colombian in tour de france

Egan Bernal confirms Tour de France participation following strong early-season form

Colombian is set to join Rodríguez, Thomas, and Pidcock as part of formidable Ineos Grenadiers squad this July

Egan Bernal has announced that he'll be returning to the Tour de France this summer, with the resurgent Colombian set to form part of a strong Ineos Grenadiers selection alongside Carlos Rodríguez, Geraint Thomas , and Tom Pidcock.

The 27-year-old won the Tour four years ago but since 2022 has been working his way back to top form after an early season training accident.

Last year he returned to Grand Tour racing at the Tour and Vuelta a España and this spring he's been in his best form since the crash, stringing together seven top-10 results from eight races, including podium spots at O Gran Camiño and the Volta a Catalunya.

Writing on Instagram , Bernal confirmed his Tour participation.

'I don't have to prove anything to anyone' – Egan Bernal finds joy in comeback Tom Pidcock left frustrated but Egan Bernal impresses again at Liège-Bastogne-Liège Egan Bernal on WorldTour podium for first time since 2021 at Volta a Catalunya Egan Bernal pleased with 'true grit' second place at O Gran Camiño

"With blessings, I finish the first part of the season. Now in Colombia for a few days to prepare for a good Tour de France," Bernal wrote, without confirming which races he'll take on in the build-up to the race.

Bernal's schedule for the remainder of the 2024 season had been unclear, though his series of top results across 34 days of racing this spring have clearly persuaded Ineos Grenadiers hierarchy that he can compete at a high level once again this July.

His most recent victory came just over three years ago when he scored his second Grand Tour win at the Giro d'Italia.

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A third place at the Colombian National Championships road race and second on the mountainous penultimate stage at the Volta a Catalunya – albeit 57 seconds behind Tadej Pogačar – rank as his best results so far this year. He also played a key role in helping Carlos Rodríguez to overall victory at the recent Tour de Romandie.

Ineos Grenadiers will also be bringing 2018 race winner Geraint Thomas to the Tour, with the Welshman this year taking on the Giro-Tour double for the second time in his career. His first attempt in 2017, however, saw him crash out of both.

Carlos Rodríguez, who finished fifth overall in Paris last July, is also down to race for the British squad, while 2022 L'Alpe d'Huez stage winner Tom Pidcock will be heading to the Tour for the third time in his career.

A post shared by Egan Arley Bernal Gomez (@eganbernal) A photo posted by on

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Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Prior to joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.

Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Remco Evenepoel, Demi Vollering, and Anna van der Breggen.

As well as original reporting, news and feature writing, and production work, Dani also oversees How to Watch guides and works on The Leadout newsletter throughout the season. Their favourite races are Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix and their favourite published article is from the 2024 edition of the latter: 'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix

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Egan bernal wins tour de france, first colombian, youngest since wwii.

• OlympicTalk

PARIS — The skies over Paris were yellow, ignited by a glorious golden sunset.

The partying fans’ shirts were yellow, Colombians making themselves at home on the Champs-Elysees.

But the yellow that counted most was the iconic jersey that fit so snugly on the slim shoulders of Egan Bernal .

His crowning Sunday as the Tour de France’s youngest post-World War II champion, and its first from South America, heralded the birth of a new supernova in the cycling universe.

Winning a Tour for the ages at the unusually young age of 22 immediately prompted the question: How many more might he win?

Get this: He’s younger than the Tour’s greatest champions — five-time winners Jacques Anquetil , Eddy Merckx , Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain — all were when they were first crowned. Pity those in the peloton who also hope to win future editions of cycling’s greatest race: They could be in for quite a wait.

“I am the most happy guy in the world. I just won the Tour de France, and, yeah, I can’t believe it,” Bernal said, looking bemused on the podium in the race winner’s jersey and silhouetted by the splendid sunset.

The slightly built Colombian with a killer instinct on the road proved to be the strongest of the 176 strong men who roared off from the start in Brussels, Belgium, on July 6 on their 3,366-kilometer (2,092-mile) odyssey that delivered the most absorbing, drama-packed Tour in decades and confirmation that the prodigy Bernal is the real deal.

Riding a yellow bike, and cheered by Colombian fans who were partying even before he rattled up the cobblestones of the Champs-Elysees, Bernal crossed the line with his teammate Geraint Thomas , the 2018 champion who this year finished second. Steven Kruijswijk completed what Tour organizers said was the tightest podium in the 116-year history of the race, with just 1 minute, 31 seconds separating first and third places after three weeks of racing.

The 21st and final stage was won in a sprint finish on the famous avenue by Australian Caleb Ewan , the dominant sprinter of his first Tour with three stage wins. Keeping with race tradition on its final day, the 155 riders who survived the Tour rode at a pedestrian pace and in a joyful atmosphere before hitting the Champs-Elysees. Bernal chatted with French rival Julian Alaphilippe and raised a glass of champagne as he rode.

At the finish, Bernal fell into the arms of his family.

“I cannot believe it. It’s just incredible. I am sorry. I have no words,” he said through a translator. “I still can’t understand what is happening to me.”

TOUR DE FRANCE: Full Standings

Tearful Colombians celebrated their new hero.

“When I saw that he won, I said, ‘I need to go with my music to support him,’” said clarinet-playing Colombian fan Sebastian Cortes , who traveled from Strasbourg in eastern France for the celebration.

