Alberto Fernández (cyclist)

{{Short description|Spanish cyclist (1955–1984)}}

{{Infobox cyclist

| name = Alberto Fernández

| image = Alberto Fernández Blanco.jpg

| fullname = Alberto Fernández Blanco

| nickname = El Galleta (The Biscuit)

| birth_date = {{birth date|1955|1|15|df=y}}

| birth_place = Cuena, Spain

| death_date = {{death date and age|1984|12|14|1955|1|15|df=y}}

| death_place =

| discipline = Road

| role = Rider

| ridertype = All-rounder

| proyears1 = 1978

| proteam1 = Novostil–Helios

| proyears2 = 1979

| proteam2 = {{UCI team code|Amaya Seguros|1979}}

| proyears3 = 1980–1982

| proteam3 = {{UCI team code|Teka|1980}}

| proyears4 = 1983–1984

| proteam4 = {{UCI team code|Amaya Seguros|1983}}

| majorwins = Volta a Catalunya (1982)
Vuelta al País Vasco (1980)
Giro d'Italia, 2 stages
Vuelta a España, 1 stage

}}

Alberto Fernández Blanco (15 January 1955 – 14 December 1984) was a Spanish road racing cyclist. His son Alberto Fernández Sainz is also a road racing cyclist.

Fernández was born in Cuena, Cantabria. As an amateur, he won the Spanish mountain bike championships, and turned professional in 1978. During his career, he was nicknamed el Galleta ("the Biscuit"), because the town where he lived, Aguilar de Campoo, had several biscuit factories.

Fernández tested positive for the stimulant Methylphenidate (Ritalin) on stage 17 of the 1982 Vuelta a España.{{cite web|url=http://www.lavuelta.com/05/ingles/historia/82infor.asp?a=1982&s=infor&t=infor&e=1 |title=1982 General Information |publisher=La Vuelta.com |accessdate=18 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921104459/http://www.lavuelta.com/05/ingles/historia/82infor.asp?a=1982&s=infor&t=infor&e=1 |archivedate=21 September 2008 }}

His best results came during the last two years of his career. He finished 10th overall in the 1982 Tour de France, and 3rd in his first appearance in the 1983 Giro d'Italia. He also finished 3rd in the 1983 Vuelta a España, improving to 2nd in 1984, only 6 seconds behind winner Éric Caritoux (the smallest winning margin in any of the Grand Tours).

He and his wife died in a car accident in December 1984, just short of his 30th birthday.