Gorka Verdugo
Gorka Verdugo Markotegui (born 4 November 1978) is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer, who last rode for UCI ProTour team Euskaltel–Euskadi.
Verdugo at the 2007 Tour de France | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Gorka Verdugo Markotegui |
| Born | 4 November 1978 Etxarri-Aranatz, Spain |
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Weight | 69 kg (152 lb) |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Climber |
| Professional team | |
| 2004–2013 | Euskaltel–Euskadi |
Born in Etxarri-Aranatz, Navarre, Verdugo has not yet won any races, but made his Giro d'Italia debut in 2005 (86th) and his Tour de France debut in 2006 (75th). His highest placing in the Tour de France was in 2011 (25th), however despite completing it an impressive 6 times he has never had a top ten finish in any stage of the race. Considered a reliable team rider, his is best individual tour performance was on stage 16 in the 2007 Tour de France where in a breakaway he gained enough points in the mountains classification to finish 11th overall in Paris. He finished 11th overall in the 2012 Vuelta a Espana, marking his best grand tour finish yet.