But millions of French fans who had lined the roads through east, central and southern France, and up into the thinning air of the Pyrenees and Alps, were ruing a bitter-sweet Tour.

First, their hearts soared with fabulous racing from French riders Alaphilippe, who held the iconic yellow jersey for 14 days, and Thibaut Pinot , who won on the first of seven 2,000-meter-plus (6,500-feet) peaks scaled by the highest Tour in history.

But joy turned to sorrow when Alaphilippe and Pinot’s prospects of becoming France’s first winner since Hinault in 1985 were cruelly dashed just two days before the grand finale in Paris, on an epic Stage 19 where Mother Nature became a party-pooping guest. An almighty dump of torrential rain and hail severed the Tour route just as Bernal was succeeding in ripping the race lead off Alaphilippe, who’d clung to it like a kid with a favorite toy.

“Julian Alaphilippe made us dream,” said Celestin Simon , a Parisian who cheered his hero on the Champs-Elysees in a pointy hat of French red, white and blue. “Unfortunately, there’s no victory at the end.”

Alaphilippe, more than anyone, first ignited and then stoked what will long be remembered as a Tour of fireworks. With his goatee beard and can’t-catch-me attacks that rivals couldn’t match, Alaphilippe embodied “panache,” the old-school class so cherished by Tour fans.

Alaphilippe’s enterprise first put him in yellow in Champagne country on Stage 3 and then, after he lost the lead on Stage 6, got him the jersey back on Stage 8, which he held through the Pyrenees and into the Alps.

And it was there that Bernal, raised at altitude in Colombia and at home in thinner air, struck.

Bernal flew up the Tour’s highest climb, the dizzying Iseran pass at 2,770 meters (9,088-feet) above sea level, demolishing what remained of Alaphilippe’s lead on Stage 19 and building a sizeable one of his own =.

The watch was then stopped, with Bernal way ahead, when the hailstorm suddenly coated the route with ice, amid fears that riders on tires barely wider than their thumbs could skid off into the rock- and ravine-scarred Alpine décor.

Compounding the misery for France, Pinot abandoned the race in tears, hobbled by a left-thigh muscle tear.

And that was that. The Tour that had been careening to a rock ‘n’ roll finish instead had the plug pulled on it. Landslides also truncated the last Alpine Stage 20, which still proved too long for the by-now exhausted Alaphilippe, who slipped off the podium entirely, despite getting words of encouragement in a call the previous night from French President Emmanuel Macron .

Thomas used the last Alpine climb to secure the runner-up spot in Paris, giving the Ineos team a podium 1-2 with Bernal. Third-placed Kruijswijk, a Dutch Mr. Steady, pulled off the feat of being wholly unremarkable during the three weeks, while Alaphilippe, Pinot and Bernal and others rocked.

Quite remarkably, none of the top four riders won a stage. Alaphilippe, in fifth, won two.

“Honestly, I prefer having won two stages and 14 days in yellow than doing nothing and finishing third,” Alaphilippe said Sunday.

So instead of a red-white-and-blue celebration, Paris instead got painted in Colombian red, blue and yellow.

Lots and lots of yellow.

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Egan Bernal becomes first Colombian to win the Tour de France

Colombia's Egan Bernal wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, rides on the Champs-Elysees during the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 128 kilometers (79.53miles) with start in Rambouillet and finish in Paris, France, Sunday, July 28, 2019. (Thibault Camus / AP)

PARIS — On the Champs-Elysees fittingly bathed in the yellow of a golden dusk, a Tour de France for the ages crowned a champion of an unusually young age on Sunday: 22-year-old Egan Bernal, South America’s first winner of cycling’s greatest race.

"I am the most happy guy in the world. I just won the Tour de France, and, yeah, I can’t believe it," he said, looking bemused on the podium in the iconic canary-yellow race winner’s jersey and silhouetted by a stunning sunset.

The youngest champion of the post-World War II era, the slightly built Colombian with a killer instinct on the road proved to be the strongest of the 176 strong men who roared off from the start in Brussels, Belgium, on July 6 on their 3,366-kilometre (2,092-mile) odyssey that delivered the most absorbing, drama-packed Tour in decades and a new cycling superstar in the making: Bernal.

Riding a yellow bike, and cheered by Colombian fans who were partying even before he rattled up the cobblestones of the famous avenue, Bernal crossed the line with his teammate Geraint Thomas, the 2018 champion who this year finished second. Steven Kruijswijk completed what Tour organizers said was the tightest podium in the 116-year history of the race, with just 1 minute, 31 seconds separating the first and third places after three weeks of racing.

The 21st and final stage was won in a sprint finish on the Champs-Elysees by Australian Caleb Ewan, the dominant sprinter of his first Tour with three stage wins. Keeping with race tradition on its final day, the 155 riders who survived the Tour rode at a pedestrian pace and in a joyful atmosphere before hitting the Champs-Elysees. Bernal chatted with French rival Julian Alaphilippe and raised a glass of champagne as he rode.

At the finish, Bernal fell into the arms of his family.

"I cannot believe it. It’s just incredible. I am sorry. I have no words," he said through a translator. "I still can’t understand what is happening to me."

Tearful Colombians celebrated their new hero, who is younger than the Tour’s greatest champions — five-time winners Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain — were when they were first crowned.

"When I saw that he won, I said, ‘I need to go with my music to support him,"’ said clarinet-playing Colombian fan Sebastian Cortes, who travelled from Strasbourg in eastern France to party on the Champs-Elysees.

