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Miguel Ángel López (cyclist)

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is López and the second or maternal family name is Moreno.
Miguel Ángel López
López at the 2016 Tour de Suisse
Personal information
Full nameMiguel Ángel López Moreno
NicknameSuperman
Born (1994-02-04) February 4, 1994 (age 30)
Pesca, Colombia
Height1.64 m (5 ft 4+1⁄2 in)[1]
Weight59 kg (130 lb; 9 st 4 lb)[1]
Team information
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeClimber
Amateur team
2014Lotería de Boyacá
Professional teams
2015–2020Astana[2][3]
2021Movistar Team[4][5]
2022Astana Qazaqstan Team[6][7]
2023Team Medellín–EPM
Major wins
Grand Tours
Tour de France
1 individual stage (2020)
Giro d'Italia
Young rider classification (2018, 2019)
Vuelta a España
Young rider classification (2017)
3 individual stages (2017, 2021)
1 TTT stage (2019)

Stage races

Tour de Suisse (2016)
Volta a Catalunya (2019)
Vuelta a Andalucía (2021)
Vuelta a San Juan (2023)

One-day races and Classics

National Time Trial Championships (2023)
Milano–Torino (2016)
Medal record
Representing  Colombia
Men's road cycling
Pan American Championships
Silver medal – second place 2023 Panama City Time trial
Central American and Caribbean Games
Gold medal – first place 2023 San Salvador Time trial
Silver medal – second place 2023 San Salvador Road race

Miguel Ángel López Moreno (born February 4, 1994) is a Colombian cyclist, who last rode for UCI Continental team Team Medellín–EPM.[8]

In 2016, López won his first World Tour stage race at the Tour de Suisse[9] and achieved his maiden grand tour stage victory the following season on Stage 11 of the Vuelta a España, followed by another victory on Stage 15.[10][11] He was the overall winner of the Tour Colombia and the Volta a Catalunya in 2019. In 2020, he won the "Queen" stage of the Tour de France.

Career

[edit]

López was born in Pesca. López celebrated success in 2014, winning multiple stage races while still an amateur. In August he won the Tour de l'Avenir, the most prestigious under 23 cycling race. López also won the U23 version of the Vuelta a Colombia.

Astana (2015–20)

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2015

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Following his success in 2014, López was granted a contract with Astana, a UCI WorldTeam. His success in stage races continued, finishing 4th overall and winning a stage at the Vuelta a Burgos and 7th overall in the Tour de Suisse.

2016

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2016 was López's breakthrough season. He finished 4th in the Tour de San Luis, the first race of his season, winning Stage 6 and taking the young rider classification. One month later, López finished third and won a stage at the Tour de Langkawi, an eight-day race held in Malaysia. The biggest win yet of his career came at the Tour de Suisse, where he won the general classification ahead of Ion Izagirre and Warren Barguil. Following these successes, López was one of five riders selected to represent Colombia in the road race at the Olympics. López started his first grand tour at the Vuelta a España[12] where he was the chosen team leader but he was forced to abandon the race on Stage 6 following a crash on Stage 3.[13]

2017

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López was named on the start list for the Vuelta a España in a strong Astana line-up alongside former race winner Fabio Aru. On Stage 11, he took his first grand tour stage victory, distancing himself from race favourites Chris Froome, Vincenzo Nibali and Wilco Kelderman in the last 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) of the first-category climb up to the Calar Alto Observatory.[10] López's fine form in the mountains continued on Stage 14 to Sierra de la Pandera where he once again distanced the race leaders to finish second to Rafał Majka on the first especial category climb of the race.[14] He went on to win the following Stage 15 after a solo escape on the summit finish, yet again distancing the race favorites for his second Vuelta stage victory.[15]

2018

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In May 2018, he was named in the startlist for the Giro d'Italia;[16] he finished in third place overall, behind Chris Froome and Tom Dumoulin. He also made the podium in the Vuelta a España, finishing third overall behind Simon Yates and Enric Mas.[17]

2019

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López at the 2019 Giro d'Italia

