Neil Stephens OAM ASM (born 1 October 1963 in Canberra) is an Australian former road bicycle racer. He won the Australian national road race title in 1991 and 1994.[1] As of 2024 he is a sports director at Team Bahrain Victorious.[2]

Neil Stephens
Personal information
Full nameNeil Stephens
Born (1963-10-01) 1 October 1963 (age 61)
Canberra, Australia
Height1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight65 kg (143 lb; 10 st 3 lb)
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Professional teams
1985Peugeot–Michelin
1986Santini–Sierre
1987Ever Ready–Ammaco
1988Zero Boys
1989Caja Rural–Paternina
1990Artiach–Royal
1991Paternina sport
1992–1996ONCE
1997–1998Festina–Lotus
Managerial teams
2000–2001Linda McCartney Racing Team
2005–2006Liberty Seguros–Würth
2008–2010Caisse d'Epargne
2012–2018GreenEDGE
2019–2020UAE Team Emirates
2021–Team Bahrain Victorious

He is a Tour de France stage winner and is one of the relatively few riders to have completed the three Grand Tours (Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España) in a calendar year, as well as being the first Australian to complete the feat.[3] He was involved in the Festina doping scandal in 1998 Tour de France. He claimed that he took EPO but believed he was taking vitamin supplements intravenously.[4] In late 2007, Caisse d'Epargne announced that Neil Stephens would be the team's new sport director.[5]

Stephens was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 1996 Australia Day Honours for his service to cycling[6] and the Australian Sports Medal in September 2000 in recognition of his Tour de France stage win.[7]

Major results

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1986
1st and Fastest Time Alex Roberts "100" Mile one day Classic Mount Gambier South Australia
1st, Overall, Herald Sun Tour
1988
1st, Stage 10, Milk Race
1990
1st, Stage 13, Herald Sun Tour
1st, Stage 5, Volta a Portugal
1991
  National Road Race Championship
1st, GP Villafranca de Ordizia
1992
1st, Trofeo Calvià (Vuelta a Mallorca)
1993
1st, GP Villafranca de Ordizia
1st, Stage 3, Bicicleta Vasca
1994
1st, GP Villafranca de Ordizia
1995
  National Road Race Championship
1st, GP Villafranca de Ordizia
1st, Overall, Tasmania Summer Tour
1st, Prologue & Stage 3
1996
1st, Overall, Vuelta a Andalucía
1st, Stage 5, Tour of the Basque Country
1997
1st, Stage 17, Tour de France
1998
1st, Stages 3 & 5, Tasmania Summer Tour

References

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  1. ^ "Neil Stephens". Cycling Archives. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  2. ^ "Team". Bahrain Victorious. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Hansen to keep racing after completing all three Grand Tours this season".
  4. ^ 1998 Updates
  5. ^ Caisse d'Epargne signs Colombians, and Stephens
  6. ^ "Neil Anthony Stephens". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Neil Stephens". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
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