Iban Mayo

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Iban Mayo

Mayo at the 2007 Giro d'Italia
Personal information
Full name	Iban Mayo Diez
Nickname	El Gallo (The Rooster)
Date of birth	August 19, 1977 (1977-08-19) (age 30)
Country	Spain
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Weight	65 kg (140 lb/10.2 st)
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Climbing specialist
Professional team(s)
2000–2006 2007	Euskaltel-Euskadi Saunier Duval-Prodir
Major wins
Tour de France, 1 stage Giro d'Italia, 1 stage Dauphiné Libéré (2004) Vuelta al País Vasco (2003) Vuelta a Burgos (2006)
Infobox last updated on:
February 3, 2008

Iban Mayo Diez (born August 19, 1977, in Igorre, Basque Country, Spain) is a professional road bicycle racer.

Renowned as a climber, Mayo turned pro with the Euskaltel-Euskadi team in 2000, and has become one of the Basque Country's top prospects for future cycling glory. He stayed with Euskaltel-Euskadi throughout 2000-2006, further increasing his support among the Basque fans. The biggest result of Mayo's career thus far came in the 2003 Tour de France, when he won a resounding stage victory up the famous Alpe d'Huez. He eventually finished the Tour in sixth place overall.

In 2004 he impressed everyone with a victory in the Dauphiné Libéré, which is generally regarded as a preparation course for the Tour de France. In one of the stages he managed to beat Lance Armstrong by 2 minutes in a time trial on the Mont Ventoux, also breaking the previous record for the legendary climb.^[1] Therefore he was seen as a dangerous outsider for the Tour de France in the same year. It turned out to be a disappointment. After losing a lot of time in the north on the cobblestones due to a crash, he lost even more in the Pyrenees due to his sustained injuries, and reportedly mononucleosis infection. He quit the race before the start of the 15th stage. Many observers felt that Mayo had taken on too much and had reached his top form too early in the season.

After a lackluster 2005 with no victories, in 2006 he returned to the top of the sport in the Dauphiné Libéré with a 2nd placing in Briançon and a win on the Queen stage to La Toussuire. He was seen as a possible contender for the title in the 2006 Tour de France, but retired from the race during the 11th stage.

In 2007 Mayo rode for Saunier Duval-Prodir, taking his first Giro d'Italia stage win. On July 30, 2007, the UCI confirmed that he had failed a test for EPO administered during the just-ended Tour de France, in which he had finished in 16th place.^[2] On October 22, the Spanish Cycling Federation cleared Mayo after a second test proved negative.^[3] However, the UCI president Pat McQuaid stopped short of clearing the rider, pending further test results.^[4] On December 19, a French laboratory confirmed the positive doping test after the UCI asked for the second sample to be analyzed again.^[5] As of February 2008, Mayo is without a definitive answer to the doping case or a professional team.

[edit] Major results

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] External links

• Iban Mayo fansite
• Palmarès at Trap-Friis.dk

Persondata
NAME	Mayo, Iban
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Mayo Diez, Iban
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Road bicycle racer
DATE OF BIRTH	1977-08-19
PLACE OF BIRTH	Igorre, Basque Country, Spain
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH