Iban Mayo

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

Renowned as a powerful climber, Mayo turned pro with the Euskaltel team in 2000, and has become one of the Basque Country's top prospects for future glory. He has stayed with Euskaltel throughout his career, 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, 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. 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 monolucleosis infection. He quit the race before the start of the 15th stage.