Peter Delgado

Pedro Delgado Robledo (Segovia, April 15, 1960), also known as Perico Delgado, is a Spanish former cyclist who was a professional between 1982 and 1994. during which he achieved a total of 49 victories, among which stood out a victory in the general final of the Tour and two in the Vuelta. In these two major rounds he also obtained a total of nine stage victories, five in the Vuelta and four in the Tour. After his retirement, he began to commentate on the great cycling tours in stages on radio and television. He is currently a commentator –together with Carlos de Andrés– on cycling on RTVE.

In 2002 he received the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sports Merit.

Beginnings

From a young age, he included cycling in his daily life. He began to participate in various competitions at the age of fifteen and moved to the youth category in 1976. In 1978, after nearly thirty victories, he moved to the amateur category. Since his beginnings in the competition, he has shown himself to be a great climber.

At the age of 19, she received several offers to make the leap into the professional field, but her nursing studies and completion of mandatory military service made her delay the decision. Despite the fact that he was attracted to running with professionals, neither Delgado nor his family considered cycling as a way of life, only as a hobby.

Professional career

In 1982, he became a professional cyclist, remaining in the ranks of the Reynolds team, to which he already belonged in the amateur category. During his first season, Delgado achieved some minor victories and was 3rd in the Clásica de San Sebastián. He made his debut in the Vuelta a España as a domestique for Ávila's Ángel Arroyo. He definitively abandoned his studies due to the impossibility of combining them with training.

In 1983, he achieved victories in short stage races, such as the Vuelta a los Valles Mineros or the Vuelta a Aragón. He finished 2nd in the Subida al Naranco and 4th in the Clásica de San Sebastián. Also that year he made his debut in the Tour de France, coming to march 2nd in the general classification, although he finally finished 15th. His good performance in the French round began to make him known in the international peloton.

In 1984, he enjoyed his early days dressed in yellow in the Vuelta a España. A fall in the last time trial would deprive him of fighting for the podium. He would also suffer a fall in the Tour de France, this time having to abandon the race.

In 1985, Delgado left the Reynolds team before the large number of leaders in the team, and ended up in a neo-professional team, Seat-Orbea. He achieved the first great triumph of his sports career, by winning the Tour of Spain. In the Tour, he achieved his first stage win and finished 6th.

In 1986, he transferred to the PDM team, where he would spend the next two seasons improving his time trial performance and gaining international experience. In the 1986 Vuelta, in which Álvaro Pino would win, Perico finished 10th due to the flu. On the Tour, when he was well classified in the general classification and with enough morale to seek the podium, his mother died of a stroke, causing the Segovian to abandon.

In 1987, he finished 4th in the Vuelta a España and reached the podium in the Tour de France for the first time, finishing 2nd behind Stephen Roche.

In 1988 he returned to the Reynolds team and changed his usual schedule, forgoing the Vuelta and participating in the Giro d'Italia. In the Tour de France, he finally achieved his great dream and became the third Spaniard to win the gala round, although a possible positive during the French race was about to cost him the victory and his professional career, although in the end it did not the positive was confirmed since the substance found in his urine was not determined as illegal on the UCI lists until the following year.

In 1989 he returned to participate in the Tour of Spain, although a young Miguel Induráin started as the theoretical leader of the team. However, Delgado's good form and a fall by Induráin himself made him the main banner of the team. Not without suffering, Perico achieved his second Tour of Spain. In the Tour, he could only be third, and he finished the season being 2nd in the Volta a Catalunya.

1990 was the last great opportunity for Pedro Delgado to repeat the 1988 victory on the Tour. However, he ultimately had to settle for 4th place. In the Vuelta, as in the previous year, responsibility for the team unexpectedly fell on him, although this time he did not achieve the final victory and was 2nd.

In 1991, he again participated in the Giro d'Italia. Upon arriving at the Tour, Induráin was already Delgado's co-leader. The poor results in the first mountain stages of the Segovian made Induráin the team leader, becoming a gregarious member of the Navarrese. In the first Tour de Induráin, Delgado finished 9th. The Tour of Burgos and the Climb to Urkiola were some of his triumphs in that fateful year.

