Álvaro Mejía (cyclist)

Álvaro Mejía Castrillón (born January 19, 1967 in Santa Rosa de Cabal, Risaralda Department) is a Colombian former professional road cyclist.[2]

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Mejía and the second or maternal family name is Castrillón.
Álvaro Mejía
Personal information
Full nameÁlvaro Mejía Castrillón
NicknameEl Cometa
Born (1967-01-19) January 19, 1967
Santa Rosa de Cabal, Colombia
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineRoad and mountain biking[1]
RoleRider
Rider typeClimber
Amateur team
1988Castalia
Professional teams
1989–1992Postobón–Manzana
1993–1995Motorola
1997Petroleo de Colombia
Major wins
Tour de France, young rider classification (1991)
Volta a Catalunya (1993)

Mejía took up cycling at the age of 16, after watching Lucho Herrera, Fabio Parra and Óscar Vargas racing in the Vuelta a Colombia. He had previously competed in football and athletics, having been national junior champion for the 10,000 metres. In 1988 he won the Under-23 Vuelta a Colombia and the Clásico RCN. He won the young rider classification in the 1991 Tour de France and finished fourth at the 1991 UCI Road World Championships in Stuttgart, where he was part of the winning break alongside Gianni Bugno, Steven Rooks and Miguel Indurain. Mejía joined the Motorola team in 1993: that season he won the Volta a Catalunya and finished fourth in the 1993 Tour de France. Subsequently he spent two more seasons with Motorola before finishing his road racing career with the Petroleo de Colombia team. He spent two more years racing mountain bikes before retiring from competition.[1] During his career he also won other stage races including the Vuelta a Murcia, Route du Sud and Vuelta a Galicia.

After retiring from competition, Mejía became a doctor and lecturer, and has taught at the Technological University of Pereira and the Universidad Andina in Pereira.[1]

Career achievements

Major results
1987
3rd Overall Clásico RCN
1st Stage 7
1988
1st Overall Clásico RCN
2nd Overall Vuelta a Colombia
1st Prologue & Stage 6
1989
1st Overall Clásico RCN
1st Stages 6 & 8 (ITT)
3rd Trofeo Masferrer
1990
2nd Overall Clásico RCN
3rd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
1st Stage 8 (ITT)
1991
1st Young rider classification Tour de France
1st Overall Tour of Galicia
1st Stage 3
4th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
4th Overall Volta a Catalunya
1992
1st Overall Vuelta a Murcia
4th Overall Clásico RCN
1st Prologue
1993
1st Overall Volta a Catalunya
3rd Overall Tour of Galicia
4th Overall Tour de France
1994
1st Overall Route du Sud
6th Overall Vuelta a Murcia
1995
4th Overall Tour DuPont
8th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré

Grand Tour general classification results timeline
Grand Tour 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
Giro d'Italia — — — 30 39 —
Tour de France 49 19 DNF 4 31 16
Vuelta a España 17 22 29 — — DNF
Legend
DSQDisqualified
DNFDid not finish
gollark: You do not need them, they'd basically all be decorative.
gollark: AS NEEDED
gollark: ·····························································.
gollark: Just... autocraft racks as needed.
gollark: And filler.

References
  1. Rendell, Matt (24 February 2017). "Alvaro Mejia: I would have liked to have raced in a clean era". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  2. "Álvaro Mejía". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
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