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Bicycling Australia January February 2014 www.bicyclingaustralia.com.au 63

ColombianWay back in the early

1980s a bunch of scrawny,

pint-sized bike racers from

Colombia first sprung onto

the European race scene.

The rest, as they say, is

history evolving history, as

Steve Thomasfinds out.

2013 has been a big year forColombian cycling. After a verybrief but noticeable hiatus, theColombians have bounced backto the top of the mountain with a

clear spring in their pedal strokes. Grandtour podium finishes, classification titlesand epic stage wins as well as some veryclose calls in the classics. The laurels aremounting up in a way not seen for manyyears, maybe not even since the glorydays of Lucho Herrera and the Caf deColombia boys.

Its not that theyve really been away;its simply that theres been a lack of doorsopening up to Colombians in recent years.

But thats all changing and right nowtheres a pack of hungry young Colombianclimbers beating at the doors of the majorEuropean teams teams who have been re-acquainted with the Colombian mountainmagic thanks to the new generation. Mensuch as Rigoberto Uran, Sergio Henao,Carlos Betancur and Nairo Quintana riders who between them could well rule themountains of pro bike racing for the nextdecade, and steal the odd grand tour winalong the way.

With their never say die, brave ridingstyles in the mountains, the Colombianshave been lighting up the grand tourmountain stages for may years. But i n 2010there was not a single Colombian rider onthe start line for the Tour de France; thefirst time that had happened in 27 yearssince the very first Colombian team rodethe great race.

Bike racing is a hugely passionate affair inColombia and has a great following. Raceswere first recorded as far back as 1899 inBogota and around the same time, twovelodromes were built to accommodate thisnew and thriving sport.

It took more than 50 years for the firstVuelta a Colombia to be established. Therace has taken place every year since 1951and is known as one of the toughest andmost mountainous stage races in the world.

Being far from affluent, Colombian ridersrarely had the chance to ride outside of their

Luis Herrera Lucho Herrera trulyepitomises the classic Colombian climberand was an inspiration to generations ofriders around the world. Lucho is perhapsthe most loved of all Colombian racers.

Herrera won the mountains titles in allthree grand tours, plus numerous stages andthe overall GC in the 1987 Vuelta a Espana.

Fabio Parra Hunched and gritty in every

way, Parra was a superb climber and long-time teammate to Herrera. They were theoriginal Colombian double act. Duringhis career Parra took five grand-tour stagewins, the Tour de France white jersey andfinished third on GC in the 1998 edition still the best ever Tour de France overallplacing by a South American rider.

Oliverio Rincon Scoring stage wins in allthree grand tours, the super climber Rinconwas tipped by many of his compatriots as astar of the future. Unfortunately his promisewas never fully realised and he retired aftereight pro seasons.

Santiago Botero Well educated andneatly groomed, Botero was a huge talent.He took out the 2002 World Time TrialChampionship, the 2000 Tour de FranceKOM title and six grand tour stage winsduring his career, which was taintedafter implications of involvement in theOperation Puerto doping case.

Martin Rodriguez Nick named Cochise,Rodriguez was one of the very firstColombians to make his mark in Europe.A multiple Vuelta a Colombia winner andAmericas pursuit Champion, he broke theWorld Hour record in Mexico in 1970(with 47.566.24km) and then becameWorld Pursuit Champion in 1971. Heturned pro with Felice Gimondis Bianchiteam in 1973 and won two Giro stagesbefore returning home to race in Colombiaat the end of 1975.

Victor Hugo Pena Although not asignificant winner on the scale of hisclimbing counterparts, Pena was a longstanding and respected member of the propeloton. As part of Lance Armstrongs USPostal team he wore the Tour de Franceyellow jersey in 2003, the first Colombianto do so.

Pena was also an accomplished swimmerand is still racing domestically in Colombia.

Men of the Moment

Rigoberto Uran Perhaps the brightesthope to become Colombias next grand tourwinner. Uran is a superb all-rounder; ashard as nails, having been forced by tragiccircumstance (his fathers assassination andthe need to provide for his family) to turnpro at the tender age of 16.

Sergio Henao Making his pro debut with

Team Sky in 2012, Henao soon made aname for himself and has become a valuableaide and back up to teammate RigobertoUran.

