Daniel Moreno

Biography

Moreno launched his professional career in September 2004 with Team Relax-Gam Fuenlabrada. At his very first race, the annual Tour of Britain, he achieved a prominent result by finishing 5th in the general classification. In 2005 he advanced further by ranking 2nd at the Clásica de Ordizia and Vuelta a Andalucía.

In 2006, he achieved his first victories by taking stage wins at the Clásica Internacional de Alcobendas and the Volta ao Alentejo. He supplemented his triumphs with three podiums at Alentejo, Alcobendas and the Vuelta a Burgos.

In 2007 it also turned out to be successful year for the rider. He won stages at the Tour de San Luis, Vuelta Chihuahua, and the Escalada a Montjuic. Along with that, he showed himself to good advantage by taking 2nd place at a stage of the Vuelta a España and, thus, reaching 12th position in the final general classification. In September he announced his move to French team Agritubel for the next year but then Moreno renounced his own statement.

However, with the collapse of Team Relax-Gam Fuenlabrada in late 2007, the rider lost his permanent contract together with an opportunity to compete at professional races. Moreno managed to return to the peloton only in March 2008 after signing a contract with the Spanish team Caisse d'Epargne.

There he spent two seasons (2008–2009) working as a domestique for Alejandro Valverde and then moved to Quick-Step for a year.

In 2011 he joined Russian Team Katusha and became a domestique for his team leader, Joaquim Rodríguez. Accompanying Purito in mountain races, Moreno managed to win several significant competitions including the Giro del Piemonte and the Vuelta a Burgos. On August 23 he triumphed at stage 4 of the Vuelta a España, joining the lone escapee of Chris Anker Sorensen in the final kilometers. Sorensen had been part of an earlier break and Moreno sat on his wheel, attacking in the final 400 metres (1,300 ft) as the peloton was charging behind. The next day he successfully assisted Rodríguez at Valdepenas de Jaen. The coordinated performance of the two Spaniards brought Moreno to 3rd place while Rodríguez topped the podium. During all three weeks of the 2011 Spanish Grand Tour Moreno rode at his best and, thus, ranked 9th in the general classification. In October, Moreno won the Italian classic Giro del Piemonte, after shaking off the leading group containing 13 units after the flamme rouge on an uphill false flat.

In 2012 Moreno kept on going forward. He triumphed at the GP Miguel Indurain, took first place on stage 4 of the Vuelta a Andalucia and won 2 stages of the Critérium du Dauphiné. The rider also firmly assisted Joaquim Rodríguez at the Giro d'Italia; which helped Purito to rank 2nd in the general classification. The Vuelta a España and other home races were among his top priorities for the ongoing season.

He went on to win the 2.HC classified Vuelta a Burgos, surviving a scare in the last stage after getting dropped on the Lagunas de Neila mountain finish by two serious overall classification contenders, Colombians Esteban Chaves of Colombia–Coldeportes and Sergio Henao of Team Sky. Moreno ultimately limited his losses to 22 seconds on that stage, retaining the leader's jersey by a slim 10 seconds margin over Henao. He also won 2 stages and the points classification of the race.

He also had a solid 5th-place finish in the 2012 Vuelta a España, where he helped his team leader Joaquim Rodríguez in the mountain stages. Rodríguez took the third step of the podium.

In 2013, Moreno won the World Tour race La Flèche Wallonne, after following an attack initiated by Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing Team) on the final climb, the Mur de Huy. He passed Gilbert and Carlos Betancur (Ag2r–La Mondiale) to grab the victory. He later continued his good form into the Critérium du Dauphiné where he finished 3rd overall. At the Vuelta a Espana, he won stages 4 and 9 and finished 10th in the overall general classification.

In October 2015, Movistar announced that they had signed Moreno on a two-year contract from 2016.