But millions of French fans who had lined the roads through east, central and southern France, and up into the thinning air of the Pyrenees and Alps, were ruing a bitter-sweet Tour.

First, their hearts soared with fabulous racing from French riders Alaphilippe, who held the iconic yellow jersey for 14 days, and Thibaut Pinot, who won on the first of seven 2,000-meter-plus (6,500-feet) peaks scaled by the highest Tour in history.

But joy turned to sorrow when Alaphilippe and Pinot’s prospects of becoming France’s first winner since 1985 were cruelly dashed just two days before the grand finale in Paris, on an epic Stage 19 where Mother Nature became a party-pooping guest. An almighty dump of torrential rain and hail severed the Tour route just as Bernal was succeeding in ripping the race lead off Alaphilippe, who’d clung to it like a kid with a favourite toy.

"Julian Alaphilippe made us dream," said Celestin Simon, a Parisian who cheered his hero on the Champs-Elysees in a pointy hat of French red, white and blue. "Unfortunately, there’s no victory at the end."

Alaphilippe, more than anyone, first ignited and then stoked what will long be remembered as a Tour of fireworks. With his goatee beard and can’t-catch-me attacks that rivals couldn’t match, Alaphilippe embodied "panache," the old-school class so cherished by Tour fans.

Alaphilippe’s enterprise first put him in yellow in Champagne country on Stage 3 and then, after he lost the lead on Stage 6, got him the jersey back on Stage 8, which he held through the Pyrenees and into the Alps.

And it was there that Bernal, raised at altitude in Colombia and at home in thinner air, struck.

Bernal flew up the Tour’s highest climb, the dizzying Iseran pass at 2,770 metres (9,088-feet) above sea level, demolishing what remained of Alaphilippe’s lead on Stage 19 and building a sizeable one of his own.

The watch was then stopped, with Bernal way ahead, when the hailstorm suddenly coated the route with ice, amid fears that riders on tires barely wider than their thumbs could skid off into the rock- and ravine-scarred Alpine decor.

Compounding the misery for France, Pinot abandoned the race in tears, hobbled by a left-thigh muscle tear.

And that was that. The Tour that had been careening to a rock ‘n’ roll finish instead had the plug pulled on it. Landslides also truncated the last Alpine Stage 20, which still proved too long for the by-now exhausted Alaphilippe, who slipped off the podium entirely, despite getting words of encouragement in a call the previous night from French President Emmanuel Macron.

Thomas used the last Alpine climb to secure the runner-up spot in Paris, giving the Ineos team a podium 1-2 with Bernal. Third-placed Kruijswijk, a Dutch Mr. Steady, pulled off the feat of being wholly unremarkable during the three weeks, while Alaphilippe, Pinot and Bernal and others rocked.

Quite remarkably, none of the top four riders won a stage. Alaphilippe, in fifth, won two.

"I left my skin on the road these past weeks," Alaphilippe told French sports newspaper L’Equipe.

But instead of a red-white-and-blue celebration, Paris was instead painted in Colombian red, blue and yellow.

Lots and lots of yellow.

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Colombia’s Egan Bernal Makes History as Tour de France Champ

• By Lisa Bryant

Updated July 27, 4:25PM

Twenty-two-year-old Egan Bernal has become the first Colombian to win the Tour de France — and the youngest cyclist to place first in more than a century.

Welshman Geraint Thomas placed second and Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk third.

The 2019 edition of the Tour de France was marked by high drama, including sharp weather swings and a crushing defeat for the French.

Only towards the end did a clear winner emerge in Colombia’s Egan Bernal.

Interviewed on French TV ahead Sunday’s final sprint from the town of Rambouillet to Paris, Bernal said he was still trying to digest the events. He said he felt good as he raced but was counting each kilometer that passed. Only when he crossed the line on the next-to-last stage of the race, did he realize he would win.

This year’s race also marked the highest route in the Tour’s history, including five summit finishes. That was a plus for Bernal, who is strong on hills.

The race started July 6 in Brussels. It wound its way through champagne and wine country, passed through ancient villages and towns and scaled the Alps and Pyrenees. It has always been a social as well as a sporting event; local residents and diehard fans lined roads at every stage, cheering the riders on.

It seemed like this Tour would finally bring France its first victory in more than three decades. But late last week, French favorite Julian Alaphilippe slid behind.

The riders endured some extreme weather this year, including soaring temperatures and a massive hailstorm that triggered mudslides.

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Colombian Egan Bernal: First Latin American Tour de France Winner

This is how Egan Bernal became the first Latin American champion of the Tour de France on July 28, 2019. 

It’s the last day of the race. He pedals his last 79 of the whopping 2,150 miles (3,460 kilometers) he’s pedaled over the last month. He isn’t pedaling alone; a large group of cyclists is nearby. 

The hot summer sun beats down as he finds his way inside the fleet of cyclists. The 81 hours he’d pedaled in the last month had taken a toll on his legs, but he keeps pushing for that one last bit.

His heart is pumping as the finish line gets closer and closer. The hopes and dreams of his country—and continent—are with him as he crosses the finish line and wins first place! 

As Egan Bernal stands in ecstasy before the Arc de Triomphe and a huge crowd cheering his name, the Colombian national anthem sounds through the streets of Paris. At 22, he has given glory to all of Latin America. 

See also: Cycling Terminology: 100+ Words to Describe Your Bike in Spanish  

What Led Egan Bernal to This Win?