He is a quality climber and strong all-rounder with a huge future ahead of him.His younger brother looks set to join him atSky in 2014.

Fabio Duarte The 2008 Under 23 WorldRoad Race Champion has been making aslow but sure career progression and oftenshows glimpses of brilliance; he is a ridervery much in the mound of Santiago Botero.

Nairo Quintana One of many greatColombians to strike his name on the Tourde LAvenir winners trophy (2010). Placingsecond in the 2013 Tour de F rance plusKOM and Best young Rider, Quintanahas been using his phenomenal climbingprowess in the services of his Movistar teamto mark him out as one of the great youngclimbers of the current generation.

Carlos Betancur Having finished thirdin Fleche-Wallonne, fourth at Liege, fifthoverall and best young rider in the 2013Giro, the AG2R rider is clearly a greatprospect for both the hilly classics andgrand tours in the near future.

Jonathon Millan Hugely talented, acomplete racer and a born winner, thatsMillan. In 2013 he notched up two stagewins and finished fifth overall in the Vueltaa Colombia. Hes been racing for the localGW-Shimano club team, but is destined forbigger things soon.

The Dynamic Dozen

Passion

Tim De Waele

Nairo Quintana is one of therising stars of Colombia 2013

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homeland apart from in other Pan-Americanevents. This changed in 1970 when ayoung pursuiter and climber named MartinRodriguez made his mark on the worldstage. Cochise, as he was known, wasalready a Pan-American track and multipleVuelta a Colombia Champion, but in 1970he turned heads by breaking the world hourrecord in Mexico City. One year later hetook the World Amateur Pursuit title in Italy(Colombias first ever cycling world title)and two years after that was signed to theillustrious Bianchi team of Felice Gimondi,whom he partnered to victory in manyleading two-up time trials.

Cochise won two Giro dItalia stagesduring his short pro career and in 1975became the first Colombian to ride the Tourde France, where he finished 27th overall.After that he returned to race domesticallyin Colombia.

Five years later a Colombian nationalteam made their way to Europe and earneda start in the Tour de LAvenir; a virtualTour de France for amateur riders. The teamwon the race through Alfonso Florez, whowould go on to become the first Colombianto wear the polka dot jersey in the Tour de

France. He was assassinated in 1992 thereasons for which are still unclear, althoughit is known that high profile cyclists wereoften used as both willing and enforced drugmules by the cartels and some eventuallypaid with their lives if they crossed them.

During this period there was still aclear distinction between amateur andprofessional cycling. In 1983 the Tour deFrance organisers made the unthinkablemove of declaring the race as open andinvited the Colombians along to the race.

The team took a real beating on the pavand flat opening stages, but handled theclimbs well the five surviving riders thatwas.

Their best placed finishers were EdgarCorredor and Patrocinio Jimenez (whowas also second in the KOM) in 16th and17th overall. Unfortunately when it cameto descending it was carnage many of theother teams took issue at the Colombians

lack of downhill skills.Even so, these scrawny amateurs hadmade their mark and won a fair few heartsand fans along the way, which lead themback to the 1984 Tour with battery makerVarta as co-sponsor and Lucho Herrera dulywent out and won the stage to Alp dHuez,still riding as an amateur.

The following year they became a 24-man professional team Caf de ColombiaPlias Varta-Mavic and took two Tour stagewins and the mountains title amongst othermajor victories; the Colombians had welland truly arrived in Europe.

Two years later, in 1987, Lucho Herreratook the teams greatest ever victory the Vuelta a Espana. By this time its

management had changed, riders had beensigned to European teams and in 1990 theplug was pulled; a sad event for Colombiancycling.

The Spanish Kelme squad became themain port of opportunity for Colombianriders during the 1990s, with riders suchas Santiago Botero, Felix Cardenas andLibardo Nino all racing in their historiclime-green strip. When Kelme begun tocrumble, it was Gianni Savios Selle Italiateam that bridged the gap for Colombianriders. Savio also took on the role of advisorand manager with the Colombian nationalcycling federation but has since movedaffections to Venezuela.

