Alberto Fernández (cyclist)

Alberto Fernández

Personal information
Full name	Alberto Fernández Blanco
Nickname	El Galleta (The Biscuit)
Born	(1955-01-15)15 January 1955 Cuena, Spain
Died	14 December 1984(1984-12-14) (aged 29)
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	All-rounder
Professional teams
1978	Novostil–Helios
1979	Moliner–Vereco
1980–1982	Teka
1983–1984	Zor–Gemeaz Cusin
Major wins
Volta a Catalunya (1982) Vuelta al País Vasco (1980) Giro d'Italia, 2 stages Vuelta a España, 1 stage

Alberto Fernández Blanco (15 January 1955 – 14 December 1984) was a Spanish road racing cyclist. His son Alberto Fernández Sainz is also a road racing cyclist.

Fernández was born in Cuena, Cantabria. As an amateur, he won the Spanish mountain bike championships, and turned professional in 1978. During his career, he was nicknamed el Galleta ("the Biscuit"), because the town where he lived, Aguilar de Campoo, had several biscuit factories.

Fernández tested positive for the stimulant Methylphenidate (Ritalin) on stage 17 of the 1982 Vuelta a España.

His best results came during the last two years of his career. He finished 10th overall in the 1982 Tour de France, and 3rd in his first appearance in the 1983 Giro d'Italia. He also finished 3rd in the 1983 Vuelta a España, improving to 2nd in 1984, only 6 seconds behind winner Éric Caritoux (the smallest winning margin in any of the Grand Tours).

He and his wife died in a car accident in December 1984, just short of his 30th birthday.

Major results

1975

1st Subida a Gorla

1976

7th Overall Tour de l'Avenir

1978

2nd Overall Vuelta a los Valles Mineros

4th Overall Vuelta a Cantabria

5th Subida a Arrate

7th Overall Vuelta a Asturias

8th Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme

10th Overall Tour of the Basque Country

1979

1st Overall Vuelta a Asturias

3rd Clásica de Sabiñánigo

5th Overall Vuelta a la Comunidad Valenciana

9th Overall Tour of the Basque Country

1980

1st Overall Tour of the Basque Country

1st Stage 5b (ITT)

1st Overall Vuelta a los Valles Mineros

1st Stage 3a

1st Stage 3 Vuelta a Cantabria

1st Stage 4 Costa del Azahar

6th Overall Deutschland Tour

8th Overall Volta a Catalunya

1981

1st Overall Vuelta a los Valles Mineros

1st Stage 3a

1st Overall Vuelta a la Comunidad Valenciana

1st Stage 4b (ITT)

2nd Overall Vuelta a La Rioja

3rd Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme

1st Stage 2b (ITT)

3rd Overall Escalada a Montjuïc

6th Overall Volta a Catalunya

6th Clásica de San Sebastián

6th Subida al Naranco

10th Overall Vuelta a Andalucía

1982

1st Overall Volta a Catalunya

1st Stage 7a

1st Stages 3 & 4b Vuelta a Burgos

1st Stage 1 Tour of the Basque Country

1st Stage 3 (ITT) Tour Méditerranéen

3rd Overall Vuelta a Andalucía

8th Overall Paris–Nice

10th Overall Tour de France

1983

1st Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme

1st Stage 2

1st Memorial Gastone Nencini

1st Subida a Arrate

3rd Overall Giro d'Italia

1st Stages 6 & 17

3rd Overall Vuelta a España

1st Stage 5

5th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico

5th Subida al Naranco

8th Overall Tour of the Basque Country

1984

1st Trofeo Masferrer

2nd Overall Vuelta a España

2nd Overall Vuelta Asturias

1st Stages 3 & 4

5th Overall Tour of the Basque Country

5th Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Grand Tour	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984
Vuelta a España	19	14	—	DNF	15	3	2
Giro d'Italia	—	—	—	—	—	3	19
Tour de France	—	—	25	21	10	—	—

Legend

—	Did not compete
DNF	Did not finish

External links

• Alberto Fernández at Cycling Archives (archived)