. UK. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  32. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/landa-benefits-from-movistar-marginal-gain-to-win-at-tirreno-adriatico/
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