# Marino Lejarreta

Marino Lejarreta Arrizabalaga (born 14 May 1957) is a retired Spanish professional road racing cyclist. His biggest victory was capturing the 1982 Vuelta a España, a Grand Tour stage race, and he is the inaugural and record three-time winner of the Clásica de San Sebastián (1981, 1982, 1987), which is now considered a one-day classic. In 1989, Lejarreta captured the Volta a Catalunya repeating one of his first professional wins in 1980 at the same event.

## Career

Lejarreta rode very well in the 1982 Vuelta, but initially finished 2nd to Ángel Arroyo while coming in just eighteen seconds ahead of Michel Pollentier. Following the race however, Arroyo and several other riders failed doping controls in one of the biggest scandals in Vuelta history making the young Basque rider the de facto winner of the race. It was a bittersweet victory as he was not actually the victor riding into Madrid. For the 1983 Vuelta a España he would be up against Bernard Hinault, who had his teammates Laurent Fignon and Greg LeMond, as well as other strong riders including Hennie Kuiper and the Spanish riders of Pino, Alberto Fernández and a young Pedro Delgado who was riding in his second Vuelta. The leaders Jersey changed hands numerous times and Lejarreta held it early while also winning a mountain time trial, but suffered a crash and lost it. During the Lagos de Covadonga stage he escaped from the group of favorites made up of Fernandez, Pino, Hinault, Kuiper and others and soloed to victory, but it was not enough to reclaim the lead. In the end he finished just 1:12 behind Hinault to stand on the podium in 2nd.
Later in his career he would win his only Tour de France stage in a very unusual manner. During the 1990 edition he found himself among the group of favorites as Delgado, Breukink and LeMond were battling the surprising Claudio Chiappucci for the Yellow Jersey. During stage 14 he attacked off the front of the favorites group in an effort to chase down the final few breakaway riders and go for the stage win. When he crossed the finish line ahead of the favorites he did not throw his arms up to celebrate because he did not think he caught the final breakaway rider. With the available technology not giving instant times, results and standings as it does today, it was not as easy to know what was going on from within the race and Lejarreta didn't find out until he came to a stop and was told by his team that he had won the stage.
He would win stages in all three Grand Tours and finish in the top 10 fifteen times: The Giro seven times, the Tour three times and the Vuelta five times including three podium places and a win in 1982.
Until 2015, Lejarreta was the only person in history to complete all three Grand Tours in a single year four times in a career; he did the triple in 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1991. Adam Hansen is the only rider to complete all three Grand Tours in a season more times than Lejarreta. However, unlike Lejarreta, Hansen never contended in the general classification. In fact during the four seasons he completed all three Grand Tours he placed in the Top 10 in eight out of twelve of them.
His brother Ismael and his nephew Iñaki (killed in a road accident aged 29) were also professional cyclists.

## Major results
### 1980

    1st Overall Volta a Catalunya
       1st Mountains classification
    1st Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
       1st Stage 1c (ITT)
    1st Stage 4 Vuelta Asturias
    3rd Overall Tour of the Basque Country
    3rd Overall Deutschland Tour
    3rd Overall Étoile des Espoirs
    5th Overall Vuelta a España
    5th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré

### 1981

    1st Clásica de San Sebastián
    1st Subida al Naranco
    1st Circuito de Getxo
    1st Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia
    3rd Overall Tour of the Basque Country
    3rd Overall Volta a Catalunya
       1st Mountains classification
    4th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
    8th Overall Tour du Tarn
       1st Stage 3
    8th Overall Deutschland Tour
    10th Road race, National Road Championships
    10th Tre Valli Varesine

### 1982

    1st Overall Vuelta a España
       1st Stage 17
    1st Overall Vuelta a La Rioja
    1st Overall Vuelta a Cantabria
       1st Prologue
    1st Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
       1st Stage 1a
    1st Clásica de San Sebastián
    1st Stage 2 Vuelta a los Valles Mineros
    3rd GP Navarra
    5th Road race, UCI Road World Championships

