Levi Leipheimer (born October 24, 1973) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. His major accomplishments include winning the 2007, 2008 and 2009 editions of the Tour of California, the 2011 Tour de Suisse, the 2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge, and the 2006 Dauphiné Libéré. Notable results for Leipheimer on Grand Tours include coming in second in the 2008 Vuelta a España, third in the 2001 Vuelta a España, and having four top-ten finishes in the Tour de France, including third overall in the 2007. In the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games road time trial competition, Leipheimer won the bronze medal. He is also a two-time national champion having won the National Time Trial Championship in 1999 and the National Road Race Championship in 2007.
On October 10, 2012 the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced that Leipheimer would be suspended for six months after admitting to doping while riding for Saturn, U.S. Postal Service, Rabobank, Gerolsteiner and Astana. Leipheimer accepted a six-month ban from September 1, 2012 ending on March 1, 2013 along with the stripping of all race results between June 1999 and July 2006, as well as July 2007. On May 20, 2013, Leipheimer confirmed that he had retired from professional cycling. His contract with Omega Pharma-Quickstep was terminated in 2012 after his doping admission, and he could not find a new team.
He has supported the charity PETA in an advertising campaign.
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