In 1992, Delgado returned as leader of the Vuelta a España. A brilliant victory in the Lakes of Covadonga and third place in the general classification were the balance of the Segovian. In the Tour, Induráin was already the clear leader of the team and Perico a luxury lieutenant.

In 1993, he won the Semana Catalana during his preparation for the Vuelta. However, an untimely illness deprived him of optimal shape and he was unable to perform at the best level. That year was Delgado's last presence in the Tour de France.

In 1994, his last year as a professional, he achieved a creditable third place in the Vuelta a España. He was also 2nd in the Tour of Asturias and 3rd in the Volta a Cataluña.

Performances in Grand Tour cyclists by stages

Tour of Spain

In 1982 he made his debut in the Vuelta a España, the first Grand Tour he had ridden in. He did it as a companion to Ángel Arroyo and finished 29th in the general classification.

In 1983 he arrived more willing to compete and performed at a good level until he suffered a fall in the fifth stage. He put in good performances in the following stages, highlighting a third place in stage six, but he failed to reach the level of the best and finished 15th in the final general classification.

He managed to wear yellow for the first time in 1984, finishing second in the seventh stage. He kept the leader's jersey for five days and lost it in the Lagos de Covadonga stage, where he was relegated to third place overall. In the penultimate stage, a time trial, the rain and excessive risk caused the Segovian rider to suffer a fall, in which he did not suffer significant injuries but he did lose concentration, which would lead him to lose third position and finish 4th. º behind Raymund Dietzen.

In 1985, he won the Lakes stage and got the yellow jersey where he had lost it the previous year. However, the next day he relinquished the lead to his teammate Pello Ruiz Cabestany. During the following days, the Segovian did not quite feel comfortable and was unable to close the gap with respect to Robert Millar, the leader of the race. In the penultimate stage, and marching more than six minutes behind the leader, Delgado attacked in the descent of Puerto de Navacerrada. He managed to distance himself and open a gap. He caught up with José Recio, who was running ahead of him and they both collaborated to keep the breakaway going. To the general surprise, both riders reached the finish line in Segovia with more than six and a half minutes ahead of Millar and Delgado, second in the stage, donned the yellow jersey and thus achieved his first Tour of Spain.

In 1986, he managed to be second in the sixth stage, ending in Los Lagos, behind Millar. He finished second overall and marched third until the 17th stage, ending in Sierra Nevada, in which he lost more than ten minutes due to flu. He finished the race in 10th position.

In 1987, he failed to have a great race, losing a lot of time on important stages. He finished 4th, behind Laurent Fignon, because of the bonuses that were awarded that year at the end of each stage.

Perico Delgado bending his opponent in a counter-reloj of the 1989 Round.

After his absence in the 1988 Vuelta, Delgado returned to participate in the Vuelta in 1989 to, in principle, help Miguel Induráin. He managed to win two mountain stages and took the lead in the 15th stage. A fall forced Induráin to abandon the race and Perico took the reins of the team. Besieged by Fabio Parra, among others, he managed to maintain the lead and win yet another third stage, in addition to second position in the mountains classification. He thus managed to win his second and last Tour of Spain. He also won the Náquera Grand Prix setting a new record in the event.

Despite his triumph in the last edition, in 1990 Perico continued with the goal set in the Tour de France, and the leaders in the Vuelta were Induráin and Gorospe. A breakaway in the early days of the race gave the latter the lead and a comfortable lead in the overall standings. However, the Basque cyclist sank in the 10th stage and in the first mountainous difficulties of the day, he began to slip. The collapse of Gorospe, together with a sick Induráin, once again made the team's weight fall on the Segovian, who began the arduous task of trying to snatch the victory from the Italian Marco Giovannetti, who was Gorospe's breakaway teammate in the 5th..th stage. However, Delgado would not reach it, finishing 2nd in the final general classification.

In 1992, Perico Delgado appeared in the Spanish round as leader of the Banesto team and a firm candidate for the final victory. During the first mountain stages, he faced the Amaya Seguros team practically alone, led by Jesús Montoya, who battled him at all times. The close surveillance to which the Segovian was subjected helped Tony Rominger to sneak into the fight for the general classification. Perico managed to win the Enol Lakes stage, in a brilliant stage. After multiple and unsuccessful attacks in the following days, Delgado would finally finish in 3rd position overall.

