Walter Bénéteau
 Walter Bénéteau in 2006 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 July 1972[1] Les Essarts, Vendée, France[2] |
| Died | 10 December 2022 (aged 50)[3] Bali, Indonesia |
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2] |
| Weight | 67 kg (148 lb)[2] |
| Team information | |
| Current team | [4] |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Sprinter |
| Amateur team | |
| 1991–1999 | Vendée U |
| Professional teams | |
| 1995 | Castorama (stagiaire) |
| 2000–2006 | Bonjour |
Walter Bénéteau (28 July 1972 – 10 December 2022)[5] was a French professional cyclist.[4] He raced in every Tour de France from 2000 until 2006.[6][7]
Career
Stage 1 of the 2006 Tour de France started with a seven-man break-away with Bénéteau being the last man caught with 7km to go after spending 177km out in front.[8] During Stage 6 Bénéteau was hit in the face by Spaniard David de la Fuente causing his glasses and helmet to go flying.[9] Then in Stage 9 Bénéteau was part of an initial 3-man break-away, caught with only 10km to the finish line.[10] During this stage he won all three intermediate sprint points, moving him to 23rd in the Points classification.[11] Bénéteau's final Grand Tour was the 2006 Vuelta a España; he finished first in the main peloton bunch sprint in stage 11, 15 minutes down on winner Egoi Martínez.[12][13] He finished 83rd overall in his final Grand Tour.[14][15] Bénéteau announced he would retire after his contract ended with Bouygues Télécom.[16][17]
Death
Bénéteau died on 10 December 2022 in a hotel room in Bali, Indonesia. The circumstances of his death have not yet been released by local authorities.[18][5]
Major results
Sources:[2]
- 1996
- 3rd Tro-Bro Léon
- 1997
- 1st Tour du Finistère
- 1999
- 7th Tour du Doubs
- 2000
- 1st Châteauroux Classic
- 1st Boucles de l'Aulne
- 3rd GP Ouest-France
- 3rd Trophée des Grimpeurs
- 10th Tour de Berne
- 2001
- 2nd Road race, National Road Championships
- 2002
- 2nd Tour de Vendée
- 2nd Tro-Bro Léon
- 8th Trophée des Grimpeurs
- 2003
- 1st Boucles de l'Aulne
- 3rd La Poly Normande
- 8th Overall Tour du Limousin
- 8th Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise
- 8th Grand Prix de Wallonie
- 9th Tour de Vendée
- 2004
- 9th Road race, National Road Championships
- 2005
- 3rd Bordeaux-Caudéran
- 2006
- 2nd Boucles de l'Aulne
- 4th Trophée des Grimpeurs
Grand Tour general classification results timeline
Sources:[7]
| Grand Tour | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Giro d'Italia
|
— | — | — | — | — | 105 | — |
 Tour de France
|
71 | 42 | 117 | 59 | 102 | 68 | 109 |
 Vuelta a España
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | 83 |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|
References
- ^ "Walter Beneteau - Player Profile - Cycling". Eurosport. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Walter Bénéteau". www.procyclingstats.com. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ Les Herbiers. Walter Bénéteau, un cycliste au grand cœur s'en est allé (in French)
- ^ a b "Walter BENETEAU". UCI. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ a b "L'ancien coureur professionnel Walter Beneteau est mort". 11 December 2022.
- ^ "L'Ancien coureur professionnel Walter Bénéteau est mort".
- ^ a b "Grand tour starts Walter Bénéteau". www.procyclingstats.com. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "Stage 1 wrap-up". cyclingnews.com. 3 July 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "Fisticuffs over mountain points?". cyclingnews.com. 7 July 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "Tour de France 2006: Stage 9 Results". cyclingnews.com. 20 July 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "Tour de France 2006 Stage 9 results". www.procyclingstats.com. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "Vuelta a España 2006 Stage 11 results". www.procyclingstats.com. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "61st Vuelta a España 2006: Stage 11 Results". cyclingnews.com. 6 September 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "61st Vuelta a España 2006: Stage 21 Results". cyclingnews.com. 17 September 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "Vuelta a España 2006 Stage 21 results". www.procyclingstats.com. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ Prell, Monika (8 January 2007). "Bénéteau ends career". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "Saturday's EuroFile: Bénéteau calls it quits; Dessel, Gerrans for Tour Down Under". VeloNews.com. 30 November 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ Les Herbiers. Walter Bénéteau, un cycliste au grand cœur s'en est allé (in French)
External links
- Walter Bénéteau at UCI
- Walter Bénéteau at Cycling Archives (archived)
- Walter Bénéteau at ProCyclingStats
- Walter Bénéteau at Cycling Quotient
