Who Is? 29.11.2017/XNUMX/XNUMX: The wheels turn faster in Colombia. Many strong, young drivers follow. Among them is Miguel Angel Lopez. The strong climber from Team Astana won two stages at the Vuelta a Espana this season. In the future, however, he also wants to be at the top of the overall standings. He definitely has the talent for it.
Name | Miguel Angel Lopez | |
Birthday | 4. February 1994 | |
Place of Birth | Fishing | |
Nationality | Colombia | |
Size | 170 cm | |
Weight | 65 kg | |
Current team | Astana | |
specialization | mountaineer classification driver | |
Active as a professional | 2015 | |
Greatest successes | Winner Tour de Suisse 2016 Winner Milano-Torino 2016 Two stage wins at the 2017 Vuelta a Espana |
Overall victory at the Mini Tour de France
Miguel Angel Lopez turns 4 on February 2018, 24. Nevertheless, he is already one of the best climbers in the peloton. As an amateur, he began his career at Lotería de Boyacá. In 2014, the still completely unknown Colombian won the Tour de l'Avenir, which was so popular among young people. Many later top stars have at the "Mini Tour de France" triumphed in their early days, including later tour winners Greg Lemond, Miguel Indurain and Laurent Fignon. Bauke Mollema, Nairo Quintana, Esteban Chaves and Warren Barguil were also there "Tour of the Future" at the top of the podium as youngsters. So it's no wonder that several professional teams immediately became aware of Miguel Angel Lopez. Team Astana finally secured the services of Superman in 2015, as the Colombian is unmodestly called by his numerous trackside fans.
"I decided to attack and everyone was surprised!" - @SupermanlopezN ST9 #TourdeSuise https://t.co/UUrp1GjdUK pic.twitter.com/rGVkTbsPuR
— Astana Pro Team (@AstanaTeam) June 19, 2016
Strong in Switzerland and Spain
Right in his first year at Astana, Lopez lived up to expectations. At the mountainous Vuelta a Burgos, only three pros were faster and he won the junior classification. He was able to draw attention to himself for the first time in the WorldTour at the Tour de Suisse with his seventh place overall. Just one year later, his star finally rose, because in 2016 he won the Tour of Switzerland. He also triumphed in the Milano-Torino one-day race. At the Vuelta a Espana he started for the first time in a Grand Tour, but could not finish it due to a fall. After third place at the 2017 Tour of Austria, fourth place at the Vuelta a Burgos and one stage win each, he tried again at the Vuelta in Spain. Unfortunately, he lost a lot of time early on, otherwise he could have been in contention for overall victory. So it was enough for a strong eighth place, victory in the junior classification and two stage wins.
Mountain goat or classification driver?
Cycling is booming in Colombia. Fernando Gaviria is one of the strongest sprinters, but especially in the mountains there are countless strong compatriots of Miguel Angel Lopez. Nairo Quintana, Rigoberto Uran and Sergio Henao should of course be mentioned here. As so often, the mountain goats from South America have their problems in the fight against the clock. The weakness in time trials can also be found in Miguel Angel Lopez. Until he gets these problems under control, he's not a serious contender for an overall Grand Tour title. The Colombian loses far too much time to make up for the loss in the mountains. Therefore, his main focus is currently more on stage wins. But if Lopez can improve in the fight against the clock in the coming years, he should be taken seriously.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9XMqm3QzII
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