Egan Bernal is a 24-year-old Colombian cyclist. He was born in Zipaquirá, 18 miles from the capital city of Bogotá, on January 13, 1997.

His homeland was at a high altitude, between 8,860 and 11,150 feet above sea level. Egan Bernal started riding his first bicycle at age 5 and learned how to be a cross-country cyclist from an early age.

In 2005, Egan Bernal won his first competition. Since then he always seemed to want more and more. As soon as he got a trophy, he would already be thinking about the next one he could get.

Professional Bicycling Competitions

By 2011, when Bernal was 14 years old, he started competing professionally. His coach, Pablo Mazuera, took Bernal to compete throughout Colombia and internationally.

2013 brought four victories for Bernal at age 16. After winning the Panamerican Championship in Argentina, he was crowned national junior champion in Ecuador, Argentina, and Colombia. 

However, the young Colombian almost quit cycling that year to start studying journalism. Thanks to his coach, who pushed him further and even offered to pay for his journalism studies if cycling didn’t work out, Egan Bernal didn’t give up the sport and became a champion.

In 2014, Egan Bernal won silver and bronze medals in Norway, Brazil, and the U.S. He earned a gold medal in Costa Rica, and his star began to rise.

In 2015, Egan Bernal suffered an accident which led to a broken collarbone. But not even that stopped the young Colombian cyclist from dominating. After winning two gold medals in Colombia and California, the 18-year-old aimed for one more. At the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, he took third place.

The young Colombian moved to the small Northern Italian town of Courgné, 30 miles from Turin, where he started training in cross country and road bicycle racing. This would eventually be the formula for Bernal to conquer the world of cycling.

Gianni Salvio, owner of the Androlli Giocattolli-Sidermec team offered him a 4-year deal to sign for his team after Bernal won a competition in Italy. This deal had Bernal switch from cross country cycling to road bicycle racing. 

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Egan Bernal got a contract from Sky Team, one of the biggest names in the cycling world. He finished 2017 racing for the Italian team and started racing for Sky the following year.

In 2018 the Colombian circled the world to start competing in Australia in which he achieved a 6th place. In March, he was set to compete in one of his first big events ever, La Vuelta a Cataluña (the lap to Catalonia). 

He was about to achieve second place, but unluckily he fell off the bike. Along with his hopes and dreams, his collarbone and scapula broke. By April, however, he was already racing in Switzerland, where he placed second.

In May 2018, he conquered the tour in California and was consequently appointed to participate in his first Tour de France ever at age 21. As the youngest competitor in the race, and after having suffered numerous accidents, he achieved 15th place overall.

He started 2019 with a bronze medal win in Colombia. In March, he competed in the Paris-Nice competition. He won third place in La Vuelta a Cataluña, in which he had fractured his collarbone the year prior. 

A week before competing in Il Giro D’Italia, Egan broke his collarbone yet again and was not able to participate in the Italian competition.

Tour de France 2019

The Tour de France is a 2,150-mile race divided into 21 stages (or individual races). In 2019,

Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe was the favorite to conquer the tour, and for 14 stages he did so. In the 15th stage however, while in the Pyrenees, Egan Bernal finished in 5th place and closed in on Alaphilippe.

During the 18th stage, the Colombian finished in 8th place, which skyrocketed him to 2nd place overall. He was breathing down the neck of Alaphilippe, and building Colombia’s and Latin America’s hopes and dreams.

During the 19th stage was cancelled due to bad weather, Bernal managed earn the yellow jersey which meant that he was the new leader of the Tour de France. In the 20th stage, he kept his lead and held on to the yellow jersey.

In the 21st and final stage, he crossed the line with a total time of 82 hours, 57 minutes! The only two other Latin Americans in the top 20 were Colombians Rigoberto Urán and Nairo Quintana, who finished in 7th and 8th place, respectively.

Hear the euphoric commentary of the Argentinian Mario Sabato while he narrates the last kilometer before Egan Bernal becomes the winner of Tour de France. 

After the race, Egan Bernal stepped onto the podium twice. The first time to receive a white jersey which represented that he was the best young rider. The second was when he stepped onto the podium on the Champs Elysées with the Arc du Triomphe at his back. The Colombian ambassador to France congratulated him as he received the yellow jersey, and his friends, family, and fans in France cheered his name while waving flags euphoric for the young Colombian.

Hear Egan Bernal’s acceptance speech in four languages (English, Spanish, Italian, and French) shortly after the Colombian anthem sounded in Paris.

He confessed to EFE that if he hadn’t fallen prior to the race and broken his collarbone, which forced him not to compete in the Giro D’Italia that year, he wouldn’t have won the Tour de France. 

Glory at Home

In Egan Bernal’s hometown of Zipaquirá, the mayor had a mural painted of the athlete’s face to honor the champion. Employees of companies and factories stopped working to watch Bernal cross the finish line, and the happiness in this town was just a sample of what was happening all around Colombia that day.

2021: Another Great Victory

One year, ten months and two days after having won the Tour de France the Colombian climbed over the podium again and heard the Colombian national anthem once more, according to El Tiempo . 

The now 24-year-old Colombian climbed the podium in Italy on May 30, 2021 on his first participation in the Giro D’Italia. Being the third-ever Latin American to conquer the Italian competition and wear “la maglia rosa” (the pink jersey in Italian) awarded to the leader of the tour. 

Watch Egan Bernal conquering his second major competition as he rode the very last kilometer of the competition.

The only thing left for Egan Bernal to do is to conquer La Vuelta a España for him to be the only Latin American to have conquered the three major cycling tournaments. Do you think he’ll be able to achieve it?

Pedal Your Way to Fluent Spanish!

Remember how Egan Bernal thanked in four different languages? What’s his secret? Exactly the same as his secret of winning the Tour de France—practice, practice, practice!

According to the US Department of State , it takes the average English learner 575-600 class hours to become fluent in Spanish. Now that’s a lot of practice!

Are you ready to practice your conversational Spanis skills to prepare for your upcoming trip to Zipaquirá, Colombia where it all began for Egan Bernal? Learn with one of our friendly Guatemalan teachers. Sign up for a free trial class today!

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Egan Bernal becomes 1st Colombian to win Tour de France

22-year-old becomes youngest rider to win race in 110 years.

Social Sharing

On the Champs-Elysees fittingly bathed in the yellow of a golden dusk, a Tour de France for the ages crowned a champion of an unusually young age on Sunday: 22-year-old Egan Bernal, South America's first winner of cycling's greatest race.

"I am the most happy guy in the world. I just won the Tour de France, and, yeah, I can't believe it," he said, looking bemused on the podium in the iconic canary-yellow race winner's jersey and silhouetted by a stunning sunset.

The youngest champion of the post-World War II era, the slightly built Colombian with a killer instinct on the road proved to be the strongest of the 176 strong men who roared off from the start in Brussels, Belgium, on July 6 on their 3,366-kilometre odyssey that delivered the most absorbing, drama-packed Tour in decades and a new cycling superstar in the making: Bernal.

Take another peek at the 21st and final stage of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TDF2019?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TDF2019</a>.<br>With the champagne cycling, <a href="https://twitter.com/CalebEwan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CalebEwan</a>'s stage victory and a Yellow Jersey clad <a href="https://twitter.com/Eganbernal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Eganbernal</a> crossing the line, It was a stage to remember. 💛 <a href="https://t.co/qneGCWLVdZ">pic.twitter.com/qneGCWLVdZ</a> &mdash; @LeTour

Riding a yellow bike, and cheered by Colombian fans who were partying even before he rattled up the cobblestones of the famous avenue, Bernal crossed the line with his teammate Geraint Thomas, the 2018 champion who this year finished second. Steven Kruijswijk completed what Tour organizers said was the tightest podium in the 116-year history of the race, with just 1 minute, 31 seconds separating the first and third places after three weeks of racing.

The 21st and final stage was won in a sprint finish on the Champs-Elysees by Australian Caleb Ewan, the dominant sprinter of his first Tour with three stage wins. Keeping with race tradition on its final day, the 155 riders who survived the Tour rode at a pedestrian pace and in a joyful atmosphere before hitting the Champs-Elysees. Bernal chatted with French rival Julian Alaphilippe and raised a glass of champagne as he rode.

At the finish, Bernal fell into the arms of his family.

"I cannot believe it. It's just incredible. I am sorry. I have no words," he said through a translator. "I still can't understand what is happening to me."

💛 <a href="https://twitter.com/Eganbernal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Eganbernal</a> and his family share the emotion as he crosses the line.<br>💛 Egan Bernal retrouve sa famille dès la ligne passée pour partager son émotion.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TDF2019?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TDF2019</a> <a href="https://t.co/mUiWUFEARN">pic.twitter.com/mUiWUFEARN</a> &mdash; @LeTour

Tearful Colombians celebrated their new hero, who is younger than the Tour's greatest champions — five-time winners Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain — were when they were first crowned.

"When I saw that he won, I said, 'I need to go with my music to support him,"' said clarinet-playing Colombian fan Sebastian Cortes, who travelled from Strasbourg in eastern France to party on the Champs-Elysees.

But millions of French fans who had lined the roads through east, central and southern France, and up into the thinning air of the Pyrenees and Alps, were ruing a bitter-sweet Tour.

First, their hearts soared with fabulous racing from French riders Alaphilippe, who held the iconic yellow jersey for 14 days, and Thibaut Pinot, who won on the first of seven 2,000-meter-plus (6,500-feet) peaks scaled by the highest Tour in history.

But joy turned to sorrow when Alaphilippe and Pinot's prospects of becoming France's first winner since 1985 were cruelly dashed just two days before the grand finale in Paris, on an epic Stage 19 where Mother Nature became a party-pooping guest. An almighty dump of torrential rain and hail severed the Tour route just as Bernal was succeeding in ripping the race lead off Alaphilippe, who'd clung to it like a kid with a favourite toy.

"Julian Alaphilippe made us dream," said Celestin Simon, a Parisian who cheered his hero on the Champs-Elysees in a pointy hat of French red, white and blue. "Unfortunately, there's no victory at the end."

Alaphilippe, more than anyone, first ignited and then stoked what will long be remembered as a Tour of fireworks. With his goatee beard and can't-catch-me attacks that rivals couldn't match, Alaphilippe embodied "panache," the old-school class so cherished by Tour fans.

Alaphilippe's enterprise first put him in yellow in Champagne country on Stage 3 and then, after he lost the lead on Stage 6, got him the jersey back on Stage 8, which he held through the Pyrenees and into the Alps.

And it was there that Bernal, raised at altitude in Colombia and at home in thinner air, struck.

Bernal flew up the Tour's highest climb, the dizzying Iseran pass at 2,770 metres (9,088-feet) above sea level, demolishing what remained of Alaphilippe's lead on Stage 19 and building a sizeable one of his own.

