In the 1985 Tour de France, a Colombian cyclist named Luis “Lucho” Herrera won the King of the Mountains competition setting a record points total for the polka-dot jersey. He rode for Colombia’s national twenty-two man cycling team that was sponsored by Varta Batteries and the National Federation of Coffee Growers. They were known as the Varta-Café de Colombia team. I got these details from Kings of the Mountains: How Colombia’s Cycling Heroes Changed Their Nation’s History, written by Matt Rendell. Please read this book…

My uncle, Rafael Herrera, no relation to Luis Herrera, was working for the National Federation of Coffee Growers when they sponsored the cycling team. Upon their return to Colombia, the team bicycles were raffled off to the employees of the National Federation of Coffee Growers. My uncle won one of the bikes that Luis Herrera road to victory in the mountains of France that year. When my uncle learned that I was building frames he decided to give the bike to me.

It is a Vitus with a complete Mavic parts group and appears to have the original tubular tires. I plan to do a very minimal restoration, not much more than light cleaning and assembly. I’m looking for information and any images of Lucho in the 1985 Tour de France to put together a detailed history of the bike and his victory that year. If you know of any good resources on the 1985 Tour de France, please contact me. Any help will be greatly appreciated.