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.[1] He won two stages and finished 2nd overall in the 1988 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré.

Niki Rüttimann
Personal information
Full nameNiki Rüttimann
Born (1962-08-18) 18 August 1962 (age 62)
Untereggen, Switzerland
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Professional teams
1984–1987La Vie Claire
1988–1990Weinmann–La Suisse–SMM Uster
Major wins
Clásica de San Sebastián (1984)
Tour de France, 1 stage
Medal record
Men's road bicycle racing
Representing  Switzerland
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 1983 Altenrhein Amateur's Road Race

Major results

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1979
1st   Road race, National Junior Road Championships
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 Annemasse-Bellegarde et retour [fr]
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

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Grand Tour 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990
  Giro d'Italia 9
  Tour de France 11 13 7 DNF 43 DNF DNF
  Vuelta a España

References

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  1. ^ "Rider Niki Ruttiman". procyclingstats.com. 15 April 2022.
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