Óscar Freire

Óscar Freire is a Spanish former road cyclist who won the World Championship road race three times and Milan-San Remo three times, becoming one of the sport's most successful sprint-classics specialists.

Óscar Freire Gómez was born on February 15, 1976, in Torrelavega, Spain. He overcame a childhood bout of tuberculosis that nearly cost him a leg, and turned professional in 1997, producing one of the greatest surprises in the sport's history two years later when he won the 1999 World Championship road race in Verona as a virtual unknown. Despite his small stature for a sprinter, Freire built one of the most successful classics careers of his generation, winning a second World title in 2001 and a third in 2004, matching the record held by Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbergen, and Eddy Merckx for the most World Championship road race victories. He proved himself a specialist at cycling's most prestigious one-day races, winning Milan-San Remo a remarkable three times (2004, 2007, 2010), as well as Gent-Wevelgem, Paris-Tours, and the Hamburg Cyclassic. Freire's grand tour record was more limited by his inability to climb at the highest level, but he still won four stages and the points classification (green jersey) at the 2008 Tour de France, becoming the first Spaniard ever to do so, and added seven stage wins at the Vuelta a España. He raced for Rabobank for most of his career before finishing with Katusha, retiring at the end of the 2012 season with a palmares built on tactical intelligence and a devastating finishing kick.

Compact, tactically astute sprinter and classics specialist with an explosive finishing kick

One of the most successful sprint-classics riders in cycling history, equalling the all-time record for World Championship road race victories

• 3x World Road Race Champion (1999, 2001, 2004)
• 3x Milan-San Remo winner (2004, 2007, 2010)
• First Spaniard to win Tour de France green jersey (2008)
• Gent-Wevelgem and Paris-Tours winner