Niki Rüttimann

Niki Rüttimann (born 18 August 1962 in Untereggen) is a Swiss former road bicycle racer. Ruttiman was one of the most important domestiques of the La Vie Claire teams of the mid 1980s. In the 1984 Tour de France he finished 11th overall riding in support of Bernard Hinault who placed 2nd. During the 1985 Tour de France as well as the 1986 Tour de France he was right there between Hinault and Greg LeMond as they battled for Tour victories both years. He finished 13th in 1985 and 7th in 1986 while also winning stage 14. In 1987 he won a stage in the Tour de Romandie and a stage in the Critérium du Dauphiné and went into the Tour supporting Jean-François Bernard being as Hinault had retired and LeMond was recovering from a gunshot wound. Bernard held the yellow jersey late in the race and finished 3rd overall as Ruttiman was there until the end, but abandoned on the final stage in the high mountains. He won two stages and finished 2nd overall in the 1988 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré.

Major results

1979

1980 1st Overall Grand Prix Rüebliland 1982 1st Overall GP Tell 1st Stages 2 & 3 1983 1st Stage 6 Coors Classic 3rd Schynberg Rundfahrt 1984 1st Clásica de San Sebastián 3rd Overall Tour de Romandie 4th Subida a Arrate 5th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré 1985 1st Overall Paris–Bourges 2nd Overall Tour de Suisse 5th Overall Tour de Romandie 9th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico 1986 1st Overall Étoile de Bessèges 1st Overall Route du Sud 7th Overall Tour de France 1st Stage 14 7th Overall Critérium International 9th Overall Giro d'Italia 10th Giro di Lombardia 1987 1st Stage 4 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré 1st Stage 1 Tour de Romandie 1988 2nd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré 1st Stages 1a & 5 2nd Boucles Parisiennes 4th Wartenberg Rundfahrt 10th Overall Tour de Suisse 1989 1st 2nd Road race, National Road Championships 3rd Tour du Nord-Ouest 6th Wartenberg Rundfahrt 1990 7th Tour of Flanders

Grand Tour general classification results timeline