Luis Herrera

Luis Alberto "Lucho" Herrera Herrera, known as "El jardinerito" ("the little gardener"; born May 4, 1961, in Fusagasugá, Colombia), is a retired Colombian road racing cyclist. Herrera was a professional from 1985 to 1992 but had a successful amateur career before that in Colombia.

He entered his first Vuelta a Colombia in 1981 where he finished 16th overall and 3rd in the New Rider competition. Although he abandoned his second Vuelta a Colombia in 1982, he won Colombia's second major stage-race, the Clásico RCN. In 1983 Herrera won Clásico RCN again as well as two stages and finished second overall to Alfonso Florez Ortiz in the 1983 Vuelta a Colombia. In 1984 he won the Vuelta a Colombia, and the Clásico RCN.

In 1984 he won stage 17 to Alpe d'Huez in the 1984 Tour de France, becoming the first Colombian to win a stage of the race, and the first amateur cyclist to win a stage in the history of the Tour de France. He won the Vuelta a Colombia and the Clásico RCN four times each. His greatest achievement was in 1987, when he won the Vuelta a España, the first South American to win a Grand Tour. Herrera also won the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré in 1988 and 1991.

Herrera won five "King of the Mountains" jerseys from the three Grand Tours. He is the second rider to win the King of the Mountains jersey in all three Grand Tours. The first was Federico Bahamontes of Spain.

Career achievements Major results

1981 1st Stage 5 Clásico RCN 1982

1st Stages 2, 7 & 10 4th Overall Tour de l'Avenir 1st Stage 10 1983

1st Stage 8 Coors Classic 1st Stages 1 & 3 1st Stage 6b Grand Prix Guillaume Tell 2nd Overall Vuelta a Colombia 1st Stages 9 & 14 1984

1st Stage 8

1st Stages 6, 9 & 10 1st Stage 17 Tour de France 1985

1st Stages 5 & 8 2nd Overall Clásico RCN 7th Overall Tour de France

1st Stages 11 & 14 1986

1st Prologue, Stages 2 & 4 (ITT)

1st Stage 6 1987

1st Stage 11 2nd Overall Vuelta a Colombia 1st Prologue 5th Overall Tour de France

1988

1st Stage 6b

1st Stages 2 & 11 6th Overall Tour de France 1989 Giro d'Italia

1st Stages 13 & 18 (ITT) 1990 4th Overall Clásico RCN 1st Prologue 1991

1st Stage 5 Vuelta a España

1st Stage 16 Volta a Catalunya

1st Stage 6 6th Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme 9th Overall Vuelta a Murcia 1992

1st Stage 5 1st Prologue Vuelta a Colombia 8th Overall Giro d'Italia 1st Stage 9

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

+ Legend — Did not compete DNF Did not finish

Grand Tour record