Head Coach Julie Carter has announced the addition of Alejandro Castillo to the cycling program for the 2022-23 season. The Guapiles, Limón, Costa Rica native brings six years of competition experience to the team.

Castillo started riding after some friends invited him to do some recreational cycling. Months later, they told him about a cross-country race. He entered and finished in the top 10. From there, he began to compete in other cross-country events. A year later, he joined a team in the city and started some minor league competition. He moved up to the Sub-23 category in 2019 and started participating in high-level races like Vuelta Costa Rica.

Castillo explained why he loves cycling.

"I entered cycling without knowing that I was going to like it so much," he said. "Cycling has taught me many values that I would not have learned, especially camaraderie and discipline."

Castillo has enjoyed quite a bit of success in recent years. He has medals six times at the National Games in Costa Rica, he was runner up in the Intermediate Sprint at the Vuelta Junior event, and he won the Intermediate Sprint in the Vuelta Amateur race. He's also participated in Vuelta Costa Rica (UCI 2.1), Vuelta Chiriqui (Panama), and Vuelta NICARAGUA.

Castillo is a member of the Schneider-Colono Agropecuario-Clips team and lists his favorite athlete as Colombian cyclist Rigoberto Uran because, "He is always contagious with positivism and never gives up."

In addition to cycling, Castillo likes to travel, learn new things, and meet new people. He graduated from Liceo San Rafael High School in December of 2018. He will arrive at Lindenwood University as a freshman majoring in Exercise Science, focusing on the cycling disciplines of mountain bike and road.