López won stage 4 and the general classification in March's Volta a Catalunya.[18] López competed in the Giro d'Italia, finishing seventh overall and winning the young rider classification for a second time in a row. During stage 20 of the race, López was brought down in an incident with a fan about 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) from the finish. He proceeded to hit the spectator four times, including knocking the hat off his head. While the regulations of the sport's governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), call for disqualification of a rider who assaults someone during a race, the race jury decided against applying a punishment to López. He later apologised for the incident, but stated that riders should receive more respect from the crowd.[19] One day later, after the Giro had ended, the UCI announced that they were investigating the lack of a penalty for his behaviour.[20]

2020

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In August 2020, he was named in the startlist for the Tour de France.[21] López won stage 17, the queen stage, finishing atop the Col de la Loze.[22] Near the end of the stage and at the steepest part of the climb – reaching gradients of up to 24% – López and Sepp Kuss caught the final breakaway rider Richard Carapaz. Kuss waited up for his leader Primož Roglič and López soloed to victory ahead of him and Tadej Pogačar, and moved into third in the general classification – a position that he was hoping to keep for the rest of the race.[23] He held that position until the penultimate day, when he lost three or more minutes to the three riders immediately behind him in the overall standings, dropping to a final position of sixth.[24]

Movistar Team

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After six years with Astana, López signed a one-year contract with the Movistar Team, for the 2021 season.[25] In August, the Movistar Team extended his contract to the end of 2023.[26] During the Vuelta a España he finished second of the overall contenders in the first summit finish, on the third stage, at Picón Blanco.[27] He ran as high as third overall in the first half of the race, trailing Primož Roglič, and teammate Enric Mas. He once again won the queen stage of a Grand Tour, winning the eighteenth stage that finished at El Gamoniteiru, the highest mountain in the autonomous community of Asturias.[28] López attacked with 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) remaining and chased down the sole leader David de la Cruz; he ultimately won the stage by fourteen seconds from Roglič. During the penultimate stage, he missed a move among the other general classification contenders and found himself stuck in a group that had fallen behind. López abandoned the race a few kilometres later despite several team members encouraging him to continue.[29] López later apologised for the manner of his withdrawal,[30] but two weeks later, López and Movistar Team agreed to a mutual termination of his contract as at the end of the month.[31] He later described Mas as a "selfish person" and the team atmosphere was "always very tense".[32] The incident featured as part of the third season of The Least Expected Day, a documentary series about the team.[33]

Return to Astana

[edit]

In October 2021, López signed a two-year contract with the Astana–Premier Tech team, later renamed Astana Qazaqstan Team, from the 2022 season.[34] He finished third overall at the Vuelta a Andalucía,[35] and took his first victory of the season at the Tour of the Alps, winning the penultimate stage that finished at the Grossglockner.[36] He was part of the Astana Qazaqstan Team at the Giro d'Italia, but withdrew from the race on its first Italian stage, stage four.[37]

As the end of the 2022 Tour de France neared Lopez, who was not in the race that year, was stopped by police at a Madrid airport and questioned in a non blood doping drug trafficking investigation. Team Astana Qazaqstan issued a very surprised tweet on July 22, 04:02 that Lopez had been suspended by the team until a clarification was made regarding a Spanish professor he has had contact with.[38] Initial reports that López himself was being investigated were denied by Spain's Guardia Civil police force.[39] As of 12 December, 2022 López's contract with Team Astana Qazaqstan was terminated.[40]

Doping

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On 25 July 2023, it was announced that López has been provisionally suspended due to a potential anti-doping rule violation for use and possession of a prohibited substance in the weeks prior to the 2022 Giro d’Italia.[41] On 29 May 2024, the UCI Anti-Doping Tribunal found López guilty of anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) for use and possession of a prohibited substance (Menotropin). He was banned from competing for four years, inclusive of his previous suspension. His suspension remains in force until 24 July 2027.[42]

