Colombia's Cyclists Triumph

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Colombians are triumphing in cycling, a field formerly dominated by Europeans. The star of the moment is Nairo Quintana, who won the Vuelta a España and the 2014 Giro d'Italia last year. He also finished second twice in the Tour de France. As reported by The New York Times, Quintana is challenging officers who moderate cycling in his country. The athlete accuses them of bureaucratic inefficiency, not supporting young talent and being frivolous about the doping controls of athletes.

According to him, if these mechanisms improve, Colombia could give even more champions. "There is a lot of talent in Colombia and another cycling phenomenon could emerge tomorrow," said the 27-year-old cyclist during a press conference in Bogotá in April. "But this is not due to the support of our sports officials."

Winner Anacona, another Colombian cyclist, responded to the congratulations of the president of his country Juan Manuel Santos after winning the Tour de France last year with the following message on Twitter: “@JuanManSantos @NairoQuinCo @jarlinsonpantan we will return because we have become SOLO in this nice and hard sport with the help of few”. Sports officials in Colombia disagree with the criticism.

According to Jorge Ovidio González, the president of the Colombian Cycling Federation, these cyclists "have not been alone." Quintana appears to be a favorite for the Tour de France this year as does Chris Froome, who has already won three times. At a recent press conference in Bogotá, Quintana made clear who he believes deserves credit for the wins. "The five or six cyclists who are in the international squad are filled with pride, we place our nation among the best in the world, but we are left without understanding when others place the medals because they usually say they are the best, but then we see reality”, he stated.