Colin Lewis

Colin Lewis was a cyclist who rode professionally between 1967 and 1974, winning multiple national titles and competed in two editions of the Tour de France.

Lewis was born in the Welsh village of Abertysswg, near to Caerphilly in 1942. While watching the 1960 Roma Olympics, he made a bet with a friend that he would compete at the next Olympics. In 1963, Lewis made his Milk Race début in England, finishing in ninth place. The following year, Lewis won his bet after competing at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Later the same year he also won a stage of the Milk Race.

In 1965, Lewis rode in the Tour of Austria, finishing in 10th place overall. In 1967, he turned professional and rode for the Mackeson-Whitbread team, which also featured Dave Bonner, Derek Green and Hugh Porter. In the same year, he became the first Welsh cyclist to ride the Tour de France, and was a roommate of Tom Simpson. Also in 1967, Lewis won his first national road race title. In 1968, he once again rode in the Tour de France, but was eliminated on stage three after missing the time cut. Despite this, he still defended his national title later in the year.

In 1970, Lewis moved to the Holdsworth-Campagnolo team, remaining with them until 1974. He had 250 career victories, including 38 wins as a professional. In 1977, Lewis came back to cycling as an amateur, winning multiple races including the Tour of Wales. Lewis was also the president of the Mid-Devon Cycling Club, and in 1976, he opened a cycling shop in Paignton.