Zulfiya Zabirova

Zulfiya Khasanovna Zabirova (; born 19 December 1973) is a Russian professional cycle racer who won the gold medal in the time trial event in the 1996 Olympics and later, in 2002, won the World Time Trial Championship.

Zabirova is one of two riders to have won two cycling monuments in the same year, having won the Primavera Rosa and Tour of Flanders for Women in 2004.

Biography Zulfiya was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on 19 December 1973. She is an ethnic Uzbek. In 1993 two years after the breakup of the Soviet Union she emigrated to Russia and lived in Rostov-on-Don. As the main reason for her emigration she cited that the Islamist leadership of the newly independent Uzbekistan is hostile to the women sports and the rights of women in general. In 1996 she became famous after winning the Olympic gold medal in Atlanta.

In 2005, she obtained the citizenship of Kazakhstan and announced her intention to compete as a member of the Kazakhstan team. As the reason for her decision she cited the better conditions for training and her desire to be closer to her native Uzbekistan (Kazakhstan has a reputation to be much more secular and democratic than Uzbekistan) as well as her family circumstances. According to the Russian Newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, Zabirova's main place of residence and training is Lugano, Switzerland (as of 2005).

Major results

1994 3rd UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships (Individual pursuit)

1995 2nd National Road Championships, Time Trial

1996

National Road Championships

2nd Road Race 1st GP Kanton Zurich Tour Cycliste Feminin Two Stage wins 3rd Tour du Finistère

1997

1st Overall Étoile Vosgienne One stage win 1st Overall Trois Jours de Vendée One stage win 1st Chrono des Herbiers 1st Tour du Finistère Tour Cycliste Feminin Two Stage wins 2nd UCI Road World Championships Time Trial 2nd Chrono Champenois 2nd GP des Nations 2nd Thrift Drug Classic 3rd Overall Women's Challenge Two stage wins 3rd Overall Gracia–Orlová

1998 1st GP Suisse Féminin 1st GP des Nations 1st Josef Voegeli Memorial Tour Cycliste Feminin One stage win 2nd UCI Road World Championships, Time Trial 4th Overall Thuringen Rundfahrt der Frauen

1999 1st Overall Tour de Suisse Feminin 1st One stage win 3rd Overall Women's Challenge One stage win 5th Overall Giro d'Italia Femminile 1st Stages 4, 7, & 9

2000

1st Overall Tour de Suisse Feminin One stage win 5th Overall Grande Boucle 1st Stage 9 & 13 7th Olympic Games Road Race

2002

1st Overall Thuringen Rundfahrt der Frauen One stage win 1st GP Carnevale d'Europa 1st Chrono Champenois-Trophee Europeen Grande Boucle Two stage wins 1st Stage 4 Giro della Toscana 7th Overall Giro d'Italia Femminile 9th GP Suisse

2003 1st Overall Vuelta Castilla y Leon 1st Stages 2 & 3 1st Primavera Rosa Grande Boucle Two stage wins 3rd UCI Road World Championships, Time Trial 4th Overall Trophée d'Or Féminin

2004 3rd UCI Road World Championships, Time Trial 1st Tour of Flanders 1st Primavera Rosa 1st Overall Thuringen Rundfahrt der Frauen 1st Stage 5 8th Olympic Games, Time Trial 10th Overall Giro d'Italia Femminile 1st Stage 5

2005 National Road Championships

1st Prologue Giro di San Marino 1st Stage 4 Giro d'Italia Femminile 6th UCI Road World Championships, Time Trial

2006 National Road Championships

1st Overall Trophée d'Or Féminin 1st Stage 1 1st Tour de Berne 2nd Chrono des Nations

2007 National Road Championships

2nd Tour of Flanders

2008 National Road Championships

1st Stages 3 & 3 Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin 10th Olympic Games, Road race