Globe Riders: Colombia and its place among the major cycling nations

The third article of our series exploring cycling in different regions of the world focuses on Colombia and some of the reasons behind its international success across different disciplines.

Colombia’s road race National Champion Sergio Higuita powered to victory last Saturday on the Queen stage of the Tour de Romandie (Switzerland). The previous weekend, the country’s track cyclists clocked up five medals in the first round of the Tissot UCI Track Nations Cup in Glasgow (Great Britain). Meanwhile, since the world fell in love with BMX Racing double Olympic Champion Mariana Pajón, Colombia has not ceased to produce huge talents in the discipline. The country boasts Olympic medals in all three of these disciplines.

“Cycling is considered one of the most important sports in our country,” rejoices the President of the Colombian Cycling Federation (Federación Colombiana de Ciclismo), Jorge Mauricio Vargas Carreño. “This is not only because of its traditions – for example the Vuelta a Colombia which has been held since 1951 – but also because of our international results in major competitions such as the three Grand Tours, UCI World Championships and the Olympics.”

The Vuelta a Colombia and beyond

Colombia is currently preparing for next month’s Vuelta a Colombia, the 72nd edition, which played an important part in the country’s cycling history, particularly in the 1950s, 1960s and the early 1970s… “in the days when dreams were bigger than international successes,” comments the Federation President. “But the triumphs of riders abroad changed priorities,” says Mr Vargas Carreño, who nevertheless underlines the fact that the national tour has been staged every year, without interruption, since 1951.

Urán, Quintana, Chaves, Gaviria, Bernal, Higuita…. the list of international stars is non-exhaustive. Just how does Colombia keep producing them?

The Federation President points to the 29 cycling leagues across the country, each of which promote regional cycling through their clubs. The Ministry of Sport runs a programme called Colombian Talents, and the National Federation organises competitions for all age categories.

Egan Bernal’s project for young talents

Add to this, the new project instigated by one of the country’s biggest stars, Egan Bernal, the fourth rider to win both the Tour de France (2019) and the Giro d’Italia (2021) before the age of 25. A few weeks ago, Bernal launched the EB Project which will provide support to cyclists aged 14 to 24. They will benefit from all tools necessary to further their careers such as medical, sporting, technical, psychological, nutritional and academic assistance.

Meanwhile women’s cycling in the country has been boosted since 2016 with the organisation of the Vuelta a Colombia Femenina, reinforcing a women’s calendar and its backbone event, the Women’s Tour, which has existed for more than 20 years.

The Federation President points out that the women’s Vuelta a Colombia, broadcast on free-to-air television, enjoys constant growth, and last year attracted 176 athletes, including five foreign teams: “a demonstration of the growth of women’s cycling in Colombia.”

Advanced Development Projects

Aside from road cycling, Colombia’s National Federation has the support of the Ministry of Sport for its Advanced Development Projects (PAD) for track, BMX Racing, mountain bike and para-cycling.

For track, the first call for new talents saw 1500 athletes from all regions sign up for the detection process. The number was gradually reduced to 250 men and women who underwent technical, medical and psychological evaluations. The most outstanding are exposed to competition at a high level, and the system is bearing fruit: at the 2021 Junior Pan American Games held in Cali, the host country was crowned overall track cycling champions.

Of the country’s eight velodromes – five of them certified – the Alcides Nieto Patiño velodrome in Cali is the most well known internationally, having hosted rounds of the former UCI Track Cycling World Cup, the UCI Track World Championships and last year’s UCI Track Nations Cup. Next year, it will welcome the world’s best Juniors for the 2023 UCI Junior Track World Championships.

Winners of the inaugural Tissot UCI Track Nations Cup in 2021, the Colombians again impressed at the first round of the 2022 series, in Glasgow (Scotland) two weeks ago, thanks to Martha Bayona’s three medals (gold, silver and bronze), Cristian David Ortega Fontalvo’s victory in the 1km time trial and Kevin Quintero’s silver in the keirin.

The Tissot UCI Track Nations Cup returns to Cali in July this year.

BMX Racing: direction Bogotá

Colombia will also be the centre of BMX Racing’s international community later this year when it hosts four rounds of the UCI BMX Racing World Cup in Bogotá (between 24 September and 2 October). The local crowds will be awaiting Mariana Pajón, six-time UCI World Champion and double Olympic Champion (London 2012 and Rio 2016, plus silver medal in Tokyo 2020), as well other national stars including Olympic medallists Carlos Mario Oquendo (bronze in 2012) and former UCI World Cycling Centre trainee Carlos Ramírez (bronze in 2016 and 2020).

“Mariana Pajón is a benchmark for Colombian sport,” remarks Jorge Mauricio Vargas Carreño. “She has undoubtedly promoted the development of BMX Racing in our country. Athletes start from a very early age with the dream of reaching the top thanks to her example.”

It is not surprising that Colombia has 142 BMX clubs, 62 BMX tracks and an increasingly large pool of talent thanks in large part to the PAD development project.

The same goes for mountain bike, where Colombia is well known for its XCM athletes, not least the 2019 and 2020 UCI World Champion Leonardo Páez, who also has a silver medal and three bronze to his name, and last year’s silver medallist Diego Alfonso Arias.

Coming through the ranks are several promising Under-23 cross-country Olympic (XCO) riders including last year’s Junior silver medallist at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, Camilo Gómez.

These athletes all have a strong following in a country where the competitive spirit is very much alive, but more rational than some years back.

The National Federation President explains: “The competitive attitude in Colombia was born early on, with the Vuelta a Colombia. Traditionally, Colombians like to win, and plunge into despair when defeated. This attitude is changing, perhaps because of the increase in the number of people cycling themselves.

“They understand the efforts of a cyclist better and this generates greater solidarity and more understanding in the case of defeat,” observes the man at the head of Colombian cycling.