Cédric Vasseur

Cédric Vasseur (born 18 August 1970) is a French former professional road racing cyclist, and current general manager of UCI WorldTeam. As a rider, Vasseur competed between 1993 and 2007 for the Novemail–Histor,, , and  squads. Vasseur was considered an all-rounder who could do well in a variety of races. He raced in all of the spring classics such as Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix, and won a stage of the Dauphiné Libéré stage race as well as two at the Tour de France.

Professional rider
Born in Hazebrouck, Nord, Vasseur turned professional with the team Novemail in 1993, and switched to the team in 1995 which then became Crédit Agricole in 1998. His first professional victory is also his most famous: it was his solo 147-kilometre breakaway by which he won stage 5 of the 1997 Tour de France. He then wore the yellow jersey as the race leader for five days.

In the 2000 and 2001 seasons, he rode for the team and participated in the 2000 Tour de France. However, his exclusion from the 2001 Tour de France team led to his switch to the Cofidis team. He cited personal differences with the USPS team star Lance Armstrong, which was widely quoted in French cycling publications. In the wake of the publication of the USADA memo that proves Lance Armstrong doping practices, he explained that he was excluded because of his refusal to participate in Armstrong's doping program. ("Inutile de rappeler que je n'ai rien à voir dans cette organisation à qui je dois fort probablement ma non-participation au Tour 2001 ainsi que mon éviction de l'équipe.")

In 2004, Vasseur was arrested in suspicion of doping offences along with several other Cofidis riders, notably including then individual time trial champion David Millar. A counter-analysis later proved negative and Vasseur's name was then cleared. Vasseur also claimed some of the evidence in his witness statement had been forged. However, Vasseur was barred from riding in the 2004 Tour de France since the investigation had not concluded by the time that the race had started. He retired at the end of 2007 after taking a second Tour de France stage win that year.

After retirement
Following his retirement from racing, Vasseur served as head of the CPA (the professional cyclists' association), and as a TV pundit. In October 2017 the team announced that Vasseur would return to the team as their new manager.

Personal life
Vasseur came from a family of cyclists: his father Alain Vasseur competed in the 1970, 1971 and 1974 editions of the Tour de France. His father also won a stage of the Tour de France after a solo breakaway.

Major results

 * 1993
 * 1st Stage 6 Tour de l'Avenir


 * 1994
 * 2nd Grand Prix de la Ville de Lillers
 * 8th GP Ouest–France
 * 10th Overall Tour du Limousin


 * 1995
 * 6th Paris–Camembert
 * 7th Overall Regio-Tour
 * 10th Overall Tour de l'Oise


 * 1996
 * 1st Stage 4 Grand Prix du Midi Libre
 * 8th Paris–Bourges
 * 10th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk


 * 1997
 * Tour de France
 * 1st Stage 5
 * Held Stages 5–9
 * 2nd Grand Prix de la Ville de Lillers
 * 3rd Polynormande
 * 6th Chrono des Herbiers
 * 7th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
 * 7th Giro del Piemonte
 * 8th GP Ouest–France


 * 1998
 * 6th Overall Route du Sud
 * 6th Paris–Camembert


 * 1999
 * 3rd Road race, National Road Championships
 * 7th Overall Circuit Cycliste Sarthe
 * 1st Stage 1
 * 7th Grand Prix d'Isbergues
 * 8th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
 * 8th Trophée des Grimpeurs


 * 2001
 * 4th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
 * 10th Paris–Camembert


 * 2002
 * 1st Grand Prix d'Isbergues
 * 5th Road race, National Road Championships
 * 6th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
 * 1st Stage 5
 * 6th Paris–Bourges
 * 6th Boucles de l'Aulne
 * 8th Giro del Piemonte


 * 2003
 * 1st Overall Paris–Corrèze
 * 1st Stage 2
 * 1st Overall Hessen-Rundfahrt
 * 1st Stage 1
 * 1st Stage 7 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
 * 1st Stage 2 Tour du Limousin
 * 4th Grand Prix Pino Cerami
 * 4th Route Adélie
 * 5th GP Chiasso
 * 6th Giro di Lombardia
 * 6th Grand Prix de Wallonie
 * 8th A Travers le Morbihan


 * 2004
 * 1st Stage 4 Tour de l'Ain
 * 1st Stage 4 Tour du Limousin
 * 3rd GP Chiasso
 * 4th Paris–Bourges
 * 8th GP Ouest–France
 * 9th Milano–Torino


 * 2005
 * 3rd Tour du Haut Var
 * 5th Sparkassen Giro Bochum
 * 6th Overall Étoile de Bessèges
 * 9th Grand Prix d'Isbergues


 * 2006
 * 1st Grand Prix d'Isbergues


 * 2007
 * 1st Stage 10 Tour de France
 * 2nd Grand Prix de Wallonie