MADRID, 8 December 2003 — Spanish cyclist Jose-Maria Jimenez, once touted as a successor to five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain, has died of a suspected heart attack at the age of 32.
Jimenez, a nine time stage winner of the Tour of Spain, suffered the attack in Madrid’s San Miguel psychiatric hospital where he was a patient on Saturday, medical sources reported.
The popular Jimenez, who was known for his exuberant personality, retired from professional cycling in 2002 suffering from nervous depression.
A specialist climber the former Banesto team member was crowned the Tour of Spain’s ‘king of the mountains’ on three occasions between 1998 and 2001.
His best finish in the Vuelta was a third in 1998, the previous year saw him come in eighth in the Tour de France.
Jimenez was born on Feb. 6, 1971 in El Barraco in central Spain, turning professional for Banesto in 1993.
After a bright start to his career when he was being mentioned in the same breath as Indurain Jimenez hit a flat patch with a series of misfortunes and illness.
But he reemerged as a force to be reckoned with on the peloton in 2001 when he ran away with a time trial on the Vuelta.
