Karsten Kroon (born 29 January 1976) is a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer who most recently rode for , a UCI ProTeam. He retired at the end of the 2014 season.
Career Born in Dalen, Kroon showed his talent as an amateur by winning the professional Ronde van Drenthe in 1996. He joined the youth squad in 1997 and won a number of amateur races in two years. In 1999, he moved to the senior squad. His few wins included stage 8, on Bastille Day, of the 2002 Tour de France. Kroon and his teammate, Erik Dekker, finished in a seven-man group, and Kroon won a stage in his first Tour de France with the help of the more experienced Dekker.Kroon takes stage victory, BBC Sport, 14 July 2002 Kroon led the mountains classification in each of the three Grand Tours, though his lead did not last to the end.
On 10 August 2005 he said that, until 2007, he was to ride for Saxo Bank. He wanted more freedom. "I've never said that I want to be leader," he told Cyclingnews.com, "I only want to get chances".Kroon to CSC, CyclingNews.com, 10 August 2005 In March and April 2006, he was joint team captain in ProTour races. He finished in the top ten of Tirreno–Adriatico and the Tour of Flanders. He helped Fränk Schleck win the Amstel Gold Race by disrupting the chase when Schleck attacked; Kroon finished fourth.Mixed fortunes for Kroon and Boogerd, Pro Cycling, 17 April 2006 Kroon finally finished on the podium, in La Flèche Wallonne, third in front of Schleck. He also came second in the 2009 Amstel Gold Race, just behind Serguei Ivanov.
In 2010, Kroon joined , but returned to for the 2012 season.
Doping On 24 April 2018, it was reported that Kroon had confessed to doping for "a short period during my career". He added: "I was a professional cyclist in a very difficult time and I have a lot of respect for my colleagues who resisted the temptation to use doping."
Major results
1996 1st Ronde van Drenthe 1997 1st Vlaamse Pijl 1st Stage 2 Circuit Franco-Belge 1998 1st Overall Ster der Beloften 1st Stage 2 Vuelta a Navarra 1st Stages 2 & 3 1st Stage 6 Circuit des Mines 1st Stage 2 Vuelta a León 1999 10th Clásica de Almería 2000 4th DAB Classic 7th Dwars door Gendringen Held Mountain jersey for 13 days Giro d'Italia 2001 1st Grand Prix of Aargau Canton 3rd Sparkassen Giro Bochum 9th Brabantse Pijl Held King of the Mountains jersey, Vuelta a España 2002 1st Stage 8 Tour de France 2003 1st Stage 5 Tour du Poitou-Charentes 2004 1st Rund um den Henninger Turm 2005 5th Brabantse Pijl 9th Omloop Het Volk Held King of the Mountains Jersey for Stage 6, Tour de France 2006 3-Länder-Tour 1st Stages 2 & 5 3rd La Flèche Wallonne 4th Amstel Gold Race 8th Tour of Flanders 2007 4th Tour of Flanders 2008 1st Stage 2 Vuelta a Castilla y León 1st Stage 5 Sachsen-Tour 1st Rund um den Henninger Turm 5th Giro di Lombardia 9th Amstel Gold Race 2009 2nd Amstel Gold Race 2nd Rund um den Henninger Turm 4th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne 5th Brabantse Pijl 2010 1st RaboRonde Heerlen 9th Amstel Gold Race 2012 5th Overall Tour de l'Eurometropole
Grand Tour general classification results timeline Grand Tour 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Giro d'Italia103————————————DNF Tour de France——146—115135————138—143— Vuelta a España—107—100———527276—DNF——
+ Legend — Did not compete DNF Did not finish
See also List of Dutch Olympic cyclists
References
External links
KarstenKroon.com (fansite) Team CSC profile