The watch was then stopped, with Bernal way ahead, when the hailstorm suddenly coated the route with ice, amid fears that riders on tires barely wider than their thumbs could skid off into the rock- and ravine-scarred Alpine decor.

Compounding the misery for France, Pinot abandoned the race in tears, hobbled by a left-thigh muscle tear.

And that was that. The Tour that had been careening to a rock 'n' roll finish instead had the plug pulled on it. Landslides also truncated the last Alpine Stage 20, which still proved too long for the by-now exhausted Alaphilippe, who slipped off the podium entirely, despite getting words of encouragement in a call the previous night from French President Emmanuel Macron.

Thomas used the last Alpine climb to secure the runner-up spot in Paris, giving the Ineos team a podium 1-2 with Bernal. Third-placed Kruijswijk, a Dutch Mr. Steady, pulled off the feat of being wholly unremarkable during the three weeks, while Alaphilippe, Pinot and Bernal and others rocked.

Quite remarkably, none of the top four riders won a stage. Alaphilippe, in fifth, won two.

"I left my skin on the road these past weeks," Alaphilippe told French sports newspaper L'Equipe.

But instead of a red-white-and-blue celebration, Paris was instead painted in Colombian red, blue and yellow.

Lots and lots of yellow.

Ottawa's Mike Woods finished the race in 32nd place overall, while Hugo Houle of Sainte-Perpetue, Que. finished 91st.

Mike Woods out here making history 💥💥 <a href="https://twitter.com/rusty_woods?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@rusty_woods</a> <a href="https://t.co/fZZwkosBB5">https://t.co/fZZwkosBB5</a> &mdash; @CyclingCanada

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The 5 Colombians who will do battle at the Tour de France 2023

Five Colombian riders are preparing to face the challenge of the Tour de France 2023, one of the most prestigious cycling races in the world: Rigoberto Urán , Egan Bernal , Esteban Chaves , Daniel Martínez and Harold Tejada . With the participation of 22 teams and a total of 176 cyclists, these Colombians will seek to leave the name of their country high and fight for the top positions in the general classification.

RIGOBERTO URÁN

Urán heads the list of Colombians competing in the Grande Boucle. At 36, Urán has been confirmed as the "co-leader" of the EF Education team, under the shadow of Richard Carapaz. This will be his tenth appearance in the Tour de France, an impressive achievement in his career. Urán has achieved outstanding performances in previous editions, taking second place in 2017, seventh in 2019, eighth in 2020 and 10th in 2021. He has also competed in 2009, 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2022, demonstrating his experience and skills in competition.

Final startlist Tour de France with BIB | Vingegaard, Pogacar, Cavendish, Van der Poel, Van Aert, Alaphilippe, Bernal, Pidcock, Sagan and Girmay

EGAN BERNAL

Egan Bernal, rider of the INEOS team, will also be present at the Tour for the fourth time. The British team has confirmed Bernal as leader, confident in his talent and recent level of performance. Bernal will be looking to repeat his 2019 feat, when he was crowned Tour de France champion. In 2018 he finished 15th and in 2020 he had to drop out due to injury, but he returns with determination and the hope of returning to the top of the podium.

ESTEBAN CHAVES

Esteban Chaves, the Colombian road champion, will be present in his fourth participation in the Tour de France. The Bogota-born cyclist has managed to stay in competition in previous editions, finishing 62nd in 2017, 23rd in 2020 and 13th in 2021. Chaves will be looking to improve his performance and contribute to his team's success in this edition.

ANALYSIS | Rating Tour de France 2023 teams

DANIEL MARTÍNEZ

Daniel Martinez, one of the protagonists of Egan Bernal's 2021 Giro d'Italia title, will also be present at the Tour. This will be his fourth appearance in the French race, having placed 36th overall in 2018, 28th in 2020 and 29th in 2022. Martinez has proven to be a solid and reliable rider, capable of providing important support to his team.

HAROLD TEJADA

Harold Tejada, a 26-year-old cyclist from Huila, will be one of the novelties in the Tour de France 2023. After an outstanding performance at the Tour de Suisse, the Astana team has decided to include him in its line-up for the Grande Boucle. This will be Tejada's second Tour appearance, having placed 45th on his debut in 2020. His presence in the team shows Colombia's emerging talent in cycling and its ability to face the most demanding challenges.

PREVIEW | Tour de France 2023 - Key stages, how the Pogacar vs Vingegaard battle will unfold and the star-studded peloton

Colombian cyclists will have the opportunity to prove their worth at the 2023 Tour de France, competing against the world's best riders on a challenging and mountainous course. Cycling fans will be watching the performances of Rigoberto Urán, Egan Bernal, Esteban Chaves, Daniel Felipe Martínez and Harold Tejada, hoping to see these talented Colombian riders making their mark in the most important race on the cycling calendar.

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Tour de France 2021 with six Colombian cyclists

by Prensa COPACI | Jun 22, 2021 | noti_en | 0 comments

From this Tuesday, once the official lists of the teams participating in the largest and most important race are known, the world of cycling enters “Tour Mode” before the start of the actions on Saturday, June 26, to finish in Paris on July 18, after 21 stages and 3,400 kilometers.

23 teams and 184 cyclists will take part in the French event, including 6 Colombian riders: Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic), Rigoberto Urán and Sergio Higuita (EF Education Nippo), Miguel Ángel López (Movistar Team), Esteban Chaves ( Team BikeExchange) Sergio Henao (Qhubeka Assos).