In 1993, he arrived at the Vuelta in a poor state of form, which prevented him from fighting for the top positions, barely managing to finish in sixth position.

In 1994, in what would be his last participation in the Vuelta, Delgado managed to finish 3rd behind his teammate Mikel Zarrabeitia, in a Vuelta dominated from start to finish by the Swiss Rominger, and in which Delgado had to fight fiercely with another Swiss, Alex Zülle, for a place on the podium.

Giro d'Italia

Pedro Delgado participated twice in the prestigious Italian event, in the 1988 and 1991 editions. On both occasions, the Segovian rider attended the Giro as preparation for the Tour, without actually offering a high level for the ultimate triumph. In 1988, he managed to be second in a stage, and finished 7th in the general classification of a very tough race due to the weather conditions. In 1991 he didn't fare much better, and he alone could finish 15th.

Tour de France

First appearances and setbacks (1983-1987)

The 1983 Tour de France is his first participation in the prestigious gala round. After a very hard first few days, in which he had to get used to forced marches at the fast pace of the peloton, with the arrival of the mountain, Perico began to be seen and climb positions in the general classification. He was 2nd in three stages and managed to place 2nd in the general classification. However, the ingestion of food in poor condition caused him to lose more than twenty-five minutes compared to the winner in the 18th stage, which ended in Morzine. He finished the Tour in 15th position, but convinced that he could do great things in the French race.

The 1984 edition did not start very well for the Segovian rider, when he suffered a fall in the first stage. He was 3rd in two stages and 4th in another. He came to be 5th overall and in the descent of a mountain pass in the Alps, he took too many risks and crashed. Despite finishing the stage, the result of the crash was a broken clavicle and the consequent abandonment the next day. For his bravery on the descents and, above all, as a result of that descent into an open grave and the subsequent fall, some admired French journalists baptized the young Delgado with the nickname of "Le Fou" ("The Fool")

In 1985, the first stages were a tremendous burden for the man from Segovia. In the team time trial he lost more than seven minutes and in the first individual time trial another four on the leader, Bernard Hinault. He recovered on the mountain stages, and with the invaluable collaboration of his teammates, he achieved his first stage victory on the Tour, on the stage that ended in Luz Ardiden. He was 3rd and 6th in two other stages and finished the Tour in 6th position, finishing 2nd in the mountains classification.

In 1986 he repeated the bad start of the previous edition, losing a lot of time in the timed stages, both by teams and individually. In the first stage of the Pyrenees, ending in Pau, he escaped with the leader, Bernard Hinault. He won the stage and placed 4th overall. He managed to be 5th also in Serre Chevalier. Marching 5th overall, he saw himself with the possibility of entering the podium. During the afternoon of the day the 5th stage was held, Pedro Delgado received the unexpected news of the death of his mother due to a stroke. Nevertheless, the Segovian cyclist took the start of the 6th stage but, after a few kilometers, unable to overcome the pain, he put his foot down, abandoning a race that, had it not been for the family tragedy, could very well have become his first win in the overall final of the gala round.

For the 1987 Tour, Perico Delgado was already part of the favorites for the final victory. He managed to improve on the starts of previous years and didn't lose too much time in the timed stages. In the first mountain stages, he achieved a 3rd and two 6th places. He prevailed in the 19th stage and was placed 2nd in the general classification, behind the Irishman Stephen Roche. In the 20th stage, ending in Alpe d'Huez, he managed to wrest the lead from Roche and win the yellow jersey of the Tour for the first time in his career. He managed to wear the prized garment for four days, during which he tried by all means to increase his advantage over the Irish runner heading into the final time trial. However, it was not possible, and despite putting in a good stage, he lost the lead on the penultimate day of the race, eventually finishing 2nd overall, 40 seconds behind Roche. That year, he was also 3rd in the points classification.

Third Spaniard to win the Tour (1988)

Delgado Yellow Maillot, Tour de France 1988.

At the beginning of the season he played a role more outside of sports than sports, first because of a pre-contract he signed with Kelme for which in the end the team from Alicante did not want to sue the broker (he finally signed for Reynolds) and then because of the resignation to participate in the Tour of Spain participating in the Giro d'Italia.

