Paul Jesson (cyclist)

Paul Jesson
Personal information
Born (1955-01-14) 14 January 1955 (age 69)
Christchurch, New Zealand
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Professional team
1979–1981Splendor
Major wins
Grand Tours
Vuelta a España
1 individual stage (1980)

Paul Jesson (born 14 January 1955) is a retired New Zealand professional racing cyclist. Jesson became the first New Zealander to win a stage at a grand tour when he won Stage 10 of the 1980 Vuelta a España.[1]

Jesson's first professional race for Splendor was the 1979 Tour de France. This occurred because his team did not have enough riders to start.[2]

In the prologue of the 1980 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré Jesson hit a parked car resulting in a serious crash. He was admitted to hospital where he was unconscious for a week and had his leg amputated below the knee.[1] Although the injury ended his professional racing career he did go on to win medals at the Paralympics[3]

  1. ^ a b "'Oh, THAT Tour': The Paul Jesson Story". pezcycling. 4 August 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Paul Jesson". cyclingarchives. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Paralympics: NZ team head for Athens". nzherald. 31 August 2004. Retrieved 6 June 2020.