José Azevedo

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**José Azevedo**
Personal information

Full name	José Azevedo
Nickname	The Ace
Date of birth	September 19, 1973 (1973-09-19) (age 34)
Country	Portugal
Team information
Current team	Sport Lisboa e Benfica
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Climbing specialist
Professional team(s)
1994–1995 1996–2000 2001–2003 2004–2006 2007–	Recer-Boavista Maia-MSS ONCE Discovery Channel Sport Lisboa e Benfica
Major wins
Deutschland Tour, 1 stage Individual Time Trial Champion (2001)
Infobox last updated on:
July 21, 2006

José Azevedo (born 19 September 1973 in Vila do Conde) is a Portuguese professional road racing cyclist. In 2006, he rode for the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team on the UCI ProTour. 2007 sees Azevedo riding for Portuguese team SL Benfica.

His principal career successes have been fifth overall at the 2001 Giro d'Italia, sixth overall at the 2002 Tour de France and fifth overall at the 2004 Tour de France.

Until the year of 2005 he was a renowned domestique, that is to say, his primary role was to serve as Lance Armstrong's lieutenant in mountain stages, specifically, stages which take place in the Pyrenees Mountains. Nicknamed 'the Ace', he moved to US Postal (now Discovery) from the now-defunct Team ONCE in 2004.

Azevedo claimed the highest finish in the general classification amongst his Discovery Channel teammates in the 2006 Tour de France, finishing 19th overall, 38 minutes and 8 seconds behind race winner Floyd Landis.

To be able to spend more time with his family, Azevedo opted for a home team. He is now the leader of the Benfica cycling team.