The season was clearly heading towards the Tour de France. He was the most regular during the first days of competition, and although bad luck returned to appear in the 5th stage, where he lost more than a minute compared to the favorites due to the cut caused by a fall, said luck changed the following day, in the 1st time trial, when the weather conditions allied with the Segovian so that he set a better time than most of the favourites. In the first alpine stage, Perico already managed to distance some important rivals facing the final victory, but it was undoubtedly in the 12th stage, ending in the mythical Alpe d'Huez, and after which the Segovian cyclist came out with the yellow jersey, the one that would set the course of the Tour of France. As a icing on the stages of the Alps, Delgado once again exhibited himself in the next stage, a time trial, in which he finished sentencing the few rivals he had left, especially the Colombians Herrera and Parra, after which the international press He surrendered to the strength of the Spanish rider Backed by his team, Perico would no longer lose the lead for the remainder of the race, displaying an excellent state of form that was confirmed in the queen stage of the Tour.

Pedro Delgado on the return to Spain 2004.

However, during the last week of competition, the leak of a possible positive from the leader shook the competition.

The race director leaked to the official Tour media (the Antenne 2 TV channel and the L'Équipe newspaper) an alleged positive by the rider in an anti-doping control, without disclosing the substance, an action that it was criticized even by the French government itself. When the official statement was made, it was found to be the substance probenecid, a diuretic whose use could be used to mask the intake of anabolic drugs, listed as a prohibited substance by the IOC but not by the UCI (International Cycling Union). The laboratory responsible for the control had communicated the positive to the race management by misinterpreting the regulations, and consulting the IOC (International Olympic Committee) list, in which it did appear. In favor of the runner was not only the absence of said substance from the valid list of prohibited substances, and the obvious formal defect in the communication of the positive, but the fact that probenecid disappears from the body in 8 hours and anabolic drugs can be detected up to 120 days after use, which that would force them to take masking substances continuously and in the urine of Pedro Delgado, who passed controls every day as he was the leader of the race, the substance was not found again, nor was there any trace of anabolics. This, together with the Evidence of the laboratory's misinterpretation was enough to avoid a penalty for the rider, which would have consisted of a 10-minute penalty in qualifying, the same as Gert-Jan Theunisse suffered in that same Tour, despite the continued efforts of the organization. Delgado, supported by the public and a good part of the peloton, remained oblivious to the controversy of the counter-analysis and passed the last stage mountainous test without difficulties.

Perico Delgado won the 75th edition of the Tour de France with an advantage of 7:13 over the second classified, the Dutchman Steven Rooks, and 9:59 over the third classified, the Colombian Fabio Parra, showing an insulting dominance in the mountains and surpassing in an outstanding way the stages against the clock. He was 3rd in three stages and won another, the 13th. He was also 3rd in the mountains classification. His victory raised divided reports among the press due to the doping controversy and the decision not to penalize the Spanish cyclist.

As a curious note, he lost his yellow victor's jersey during the celebration party.

Candidate for the 2nd Tour (1989-1991)

Once again a favorite in 1989, Delgado made the biggest mistake of his sports career in the prologue stage of Luxembourg, when he arrived 2 minutes and 40 seconds late on the starting ramp. During said prologue he lost 14 seconds with respect to the winner, Erik Breukink, which would have allowed him to be 16th in that stage, a good result, but the 2:54 total placed him last overall. It was the first time in the history of the Tour that a defending champion of his title started in last place in the standings. In the team time trial of the second stage, Delgado, who had slept badly due to anxiety and nervousness, broke down. His teammates had to wait for him and the team qualified last with a delay of 4:32 compared to first. Delgado was at the last moment, more than 7 minutes behind the winner and had lost almost all his chances of victory. However, from the first long time trial, in which he was second after an extraordinary Greg Lemond, he was recovering time from the two great leaders of the race, Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon. On the mountain he clearly went on the attack. In total, he was 2nd in three stages and 3rd in another two, as well as 2nd in the mountains classification. He finished the Tour in 3rd position, 3:34 minutes behind the winner, bitterly lamenting the time lost during the early stages.