In his order, Nairo Quintana and Rigoberto Urán have been podiums in the Tour de France and stage winners, while Miguel Ángel López was the winner of the queen stage in the Tour de France last year. Quintana will not have his usual teammates and compatriots Winner Anacona and Dayer Quintana this time.

One of the novelties that the Deceuninck Quick Step payroll presents is the inclusion in its of the famous sprinter Mark Cavendish, replacing the no less fast Sam Bennet who suffered a fall in previous days injuring his knee, which prevents him from defending his title as winner of the green jersey on last year’s Tour.

The current champion of the Tour de France is the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, who was accompanied on the final podium by his compatriot Primoz Roglic, while the third place went to the Australian Richie Porte.

The first official act of the Tour de France 2021 will take place in the city of Brest, next Thursday 24 with the Official Presentation of Teams and the first stage will be running on Saturday 26 over a distance of 187 kilometers between Brest and Landerneau, destined for the first appearance of the great packers entered this year in the yellow jersey race

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Hero’s welcome for Tour de France winner Bernal in his Colombian hometown

Cyclist Egan Bernal, the first Latin American to win the Tour de France, got a hero's welcome from thousands of fans in his hometown of Zipaquira, Colombia, on Wednesday.

Issued on: 08/08/2019 - 08:26

The 22-year-old Bernal, the youngest rider to win the race in 110 years, promised a cheering crowd in the main square of this small Andean city that he would pursue further triumphs.

"I want to have my feet on the ground, to continue to work as I have been until now, to enjoy the bike, and if some day we can win another Tour de France , we'll try for a third. If we win the third, then a fourth and a fifth," Bernal said.

It was pretty crazy to witness this today in Zipaquirá, a place we called home during this season. Congratulations once again to @Eganbernal and to all the Colombian people! Qué maravilla! 😍🇨🇴 #illuminatethebike #Zipaquirá pic.twitter.com/zmEMRqpZsv   Team Illuminate (@Illuminatebike) August 7, 2019

"This is like a drug, you win one and you want more and more," said the climbing phenomenon , who gave Team Ineos -- formerly Team Sky -- their seventh title in the last eight editions. "I want people to feel this triumph as their own." Bernal was crowned the Tour winner in July after retaining the overall leader's yellow jersey during the 21st and final stage , beating teammate and defending champion Geraint Thomas of Britain by one minute 11 seconds.

Bernal started his training as a cyclist at 8 years old. His former coach still trains young riders, who he has said idolize Bernal.

"He's a superhero for many," said mechanical engineer Jairo Sierra, 43, who drove from Bogota, the nearby capital, to attend the celebration, where attendees chanted "Champion Egan, Champion!"

Waving a cyclist figurine that she fashioned out of yarn, 35-year-old Andrea Malaver said Bernal had brought joy to many of her fellow citizens. "He's an inspiration for all Colombians ," she said.

Colombian riders, accustomed to the thin air and steep slopes of the Andes, have a long, proud tradition of being competitive on the Tour.

Rigoberto Uran and Nairo Quintana also rode in this year's race. Quintana, a Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana champion, had finished runner-up in the Tour in 2013 and 2015.

The race was just Bernal's second Grand Tour, after finishing 15th last year.

On stage, the cyclist echoed the hopes of many in the crowd that he will enjoy a long career. "There'll be Egan for a while."

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Former Tour de France winner Bernal still in intensive care

FILE - Colombia’s Egan Bernal after completing the 17th stage of the Giro d’Italia cycling race, from Canazei to Sega Di Ala, Italy, May 26, 2021. Former Tour de France champion Egan Bernal was taken to a hospital in stable condition Monday Jan. 24, 2022, after a training crash in Colombia, his team said. In a brief statement, the Ineos Grenadiers team said the 25-year-old Colombian rider was conscious when arriving at the hospital. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP, File)

Flor Gomez, the mother of Colombian cyclist Egan Bernal, arrives at the hospital where her son was taken in Bogota, Colombia, Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. The 2019 champion of the Tour de France had an accident on Monday while training with teammates from the Ineos Grenadiers team. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Flor Gomez, center, the mother of Colombian cyclist Egan Bernal, arrives at the hospital where her son was taken in Bogota, Colombia, Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. The 2019 champion of the Tour de France had an accident on Monday while training with teammates from the Ineos Grenadiers team. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

An entrance to La Sabana Hospital where Colombian cyclist Egan Bernal was taken in Bogota, Colombia, Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. The 2019 Tour de France champion had an accident on Monday while training with teammates from the Ineos Grenadiers team. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

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BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Former Tour de France champion Egan Bernal remained in intensive care in Colombia on Tuesday after undergoing what his team described as “two successful surgeries.”

The 2019 Tour champion from Colombia, where he is a beloved celebrity, collided with a bus parked on the shoulder of a road outside Bogota on Monday morning while training with his team Ineos Grenadiers.

Bernal was transferred to the University of La Sabana Hospital near the capital. His team said he fractured his right femur, right kneecap, several ribs and a vertebrae and suffered a punctured lung and chest trauma.

“Doctors were able to medically pin his right leg and stabilize the vertebrae fracture in two separate surgeries last night,” Ineos said. “He is now in an intensive care unit where other potential secondary injuries are being managed, as well as his body’s response to the trauma.”

