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Fabio Aru is an Italian bicycle racer born on July 3, 1990 in Sardinia.
After allowing you to know all about Team Qhubeka Assos, it's time to look in more detail at its main riders. So, on this occasion, we offer a focus on Italian climber Fabio Aru.
Who is Fabio Aru?
Fabio Aru is considered a climber: his favorite field is therefore the mountains.
Where some riders learned to pedal before they could walk, Fabio Aru didn't start road cycling until he was 18. And it was only after he turned 15 that he decided to try cycling through mountain biking and cyclo-cross, disciplines in which he competed for the first time in the junior category.
Between 2009 and 2012, he raced as an amateur in the under 23 category, where he quickly won some races such as the Tour of Valle d'Aosta or Toscana-Terre de Cyclisme, which led him to be contacted by several professional teams, including Astana, which races in the World Tour.
His professional career
In 2012, he therefore made the choice to join the Astana team. For his first professional race, the Tour of Colorado, he finished second in a stage, confirming his full potential.
In 2013, for his first participation in the Giro d'Italia, he wore the white jersey of best young rider for 4 days before losing it, sick for several days. During the 20th stage, he allowed Vincenzo Nibali to go on to win his first Giro d'Italia.
In 2014, while he was supposed to be a luxury teammate for Michele Scarponi, he found himself propelled to team leader after his teammate lost any chance of overall victory on the first mountain stage. Despite the pressure on his shoulders, he will go on to conquer his first stage and first podium at the Giro d'Italia.
A few weeks later, he is announced leader at the Tour of Spain during which he will win two stages before finishing fifth overall, confirming all the hopes placed in him by his team and the journalists.
2015 was the year of confirmation for Fabio Aru, who, after winning two stages, finishing second overall and winning the best young rider's white jersey at the Giro d'Italia, also won his first grand tour at the Vuelta Espana.
The following year, 2016, he tackled the Tour de France for the first time, where he finished 13th overall after being sick during the final week of the race. With only a stage win in the Critérium du Dauphiné and a sixth-place finish in the Olympic road race, it was a lackluster season for Fabio Aru.
In 2017, he had to give up taking part in the Giro following a crash three weeks before the start. He then focused on the Tour de France, of which he will start with the jersey of Champion of Italy on the road, a title won a few days earlier. In this 100th edition of the Tour de France, he managed to win a stage at the Planche des Belles Filles and wear the yellow jersey for two days but, weakened by bronchitis, he would eventually finish fifth overall before having to settle for thirteenth in the Vuelta.
In 2018, he left Astana for the Team UAE Emirates. Announced as the worthy successor of Vincenzo Nibali in Italian cycling, he has been chaining counter-performances since that season due in particular to physical problems.
In 2020, he will reach the top of the podium
In 2020, he nevertheless managed to achieve a few top 10 finishes in races such as the Mont-Ventoux Dénivelé Challenges and the Tour de l'Ain, suggesting a return to form. He was named teammate for Tadej Pogacar in the Tour de France but had to drop out during the ninth stage, in great difficulty.
During the winter of 2020/2021, he placed tenth in the Italian Cyclo-cross Championship for his return to the discipline.
At the end of his contract with his team, and after two years void of results, he signed with the South African team Qhubeka Assos in 2021 in the hope of relaunching himself and returning to his best level that had allowed him to win his best races.
His professional road racing record
Italian road champion in 2017
Tour de France:
- 1 stage win in 2017
- Best overall finish: 5th in 2017
Tour of Italy:
- 3 stage wins (1 in 2014, 2 in 2015);
- Winner of the Best Young rider classification in 2014;
- Best overall ranking: 2nd in 2015.
Tour of Spain:
- 2 stage wins in 2014;
- Overall winner in 2015;
Main stage races:
- Critérium du Dauphiné: 1 stage win (2016).
Now you know everything you need to know about Fabio Aru. How about doing the same with Giacomo Nizzolo, Sergio Henao, Domenico Pozzovivo, Simon Clarke or Victor Campenaerts?
