José María Jiménez

José Maria Jiménez was a professional cyclist (born on February 6th 1971 in El Barraco, died on December 6th 2003 in Madrid). When he turned professional he was considered a potential successor of Miguel Indurain. He won the mountains jersey of the Vuelta a Espana in 1998 finishing 3rd overall,1999 finishing 5th overall, and 2001, finishing 17th overall. His nickname was "El chaba" which means "the wild one" referring to his style of attacking. He often times attacked without considering the consequences of this which sometimes resulted in spectular wins in the toughest mountain stages. The next stage we would sometimes pay for his attacking style by losing 10 or more minutes. Jiménez received psychological treatment for depression. He married his girld friend in 2002

He retired from professional cycling in 2002. He died in a clinic in Madrid at the age of 32.