Raimondas Rumšas
Raimondas Rumšas (born 14 January 1972) is a Lithuanian former professional road bicycle racer. He came third in the 2002 Tour de France but was implicated in a doping scandal.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Raimondas Rumšas |
| Born | January 14, 1972 Šilutė, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) |
| Weight | 140 lb (64 kg) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Professional teams | |
| 1996–1999 | Mróz |
| 2000–2001 | Fassa Bortolo |
| 2002–2003 | Lampre-Farnese Vini |
| 2004 | Acqua & Sapone |
| Major wins | |
| One-day races and Classics | |
Doping
On the day of Rumšas' third-place finish in the 2002 Tour de France, police discovered corticoids, erythropoietin, testosterone, growth hormones and anabolic steroids in the car of his wife, Edita Rumšienė.[1] She was jailed for several months before being released, despite her claim that the drugs were for her mother-in-law.
In May 2003 Rumšas tested positive for the banned endurance enhancer erythropoietin (EPO).[2] He had just finished the 2003 Giro d'Italia, where he ranked sixth. Rumšas received a one-year ban. He briefly returned to cycling in 2004 with Acqua & Sapone team for the Gran Premio Città di Camaiore.[3]
In June 2005, Rumšas was arrested before his trial by the Bonneville court.[4] In January 2006, he and his wife received four-month suspended prison sentences for the import of prohibited doping substances. Polish doctor Krzysztof Ficek was handed a 12-month suspended sentence for prescribing the drugs.[4]
Career achievements
Major results
- 1999 Mróz
- 1st Semana Lombarda + stage win
- 1st Karkonoze Tour + stage win
- 2nd The Peace Race + stage win
- Stage 4 - PruTour
- 2000 Fassa Bortolo
- 1st Overall Giro di Lombardia
- 9th Overall Tour de Romandie
- 5th Overall Vuelta a España
- 2001 Fassa Bortolo
- 2nd Overall, Paris–Nice
- 7th Overall, Settimana Ciclistica Internazionale Coppi-Bartali
- 3rd Overall, Giro del Trentino
- 1st Overall Tour of the Basque Country
- 1st, Stage 5b
- 6th Overall, Liège–Bastogne–Liège
- 2nd Overall, Giro dell'Appennino
- 1st Lithuanian Championship
- 1st Baltic Championship
- 2002 Lampre-Farnese Vini
- 2nd Overall Bicicleta Vasca
- 3rd Overall Tour de France
- 2003 Lampre-Farnese Vini
6th Overall Giro d'Italia
- 2005
- 1st Lithuanian Time Trial Championship
- 2nd Lithuanian Championship
Grand Tour General classification results timeline
| Grand Tour | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Giro d'Italia |
— | — | — | 6 |
 Tour de France |
— | — | 3 | — |
 Vuelta a España |
5 | — | — | — |
Personal life
- Raimondas Rumsas Jr. (born 1994): 6ft4in tall and 215lbs
- Linas Rumsas (born 1995, died May 2, 2017[5]): 5ft11in tall and 165lbs
References
- Daley, Kieran (2002-07-31). "Cycling: Rumsas' wife charged over drugs haul". The Independent.
- "Cycling's rocky road". BBC. 2004-02-15.
- Fabio (2004-08-04). "55th GP Cittá di Camaiore (1.2): Updated". Daily Peloton.
- "Rumsas receives suspended sentence". CNN.com. 2006-01-26.
- Archives, Cycling. "Linas Rumsas". www.cyclingarchives.com.
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
Preceded by Rasa Polikevičiūtė |
Best Lithuanian sportsman of the Year 2002 |
Succeeded by Šarūnas Jasikevičius |