Colin Lewis

Colin Lewis (27 July 1942 – 4 March 2022) was a British racing cyclist. He started racing at 19 and rode the Milk Race in 1960, finishing 7th.

Cycling career Lewis represented Britain in the Tour de l'Avenir and the world championships at San Sebastian. He came 25th, the best British rider, in the individual road race at the 1964 Summer Olympics.

He represented the 1966 Welsh team at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica, participating in the road race and pursuit events.

After racing in France he received offers to join the AC Boulogne-Billancourt in Paris, often a stepping stone to professional teams and especially to Peugeot or to ride for a smaller British team, Mackeson-Condor. The sponsors were a brewing company and a London bicycle shop. He turned pro for £4 per week. Average weekly pay in Britain at the time was about £25. In 1967 he finished the Tour de France 84th and won the national road championship. Mackeson-Condor doubled his pay. Lewis said:

The biggest lesson he learned on the Tour was that the ability to suffer for prolonged periods, Lewis said that this was the difference between British and Continental professionals at the time. He opened a cycle shop in 1976. He was manager of Eastway Cycle Circuit in Hackney, London, and spent seven years as training director at the South East Centre of Excellence.

Palmarès

1960 7th Milk Race 1966 25th Individual road race, Commonwealth Games 1967 1st British National Road Race Championships 1968 1st British National Road Race Championships Linz am Rhine ? Golden Wheel Trophy Herne Hill