The 1990 Tour de France began in an unusual way, with a breakaway of four riders who managed to lead the peloton by more than ten minutes. Among those riders was the Italian Claudio Chiappucci, who would finish 2nd overall at the end of this edition. After passing through the Alps, Delgado was 5th in the general classification and would become third. However, from the 14th stage, the man from Segovia suffered from gastroenteritis and only managed to finish 4th. He was 2nd in one stage and 4th in another.

Perico Delgado at the Tour de France 1993.

In 1991, he attended the Tour as co-leader with Miguel Induráin from Navarra, who had already put in a great performance the previous year and had been 2nd in the Vuelta that same year. Delgado once again repeated a lackluster start to the race. He waited impatiently for the arrival of the mountain, but in the second stage of the Pyrenees the Segovian sank and lost more than sixteen minutes. At the same time, Induráin got into the fight for the lead and managed to dress in yellow. Delgado was relegated to the role of herdsman for the Navarrese runner, who would achieve the final victory. Pedro Delgado finished 9th.

Induráin's luxury gregarious (1992-1993)

In the 1992 Tour de France, Induráin was already the leader of the team and Perico Delgado a luxury domestique. He managed to be 2nd in the 12th stage, behind Rolf Jaermann. He finished the Tour in 6th position.

The 1993 edition was Delgado's last participation in the race that made him bigger. On this occasion, he could only be 9th.

Honours of Prizes

Results

Grand Tours and World Championships

Race		1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994
	Return to Spain	28.o	15.	4.o	1.o	10.	4.o	-	1.o	2.	-	3.o	6.o	3.o
	Giro de Italia	-	-	-	-	-	-	7.	-	-	15.	-	-	-
	Tour de France	-	15.	Ab.	6.o	Ab.	2.	1.o	3.o	4.o	9.	6.o	9.	-
World on Route		-	-	-	25.	51.o	-	60.o	20.	20.	35.	30.o	-	Ab.

Minor turns

—: does not participate
Ab.: abandonment

Cycling teams

• Reynolds (1982-1984)
• Seat-Orbea (1985)
• PDM (1986-1987)
• Reynolds/Banesto (1988-1994)
  • Reynolds (1988-1989) (until June)
  • Reynolds-Banesto (1989)
  • Banesto (1990-1993) (until April)
  • Banesto-Xacobeo (1993)
  • Banesto (1994)

Television career

After his retirement on January 1, 1995, he began collaborating with Televisión Española (TVE) as a commentator on the grand tours. He accompanied Pedro González in the broadcasts of the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France and the Tour of Spain, as well as in the Road Cycling World Championship.

After the death of Pedro González, he followed the same path this time alongside Carlos de Andrés, and the affable character of both has made them get along very well and there are many anecdotes and moments of humor, such as "Perico's minute of glory" that appears almost daily in the broadcasts of the great cycling tours on TVE, where Perico recalls anecdotes from his days as a runner on the stages of the stages. Perico's narration of the Luxembourg prologue of the 1989 Tour is common every year, although currently Carlos de Andrés only allows him to narrate it on Teledeporte, the anecdote having never been told on La 1.

In addition, during the broadcasts of the Vuelta a España, Perico has two small sections: "Los Pericopuertos", where he analyzes the mountain passes of the day's stage by bike, and a small security section road.

According to what was published in some media, in the 2013 Tour de France edition Perico Delgado received €30,000 for his comments (€3,000 contributed by TVE and the other €27,000 by a private sponsor).

In 2020 it was announced that Perico Delgado was among one of the 16 participants in the fifth edition of Masterchef Celebrity, the version of the show starring celebrities. In the fifth show he was eliminated.

Honorary Distinctions

• Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Sports Merit Order (30/11/2001).
• Gold Medal of the Royal Sports Merit, awarded by the Superior Sports Council (1994)
• UEMC Award for Public Person of Castile and Leon that Best Communica 2012

Other data

• The Scottish group The Delgados took his name by the cyclist Pedro Delgado.
• In February 2012 before the aqueduct of his native Segovia, his countrymen and the media, he accepted the sponsorship of Ela-Castilla and León of that year, which Juan José Videgain handed over to him, receiving a tribute to his solidarity career.