Mauricio Soler seemed set to steal theshow and start a revival a few years backwhen he took the Tour de France mountains

title in 2007; unfortunately he suffered anhorrific crash in the 2011 Tour de Suisse andwas forced into retirement.

Thanks to the efforts of these pioneeringracers, many individual Colombian ridersand trade teams now get the chance tocompete in Europe. In 2012 the Colombia-Coldeportes Continental team (nowTeam Colombia) was launched; an Italianmanaged and Colombian registered team

which is very much picking up the mantelleft in the dust by the original Colombianteam of the 1980s.

The second coming of the Colombians isalready here.

LegendsThe Stolen Ones

At one time, kidnapping was a majorissue in Colombia and kidnap for ransom ofsports stars and personalities was a majorsource of exposure and revenue for the rebelFARC guerrilla group.

In 2000 there were a number of high-profile kidnappings by the group onebeing ex professional cyclist OliverioRincon. In response, Lucho Herrera and

Jose Bayaert (the French 1948 OlympicRoad Race Champion, a past winner of theVuelta a Colombia and former Colombiannational coach) joined a mass protest marchto appeal for the release of Rincon. Twomonths later Lucho was abducted from hismothers home and then blindfolded andforce-marched deep into the mountains.

Fortunately for Lucho there was anational outcry, as he was very muchconsidered an all-Colombian treasure anda national hero. It looked set to become abad PR move by FARC and he was releasedwithin 48 hours. Rincon, who had been incaptivity for some time, was released shortlyafter this.

Bayaert sensed that he was being followedas the next potential target and fled overthe garden wall with a plastic bag full of his

>> page 66Tim De Waele

TimDeWaele

Luis Lucho Herrera and Richard Virenque (left) at the 2003 Tour de France.

Carlos Betancur at

Liege Baston Liege2013

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belongings, leaving behind the country hehad called home for 50 years.

Alto de la Linea

Along the road from Cali to Bogota isColombias most famous and highest roadpass the Alto de la Linea. Climbing startsfrom a lofty 1,653m above sea level andthe pass tops out at 3,265m. The road isa twisted and spectacular one; much likethe Stelvio Pass but higher.

The average gradient of the 21.7kmclimb is 7.62%, although it does snare13% pitches in places.

The climb has been a regular featureof the two great Colombian toursand has also seen its fair share oftragedy during races, with riders andofficials having fallen to their deathon occasion.

Alto de LetrasStarting out at just 468m above

sea level, the Alta de Letras climbs onfor a staggering 80km to its summit at

3,187m, making it amongst the longestpaved road climb on earth.The average gradient is just 3.95%, but

in places it hits the 11% mark. The climbhas featured in almost every edition of theVuelta a Colombia.

The non-Strava record for the climbstands to Santiago Botero with two hours,52 minutes.

Puerto de MinasJust to the south of the cycling-crazy

mountain city of Medellin looms the Puertode Minas; another monster of a classicColombian climb.

In all, the climb lasts for 42km and risesfrom a starting point of 1,819m to its2,466m peak, with an average grade of just4.3%, but slapping at 11% in short sections.

The climb is a regular feature inmajor races and is a classic training ridepunctuation for many of the countrys toppro riders.

Vuelta a ColombiaCurrently listed as the nations only UCI

America Tour ranked race, the Vuelta aColombia is of course also its national tourand a race widely considered to be one ofthe toughest stage races outside of the mainEuropean grand tour arena. This is largelydue to its epic mountain stages and thedepth of home-grown quality climbers alllooking to make their mark.

The race had been planned for manyyears but finally came to be in 1951.

There have only been three foreign victorsin the race, one being Oscar Sevilla in 2013(who now lives and races in Colombia) andmost of the great Colombian climbers havewon the race in the past.

Clasico RCNMany Colombian riders will rate the

Clasico RCN as even tougher and moreimportant than the Vuelta a Colombia.

The race started out in 1961. It is runon a similar mountainous format to theVuelta a Colombia and during the 1980s itattracted the cream of Europes pro peloton.Riders including Sean Kelly, LaurentFignion, Bernard Hinault, Charly Mottet

and Claudio Chiappucci have all won stagesin the race, but the GC has almost alwaysfallen to a Colombian rider.

Tim De Waele

TimD

eWaele