Éric Caritoux
Riding for SKIL Team, managed by Jean de Gribaldy, 1984.
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Éric Caritoux |
| Born |
August 16, 1960 Carpentras, France |
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) |
| Weight | 65 kg (143 lb; 10.2 st) |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 1983 | SEM-France Loire-Reydel |
| 1984 | Skil-Reydel-SEM-Mavic |
| 1985 | Skil-SEM-Kas-Miko |
| 1986–1987 | Fagor |
| 1988 | Kas-Canal |
| 1989–1991 | RMO-Libéria-Mavic |
| 1992 | RMO-Gitane-Mavic |
| 1993 | Chazal |
| 1994 | Chazal-MBK-Konig |
| Major wins | |
| 1984 Vuelta a España | |
Éric Caritoux (born August 16, 1960 in Carpentras, Vaucluse) is a French former professional road racing cyclist who raced between 1983 and 1994. He had 22 victories in his career, the highlights of which were winning the Vuelta a España in 1984 and taking the French road race championships in 1988 and 1989. He rode the Tour de France on 11 occasions, his best finish being 12th in 1989.
Caritoux was born in Carpentras in Provence at the foot of Mont Ventoux. He first started cycle racing as a junior with the local club in Carpentras, he developed into a strong climber riding in the hilly Vaucluse region and often using Mont Ventoux in his training rides. As an amateur Caritoux won the 1982 edition of the Tour du Vaucluse Open beating future Tour de France winner Laurent Fignon into second place, he clinched that victory by winning the 15 kilometre mountain time trial up Mont Ventoux between Bédoin and Chalet Reynard. That win persuaded Jean de Gribaldy manager of the Sem-France Loire professional squad to sign Caritoux for the 1983 season.
The 1983 SEM team had Sean Kelly as team leader and Caritoux soon fitted into the role of Kelly's main helper in stage races. In 1984, Skil became main team sponsors (making the Skil-Sem team) and Éric showed that he had potential to be more than just Kelly's helper in the mountains, he started the season by taking the Tour du Haut Var, a tough hilly one day race in the south of France and then won the Orange to Mont Ventoux stage of Paris–Nice. He was then given a short break in early April by his manager as the team concentrated on the spring classics for Sean Kelly, races which did not suit Caritoux.
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