Colombian Rocket

It is unfortunate that the modern day Colombia (not Columbia) is associated with cocaine and drug cartels. The most famous is Pablo Escobar, although Escobar was killed back in 1993, the cocaine problem is still there and doesn’t seem to end.

Columbia is a situated at the northwestern part of South America and boasts of rugged and high mountains, making it a perfect training ground for cyclists. I’m not very familiar with Colombian pre-1980’s but I can count with my fingers the famous South Americans at the time I was fixated with the sport.

At the top was Luis “Lucho” Herera, who won the King of the Mountain and hree stages in the Tour de France in the 80’s, including the stage to Alp d’Huez. He would also win three stages in the Giro d’Italia and the KoM. In 1987, he would go on to win the Vuelta a Espana.

Then there was Santiago Botero, an exceptional time triallist and a decent climber who in the 00’s, was touted as a challenger to the Tour. But Lance Armstrong and a doping association put his career in a tailspin that he couldn't recover.

Colombian cyclists are generally exceptional climbers and bad time triallists and badder sprinters (except Botero).  Case in point is Nairo Quintana. Quintana, who is currently in 2nd place at the Giro, is probably the greatest climber in the universe today, better than Chris Froome, but for the past three years, he couldn’t beat Froome who is a master in the TT. Quintana has won both Giro and Vuelta but the Tour has belonged to Froome.

And then in 2015, in the Tour de San Luis in Argentina, a 20yo Colombian was running roughshod over the likes of Mark Cavendish and Andrei Greipel! This kid turned out to a Colombian named Fernando Gaviria. I was really fascinated to learn that somebody from a country and a cycling culture of climbers, a rocket would come out and destroy the best in the world!

In 2015, Cavendish was riding for Omega-Pharma. By 2016, he was let go and OP would sign the brightness sprinter, Marcel Kittel. Although OP was already washed with Tom Boonen and other classics sprcialist, he OP director sportif, Patrick Lefevre, did not hesitate to sign up Gaviria. And it almost paid dividends last year when he almost won Milan- Sanremo, except that he crashed in the last hundred meters. Although he won a few more races after MSR, he would finally breakthrough in the Autumn Classic, Paris-Tours.

This year, this Colombian stallion was finally let loose in the Giro d’Italia. As of last Saturday, he already won four of the fourteen stages, not bad for 22yo Grand Tour rookie! While he is expected to finish the Giro, I think it would be best to send him home. He’s too young to finish such a brutal race and needs to be brought up slowly.

The only problem I see is his teammate, Marcel Kittel. At the moment, Kittel is numero uno in the world in sprinting and Gaviria nipping at the German’s heels. How long will this ceasefire last will be a big question in 2018.

Remember that in professional cycling, you’re only as good as your last win.