- Place: Holmfirth, West Yorkshire
- Birth: 08/04/1996
- Country: GBR
- Height: 179 Cm
- Weight: 78 Kg
- Pro debut: 2017
- Career path:
2018-2019: Team Wiggins
2017: SEG Racing
Gabriel Cullaigh
TOP SPEED FOR THE BLUES. A part of the necessary, profound transformation of the Movistar Team’s roster in 2020, Briton Gabriel Cullaigh will cover a fundamental role: adding his potential for sprint finishes to the young Telefónica-backed squad’s project, especially those at the end of demanding races. Despite his impressive physical constitution, which could well be understood as a difficulty when tackling tougher mountains, ‘Gabz’ tends to do well at difficult finishes, with some hills before the end, bad weather or uphill terrain before the line. Those have been the conditions for some of his best results before stepping onto the WorldTour.
STEP BY STEP. Raised in the successful Olympic and development programs of British Cycling, Cullaigh has been taking part in professional events since 2015, getting used to the pace of top-tier racing and achieving some good results before joining the Movistar Team. His palmarès includes three stages of the Volta ao Alentejo (2018, 2019), the demanding Rutland – Melton Classic (2018), with its unpaved roads, as well as appearances in the U23 Worlds and elite European Championships / Games with the British national team.
ON THE LAPS OF ‘WIGGO’. His move towards the WorldTour comes right at the end of existence of the five-year Team Wiggins project, another great development squad in Britain supported by the 2012 Tour de France winner, which also featured the likes of Tom Pidcock, James Knox or Owain Doull. A team always focused on nurturing young talent, which now has half a dozen riders in the top category of racing, some of them with brilliant results.
As many other British riders, Gabriel was supported in his pro debut by the Dave Rayner Fund, a program founded by the name of the late pro cyclist from the ’90, devoted to helping British talents make a name for themselves in continental Europe. Dan Martin, Tao Geoghegan Hart or Hannah Barnes are the most illustrious active cyclists formerly helped out by the fund, other than former pros David Millar and Charly Wegelius.
As well as cycling, Cullaigh also did well at cricket as a young man, combining both sports until his junior stage, when he decided to focus on bike racing.
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- Winning the 2018 Rutland-Melton Classic.
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- Conquering a stage in Alentejo.
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- With the yellow jersey of the Portuguese race.
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- Stage winner in the 2015 Course de la Paix U23.
Palmares
5 Victories as professional
1st (3rd stage) Volta ao Alentejo 2019
1st Rutland - Melton Classic 2018
1st (6th stage) Volta ao Alentejo 2018
1st (1st stage) Volta ao Alentejo 2018
1st (1st stage) Course de la Paix U23 2015
Results
2020
17 Days of Racing
2032.6 Km covered
11th (1st stage) Tour Down Under
15th (1st stage) Tour de la Provence
46th (2nd stage) Tour Down Under
61th (4th stage) Tour Down Under
66th Down Under Classic
70th Milano-Torino
71th Tour Down Under
76th (6th stage) Tour Down Under
87th (3rd stage) Tour Down Under
100th Bretagne Classic - Plouay
103th (3rd stage) Tour de la Provence
107th (5th stage) Tour Down Under
109th Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne
126th (2nd stage) Tour de la Provence