Major results

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2014
1st Overall Tour de l'Avenir
1st Mountains classification
1st Stage 6
1st Overall Vuelta de la Juventud de Colombia
1st Stage 4
1st Overall Clásica de Samacá
1st Stages 1 & 2
1st Overall Clásica Aguazul
1st Stages 1 & 2
1st Stage 1 Clásica Fusagasugá
4th Time trial, National Under-23 Road Championships
2015 (1 pro win)
4th Overall Vuelta a Burgos
1st Young rider classification
1st Stages 2 (TTT) & 4
7th Overall Tour de Suisse
2016 (4)
1st Overall Tour de Suisse
1st Milano–Torino
3rd Overall Tour de Langkawi
1st Stage 4
4th Time trial, National Road Championships
4th Overall Tour de San Luis
1st Young rider classification
1st Stage 6
2017 (4)
2nd Overall Tour of Austria
1st Stage 4
4th Overall Vuelta a Burgos
1st Stage 5
8th Overall Vuelta a España
1st Young rider classification
1st Stages 11 & 15
2018 (3)
2nd Overall Vuelta a Burgos
1st Points classification
1st Stage 3
2nd Overall Tour of Oman
1st Young rider classification
1st Stage 5
2nd Milano–Torino
3rd Overall Giro d'Italia
1st Young rider classification
3rd Overall Vuelta a España
3rd Overall Abu Dhabi Tour
1st Young rider classification
3rd Overall Tour of the Alps
1st Stage 2
2019 (3)
1st Overall Volta a Catalunya
1st Young rider classification
1st Stage 4
1st Overall Tour Colombia
1st Young rider classification
2nd Time trial, National Road Championships
5th Overall Vuelta a España
1st Stage 1 (TTT)
Combativity award Stage 1 & Overall
Held after Stages 1, 5 & 7
Held after Stages 1–12 & 18–19
7th Overall Giro d'Italia
1st Young rider classification
2020 (2)
3rd Overall Volta ao Algarve
1st Stage 4
5th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné
6th Overall Tour de France
1st Stage 17
2021 (4)
1st Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
1st Stage 3
1st Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge
1st Stage 18 Vuelta a España
6th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné
2022 (1)
1st Stage 4 Tour of the Alps
3rd Overall Vuelta a Burgos
1st Mountains classification
3rd Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
4th Overall Vuelta a España
4th Giro del Veneto
2023 (3)
1st Time trial, National Road Championships
1st Overall Vuelta a San Juan
1st Stage 5
1st Overall Vuelta a Colombia
1st Points classification
1st Mountains classification
1st Prologue, Stages 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 (ITT)
1st Overall Vuelta al Tolima
1st Points classification
1st Mountains classification
1st Stages 3 & 4
1st Overall Vuelta a Catamarca
1st Mountains classification
1st Stage 3
1st Clásica de Ciclismo Ciudad de Villeta
1st Stage 1 Tour of the Gila
1st Stages 1 (TTT) & 3 Tour de Panamá
2nd Overall Vuelta Bantrab
1st Mountains classification
1st Stages 4 & 5
2nd Overall Joe Martin Stage Race
1st Stage 3 (ITT)
2nd Time trial, Pan American Road Championships
4th Overall Vuelta a Formosa
4th Circuito Ciclístico Jenesano

General classification results timeline

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Grand Tour general classification results
Grand Tour 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
A pink jersey Giro d'Italia — — — 3 7 DNF — DNF
A yellow jersey Tour de France — — — — — 6 DNF —
A red jersey Vuelta a España — DNF 8 3 5 — DNF 4
Major stage race general classification results
Race 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Paris–Nice — — — — 28 — — —
Tirreno–Adriatico — — — 16 — — — 21
Volta a Catalunya DNF 42 — — 1 NH — —
Tour of the Basque Country — 20 — — — — —
Tour de Romandie — DNF — — — 35 —
Critérium du Dauphiné — — — — — 5 6 —
Tour de Suisse 7 1 DNF — — NH — —
Legend
— Did not compete
DNF Did not finish
DSQ Disqualified
IP In progress
NH Not held