### 1983

    1st Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
       1st Stages 1a & 1b (ITT)
    1st Giro dell'Appennino
    2nd Overall Vuelta a España
       1st Points classification
       1st Stages 6, 8 (ITT) & 13
       Held after Stages 6–9
    2nd Giro dell'Umbria
    3rd Overall Tour of the Basque Country
    3rd Coppa Sabatini
    3rd Klasika Primavera
    5th Giro dell'Emilia
    6th Overall Giro d'Italia
    6th Subida al Naranco
    7th Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria
    8th Tre Valli Varesine

### 1984

    3rd Overall Tour of the Basque Country
    3rd Subida al Naranco
    4th Overall Giro d'Italia
       1st Stage 19

### 1985

    2nd Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato
    3rd Overall Tour of the Basque Country
    3rd Giro dell'Emilia
    3rd Coppa Sabatini
    3rd Giro dell'Appennino
    5th Overall Giro d'Italia
    6th Giro di Campania
    7th GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
    8th Coppa Placci
    8th Tour du Nord-Ouest
    9th Overall Tour de Romandie

### 1986

    1st Overall Vuelta a Burgos
    1st Subida al Naranco
    2nd Clásica de San Sebastián
    2nd Subida a Arrate
    2nd Klasika Primavera
    5th Overall Vuelta a España
       1st Stage 8 (ITT)
    6th Overall Volta a Catalunya
    7th Overall Vuelta a Murcia

### 1987

    1st Overall Vuelta a Burgos
       1st Points classification
       1st Prologue & Stage 4
    1st Overall Euskal Bizikleta
    1st Clásica de San Sebastián
    1st Subida a Urkiola
    3rd Grand Prix des Nations
    3rd Klasika Primavera
    4th Overall Giro d'Italia
    7th Overall Vuelta a Murcia
    9th Overall Volta a Catalunya
    9th Coppa Sabatini
    10th Overall Tour de France
    10th Overall Tour of the Basque Country

### 1988

    1st Overall Vuelta a Burgos
       1st Points classification
       1st Prologue
    1st Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
       1st Stages 1a & 1b (ITT)
    1st Overall Tour of Galicia
    1st Subida a Urkiola
    1st Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia
    3rd Overall Volta a Catalunya
    3rd Giro di Lombardia
    3rd GP Navarra
    4th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
    4th Clásica de San Sebastián

### 1989

    1st Overall Volta a Catalunya
    1st Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia
    1st Stage 2 Vuelta a La Rioja
    2nd Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
    4th Milano–Torino
    5th Overall Tour de France
    8th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
    10th Overall Giro d'Italia

### 1990

    1st Overall Vuelta a Burgos
       1st Stages 2 & 4
    1st Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
       1st Stage 1b (ITT)
    2nd Overall Volta a Catalunya
       1st Points classification
    2nd Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia
    3rd Trofeo Comunidad Foral de Navarra
    3rd Klasika Primavera
    4th Züri-Metzgete
    5th Overall Tour de France
       1st Stage 14
    7th Overall Giro d'Italia
    8th Giro di Lombardia
    10th Clásica de San Sebastián
    10th Wincanton Classic

### 1991

    2nd Subida a Urkiola
    3rd Overall Vuelta a España
    5th Overall Giro d'Italia
       1st Stage 5
    5th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
    7th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
    8th La Flèche Wallonne

### Grand Tour general classification results timeline

| Grand Tour | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 |
| / Vuelta a España | 30 | 5 | DNF | 1 | 2 | DNF | — | 5 | 34 | DNF | 19 | 55 | 3 |
| Giro d'Italia | — | — | — | — | 6 | 4 | 5 | — | 4 | — | 10 | 7 | 5 |
| Tour de France | — | — | 35 | 37 | — | — | — | 18 | 10 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 53 |
Legend :
| — | Did not compete |
| DNF | Did not finish |