Gilles Delion

Gilles Delion (born 5 August 1966) is a French former road bicycle racer. His greatest achievements include winning the Giro di Lombardia in 1990 and the young rider classification in the 1990 Tour de France.

Biography

Delion was born on 5 August 1966 in Saint-Étienne and was a professional cyclist from 1988 to 1996. Delion placed second at the 1989 Giro di Lombardia behind Swiss rider Tony Rominger.

Delion placed third overall at the 1990 Tirreno-Adriatico, and also placed third at 1990 Milan-San Remo, won by Gianni Bugno, before beating Laurent Fignon in the hilltop stage at Critérium International. saying that at that point doping was widespread in the cycling peloton, and that all French teams were involved. Willy Voet wrote in his book "Massacre à la chaîne" that Delion was against doping, and that other cyclists ridiculed Delion for that.

After retiring from road cycling he competed in mountain biking. He later worked in sales in Chambéry, and served as vice-president of Chambéry Cyclisme Formation (CFF). In 2013, Delion joined the board of the UCI’s Professional Cycling Council.

Major results

1988 3rd Overall Ronde de l'Isard 3rd Grand Prix des Amériques 1989 1st Gran Premio di Lugano 2nd Overall Tour de Romandie 2nd Giro di Lombardia 3rd GP Ouest–France 7th Giro dell'Emilia 7th Milano–Torino 1990 1st Young rider classification, Tour de France 1st Giro di Lombardia 2nd Overall Critérium International 1st Stage 2 2nd Giro dell'Emilia 2nd Giro del Lazio 3rd Overall Tirreno–Adriatico 3rd Milan–San Remo 3rd Milano–Torino 5th UCI Road World Cup 9th Züri-Metzgete 1991 4th Wincanton Classic 9th Overall Tour Méditerranéen 1992 1st Classique des Alpes 1st Stage 7 Tour de France 3rd Grand Prix La Marseillaise 4th Overall Tour Méditerranéen 1993 Mi-Août Bretonne 1st Stages 3 & 8 3rd Overall Tour du Limousin 5th Overall Tour Méditerranéen 10th Giro dell'Emilia 1994 1st Grand Prix de Rennes 1st Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise 2nd Overall Tour de l'Ain 1st Stage 2