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Astana - Pro Team". Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Astana Pro Team presented renewed roster for 2019". Astana. Apgrade. 16 December 2018. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Astana Pro Team". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Movistar Team". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 1 January 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  5. ^ Fotheringham, Alasdair (24 November 2020). "Miguel Ángel López signs for Movistar for 2021 season". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  6. ^ Fletcher, Patrick (15 October 2021). "Astana confirm return of Miguel Angel López". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  7. ^ "ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM". UCI. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Official: Miguel Ángel López signs with Team Medellín". Velo News. 9 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Tour de Suisse 2016: Stage 9 Results - Cyclingnews.com". cyclingnews.com. 19 June 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Stage 11 - Lorca > Observatorio Astronómico de Calar Alto". La Vuelta 2017. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
  11. ^ "La Vuelta: Miguel Angel Lopez wins again as Chris Froome extends lead after Stage 15". Eurosport. 2017-09-03. Retrieved 2017-09-04.
  12. ^ "71st Vuelta a España". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  13. ^ "Simon Yates times it well". Le Tour. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  14. ^ "Stage 14 - Écija > Sierra de La Pandera". La Vuelta 2017. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
  15. ^ "Lopez secures second mountaintop win at Vuelta a Espana | Cyclingnews.com". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2017-09-04.
  16. ^ "2018: 101st Giro d'Italia: Start List". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  17. ^ Fotheringham, Alasdair (16 September 2018). "Simon Yates wins 2018 Vuelta a Espana". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  18. ^ "Volta a Catalunya 2019". CyclingStage.com. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  19. ^ Brown, Gregor (1 June 2019). "Miguel Ángel López reacts to spectator crash: 'Riders deserve more respect but I'm sorry'". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  20. ^ Farrand, Stephen (2 June 2019). "UCI jury decision under scrutiny after Lopez's assault on Giro d'Italia fan goes unpunished". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  21. ^ "107th Tour de France: Startlist". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  22. ^ "Tour de France: Miguel Angel Lopez wins stage 17 atop Col de la Loze". 16 September 2020.
  23. ^ Fotheringham, Alasdair (16 September 2020). "Lopez eyes Tour de France podium after lone stage win on Col de la Loze". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  24. ^ "Miguel Ángel López on tumble from Tour de France podium: 'We came up one day short'". VeloNews. Outside. 19 September 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  25. ^ "Miguel Ángel López reinforces 2021 Movistar Team roster | Movistar Team". 24 November 2020.
  26. ^ "Miguel Ángel López signs new two-year contract with Movistar Team | Movistar Team". 12 August 2021.
  27. ^ "Movistar Team show collective strength at Picón Blanco". Movistar Team. Abarca Sports S.L. 16 August 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  28. ^ "Lopez tames the mighty Gamoniteiru - la Vuelta 2022".
  29. ^ Long, Jonny (4 September 2021). "Miguel Ángel López abandons Vuelta a España after being told to stop chasing Roglič group, source claims". Cycling Weekly. Future plc. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  30. ^ @Movistar_Team (4 September 2021). "@SupermanlopezN Words from @SupermanlopezN after stage 20 of #LaVuelta21:" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  31. ^ Long, Jonny (18 September 2021). "Miguel Ángel López to leave Movistar, team announces". Cycling Weekly. Future plc. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  32. ^ "López blasts Mas over controversial exit from Movistar". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  33. ^ Hood, Andrew (21 January 2022). "Parting words from Miguel Ángel López: 'It was a pleasure, gentlemen'". VeloNews. Outside. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  34. ^ "Miguel Angel Lopez is set to return to Astana Qazaqstan Team for two seasons". Astana–Premier Tech. Abacanto SA. 15 October 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  35. ^ "Miguel Angel Lopez is third in the General Classification of Vuelta a Andalucia". Astana Qazaqstan Team. Abacanto SA. 20 February 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  36. ^ Dabbs, Ryan (21 April 2022). "Miguel Ángel López takes victory on stage four of the Tour of the Alps". Cycling Weekly. Future plc. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  37. ^ Becket, Adam (10 May 2022). "Miguel Ángel López forced to abandon Giro d'Italia on stage four". Cycling Weekly. Future plc. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  38. ^ O'Shea, Sadhbh (22 July 2022). "Miguel Ángel López temporarily suspended by Astana Qazaqstan after reports linking him to drug trafficking investigation: The Colombian rider was met by police investigating drug trafficking and money laundering crimes at Madrid Airport". Velo News by Outside Magazine. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  39. ^ Staff, Eurosport (22 July 2022). "MIGUEL ANGEL LOPEZ SUSPENDED BY ASTANA QAZAQSTAN, RIDER DENIES ANY WRONGDOING". Eurosport. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  40. ^ "Statement on Miguel Angel Lopez". 12 December 2022.
  41. ^ "UCI Statement on Miguel Ángel López". www.uci.org. 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  42. ^ "UCI statement concerning Miguel Ángel López". www.uci.org. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
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