José Belda

José Belda Mira (born 6 June 1975) is a Spanish former amateur road racing cyclist.

Career Hailing from Ontinyent, in the Province of Valencia, Belda started cycling at the age of 26, later than most. He made his competition debut in the highest amateur level in Spain at 30 years old. In 2006, he celebrated his first victory at this level, winning the second stage of the Vuelta a Galicia.

In 2007, Belda was unable to compete in the GP Macario due to having a hematocrit level above 50%. In 2008, Belda celebrated several more victories, including the Quebrantahuesos, one of the most well-known and difficult amateur races in the country.

From 2009 to 2011, Belda was the best amateur cyclist in Spain. Victorious on numerous occasions, he was particularly famous during the 2011 season by winning 30 races, including many of the stage races on the Spanish amateur calendar (Volta ás Comarcas de Lugo, Vuelta a Castellón, Vuelta a Tenerife, Tour of the Province of Valencia, Vuelta a Galicia, Vuelta a Cantabria). These impressive performances, although attracting the attention of Spanish professional teams, such as and , also caused doubts among other Spanish cyclists.

In 2012, Belda's success continued. In May, he stood out among professionals, when he finished third in the queen stage and fourth overall in the Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid, a UCI Europe Tour 2.1 event, while riding with the Spanish national team. After this performance, Eusebio Unzué, the team manager of , planned to offer Belda a professional contract with the team for the following season. However, the UCI announces that they have received two positive anti-doping tests from Belda, for methyltestosterone and ritalinic acid, both in races Belda won.

Major results

2006 1st Stage 2 Vuelta a Galicia 2007

1st Stage 2 2008 2nd Overall Vuelta a Tenerife 1st Stages 4 & 5a 2009

1st Stages 1, 3 & 5a 1st Stage 4 Circuito Montañés 1st Gran Premio Primavera de Ontur 5th Overall Cinturón a Mallorca 2010

1st Stages 2, 4 & 5a 1st Stage 1 Vuelta a Cantabria 2nd Time trial, National Amateur Road Championships 10th Overall Cinturó de l'Empordà 2011

1st Gran Premio Primavera de Ontur 1st Trofeo Olías Industrial 1st Prueba Loinaz 1st Ronda al Maestrazgo

1st Stages 1, 3, 4 & 5

1st Stages 1, 2 & 4

1st Stages 1 & 4

1st Stage 1

1st Stage 1 6th Overall Vuelta Ciclista a León 6th Overall Cinturón a Mallorca 1st Stage 1 2012

1st Stage 2

1st Trofeo Olías Industrial

1st Stage 1b 2nd Volta ao Ribeiro 2nd Overall Vuelta a Ávila 3rd Overall Vuelta a Castellón 1st Stage 3 4th Overall Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid