In the 1987 Tour de France, he won the young rider classification.

In both 1989 and 1990, he won a stage in the Tour de France and finished in 8th place.

A capable General Classification rider Alcalá finished in the top 10 during five different Grand Tours.

In 2008, Alcalá returned to professional racing by competing in the Vuelta Chihuahua.

In early 2011, he stated his intention to race at the 2011 Pan American Games,[2] but eventually did not compete.