Joan Llaneras

Joan Llaneras
Llaneras in 2011
Personal information
Full nameJoan Llaneras Rosselló
Born (1969-05-17) 17 May 1969
Porreres, Spain
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight143 lb (65 kg)
Team information
DisciplineTrack
RoleRider
Rider typeMadison and points
Professional teams
19911995ONCE
1998U.S. Postal Service
Medal record
Representing  Spain
Men's track cycling
Olympic Games
2000 SydneyPoints race
2008 BeijingPoints race
2004 AthensPoints race
2008 BeijingMadison
World Championships
1996 ManchesterPoints race
1997 PerthMadison
1998 BordeauxPoints race
1999 BerlinMadison
2000 ManchesterPoints race
2006 BordeauxMadison
2007 Palma de MallorcaPoints race
2000 ManchesterMadison
2001 AntwerpMadison
2003 StuttgartPoints race
1997 PerthPoints race
2005 Los AngelesPoints race

Joan Llaneras Rosselló (born 17 May 1969 in Porreres, Majorca) is a former Spanish World and Olympic points race champion track cyclist. He specialises in the madison and points race events.

Llaneras began his cycling career on the road with the ONCE professional cycling team but switched to concentrate on track cycling. Llaneras is a four-time world champion in the points race and three-time champion in the Madison. He is a double Olympic champion, winning the event at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and in Beijing in 2008.

Llaneras teamed up with Isaac Gálvez to compete on the lucrative Six Days of Ghent racing circuit in November 2006. It resulted with the death of Gálvez after colliding with Dimitri De Fauw and hitting the railings. Llaneras had decided to quit cycling, but a few months later in an interview with Spanish daily newspaper Marca, he said:

"Clearly I thought about leaving it all. It was the first reaction. Logical... Natural... Normal after what had happened, but life goes on, and giving it all up, unfortunately, will not solve anything. In addition, the track is my life, is my dream, my family, it is almost everything to me."

He returned to competition in 2007, and although he had no intention of returning to Madison racing, Llaneras teamed up with Antonio Tauler to take the silver medal in the Madison at the 2008 Summer Olympics, adding to the gold he won in the points race three days earlier. In doing so, he became the Spaniard with the most Olympic medals ever, with 2 gold and 2 silver to his name. After the Beijing Olympics, Llaneras retired.