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Patxi Vila

Patxi Vila
Patxi Vila Euskal.jpg
Personal information
Full name Francisco Javier Vila Errandonea
Nickname Patxi
Born (1975-10-11) 11 October 1975 (age 41)
Hondarribia, Spain
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 67 kg (148 lb)
Team information
Current team Tinkoff
Discipline Road
Role Directeur sportif
Amateur team(s)
1999–2000 Caja Rural
Professional team(s)
2001–2002 iBanesto.com
2003–2008 Lampre
2011 De Rosa–Ceramica Flaminia
2012 Utensilnord–Named
Managerial team(s)
2015– Tinkoff–Saxo
Major wins
Paris–Nice – 1 stage (2006)

Francisco Javier "Patxi" Vila Errandonea (born 11 October 1975 in Hondarribia, Basque Country) is a Spanish Basque former professional road bicycle racer who rides for the UCI Professional Continental team Szuper Beton. He was formerly with UCI ProTeam Lampre, before being banned for 18 months after testing positive for the use of testosterone.

Vila's most notable victory came in stage 3 of the 2006 Paris–Nice where he snatched onto the wheel of Floyd Landis as he escaped on the Col de Croix de Chaubouret. The duo amassed a lead of over a minute on their nearest contenders and Vila swept past Landis to take the stage. This performance catapulted him to second overall on the general classification, 9 seconds behind Floyd Landis. He finished the race in Nice still 9 seconds behind winner Floyd Landis and 56 seconds ahead of Antonio Colom.

He finished the 2006 UCI ProTour in 38th place with 69 points, the third highest ranked Lampre-Fondital rider behind Alessandro Ballan and Damiano Cunego.

After retiring from competition Vila worked for Specialized Bicycle Components as a performance specialist before joining Tinkoff–Saxo in 2015 as a directeur sportif.


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