# Kim Kirchen

Kim Kirchen (born 3 July 1978) is a Luxembourgish former road racing cyclist. He is the son of cyclist Erny Kirchen and the great-nephew of cyclist Jeng Kirchen.

## Career

Kirchen signed as a professional cyclist in 2000 with De Nardi-Pasta Montegrappa, and went on to join Fassa Bortolo in 2001. For the 2006 cycling season, he joined the T-Mobile Team following the demise of the Fassa Bortolo team.
His first recorded race was in Dommeldange in 1999, and he had to wait until 2000 for his first professional victory when he won the Piva Col trophy. Kirchen was named the Luxembourgian Sportsman of the Year in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008, surpassing the achievement of fellow cyclist Charly Gaul and putting him fourth in the all-time stakes.
In July 2008 he showed good form during the Tour de France, placing 7th in the general classification and wearing the yellow jersey for a total of four stages.
In 2010, Kirchen joined Team Katusha, after he was unable to agree with Team Columbia–HTC on a contract extension. He suffered a suspected heart attack during the 2010 Tour de Suisse, in June 2010. He did not race in 2011 because of the heart condition and later retired from the sport.
Since 2011, Kirchen co-commentates all cycling races broadcast on RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg, along with former Cofidis cyclist Tom Flammang.

## Personal life

Kim Kirchen was born on July 3, 1978, in Luxembourg. His father, Erny Kirchen, was a cyclist, notably winning the Flèche du Sud and being the national vice-champion in 1974.
Kim Kirchen started cycling at the age of 13 in 1992, with the Amis du Cyclisme de la Commune de Contern (ACC Contern), a renowned Luxembourgish club presided over by Marcel Gilles, where he notably rode alongside Fränk Schleck.
Kim Kirchen married Caroline in 2007. On July 8, 2010, just a few days after emerging from a coma, his wife gave birth to twins, Liam and Mike.

## Major results
### 1999

    1st Road race, National Road Championahips
    1st Overall Flèche du Sud
    1st Coppa Città di San Daniele
    4th Road race, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships

### 2000

    2nd Time trial, National Road Championahips
    2nd Oberall Okolo Slovenska
       1st Young rider classification
       1st Stage 3
    4th Road race, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships
    4th Overall Jadranska Magistrala
    9th Paris–Tours Espoirs

### 2001

    Tour de Luxembourg
       1st Points classification
       1st Stage 3
    National Road Championships
       2nd Time trial
       3rd Road race
    4th Overall Tour de Pologne

### 2002

    1st Overall Ronde van Nederland
       1st Young rider classification
    1st Tour de Berne
    9th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
    10th Overall Regio-Tour

### 2003

    1st Paris–Brussels
    1st Stage 6 (TTT) Tour Méditerranéen
    4th Overall Tour de Suisse
    4th Overall Tour de la Région Wallonne
    8th Brabantse Pijl

### 2004

    1st Road race, National Road Championahips
    1st Stage 5 Tour de Luxembourg
    6th Road race, Olympic Games

### 2005

    1st Overall Tour de Pologne
       1st Points classification
       1st Stage 7a
    1st Trofeo Laigueglia
    1st Gran Premio di Chiasso
    2nd Road race, National Road Championahips
    2nd La Flèche Wallonne
    2nd Coppa Placci
    7th Overall Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali
       1st Stages 1b (TTT) & 4
    8th Overall Tour Méditerranéen

### 2006

    1st Road race, National Road Championahips
    Tour de Luxembourg
       1st Points classification
       1st Prologue
    2nd Gran Premio di Lugano
    6th Gran Premio di Chiasso

### 2007

    2nd Overall Tour de Suisse
    2nd Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
    3rd Overall Tour de Pologne
    3rd Brabantse Pijl
    3rd Milano–Torino
    7th Overall Tour de France
       1st Stage 15

### 2008

    National Road Championships
       1st Time trial
       4th Road race
    1st La Flèche Wallonne
    4th Overall Bayern Rundfahrt
    7th Overall Tour de France
       1st Stage 4
       Held after Stages 6–9
       Held after Stages 2–4, 6, 7 & 9
    7th Overall Tour de Suisse
       1st Stage 6
    7th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
       1st Stages 2 & 4

### 2009

    National Road Championships
       1st Time trial
       4th Road race
    9th Overall Tour de Suisse
       1st Stage 7

### 2010

    6th Trofeo Deià

### Grand Tour general classification results timeline

| Grand Tour | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Giro d'Italia | — | — | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tour de France | — | — | — | 63 | DNF | — | 7 | 7 | 54 | — |
| Vuelta a España | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | DNF | — |
Legend :
| — | Did not compete |
| DNF | Did not finish |