Colombian President Iván Duque went on social media to wish the cyclist a speedy recovery.

Camilo Pardo, a sports doctor in Bogota, said cyclists usually take around eight months to recover from a fractured femur, while a kneecap injury like the one sustained by Bernal could take even longer to heal.

“I doubt he will be able to compete this year, not even in the Vuelta a España in September,” said Pardo, who has been treating cyclists for three decades.

Bernal had trained with several members of his team recently near his hometown of Zipaquira, which is 2,650 meters (8,600 feet) above sea level.

Police said Bernal hit the back of a bus that had pulled over to drop off a passenger and was parked on the emergency lane.

Col. Juan Carlos Castro, deputy director for Colombia’s transport police, said Bernal had split from the rest of his teammates as he trained for a time trial, and was hunched over his bike in an aerodynamic position, which prevented him from seeing the bus that had pulled over ahead of him. He said Bernal was traveling at around 50 kilometers per hour (31 miles per hour) when the crash occurred. Bus stops are rare along rural roads in Colombia and it is legal for buses to use emergency lanes to pick up passengers.

Bernal’s accident puts one of cycling’s most promising careers in jeopardy. The Colombian cyclist was victorious in the Tour at the age of 21, becoming one of the youngest riders to win the prestigious race. He also claimed the Giro d’Italia title last year and placed in the top 10 in the Vuelta a España.

The accident highlights the challenges faced by cyclists of all levels in Colombia, where potholes are common and lanes for cyclists are limited. Last year more than 470 cyclists died in traffic accidents in the South American country.

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Egan Bernal: Ineos Grenadiers rider in intensive care after spinal surgery and other operations

• Published 25 January 2022

Egan Bernal was the first Colombian to win the Tour de France in 2019

Egan Bernal is in intensive care after undergoing two operations following a crash in his native Colombia.

The 25-year-old had spinal surgery and other procedures after he sustained back, leg, knee and chest injuries.

The Ineos Grenadiers rider, who won the 2019 Tour de France, crashed at high speed.

The team said: "Egan remains in a stable condition after two successful surgeries."

The statement added: "Egan suffered a fractured vertebrae, a fractured right femur, a fractured right patella [knee-cap], chest trauma, a punctured lung and several fractured ribs in the crash.

"Doctors were able to medically pin his right leg and stabilise the vertebrae. He is now in intensive care where other potential injuries are being managed, as well as the body's response to the trauma."

A separate statement from the hospital in Bogota said they "will wait for his progress over the next 72 hours".

Last year's Giro d'Italia winner - who recently extended his contract with Ineos Grenadiers to 2026 - was widely expected to contest the Tour de France this year.

It is not yet clear if he will be able to take part in the Tour - which begins in Copenhagen on 1 July - or be ruled out for the whole season.

Bernal won his maiden Tour title two years ago after Chris Froome, the four-time champion and team leader, suffered multiple injuries in a crash during a warm-up race.

Froome, who is still searching for the form he had before his crash - after switching from Ineos to Israel Premier Tech in 2021 - said his "thoughts are with Egan and his family".

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The crash comes just weeks after Dutch rider Amy Pieters suffered serious head injuries in an accident in Spain.

Bernal's British Ineos team-mate Tao Geoghegan Hart said Bernal's crash was "a sad reminder of how dangerous training can be".

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Egan Bernal becomes first Colombian to win the Tour de France

• Team Ineos rider crowned champion after ride to Paris
• Caleb Ewan sprints to victory in final stage

Egan Bernal has become the first Colombian to win the Tour de France , sealing victory as darkness fell across Paris on Sunday.

As a spectacular 21st stage of the 2019 Tour took in the Palais du Louvre, the Place de la Concorde and the Champs Élysées, Caleb Ewan proved the fastest of a fatigued peloton in the traditional sprint finish to the three-week race.

The Australian Ewan came from well back in the pack to outsprint Dylan Groenewegen and collect his third stage win of the Tour as the sun set over the Arc de Triomphe at the end of the 130km stage from Rambouillet. Just behind, Bernal crossed the line alongside last year’s winner Geraint Thomas to secure his first Grand Tour victory in only his second career three-week race.

Peter Sagan celebrated winning the green jersey of points classification for a record seventh time, but it was Bernal’s remarkable triumph that sent shockwaves through the sport. The 22-year-old was mobbed by teammates and delirious Colombian fans who had flooded the city of lights to celebrate a long-awaited success in the world’s most famous bicycle race.

Speaking from the top step of the podium on the Champs Élysées, Bernal told ITV4: “Today I am the most happy guy in the world. I just won the Tour de France and I can’t believe it.”

Bernal, who spoke in English, Italian, Spanish and French, added: “I think I should say thank you to all my team, thank you ‘G’ [Thomas] for the opportunity and all the team for their support and belief in me.”

Dave Brailsford, the Team Ineos principal, said: “I don’t think he knows what’s hit him yet. I don’t think he has any idea what’s just happened to him. In sport, we lose way more than we win. As for him being the first ever Colombian, having been to Colombia and seen millions of people just when Egan won the Tour of Colombia, the place went bananas.

“His status in cycling has changed now. He came into this race and it was ‘Geraint and Egan’, whereas now I think people will perceive him and ride against him in a different light. Geraint Thomas drew a lot of attention and that allowed Egan to go under the radar a little bit.”

As Brailsford and his staff celebrated a 10th Grand Tour win since 2012, Romain Bardet took the King of the Mountains classification while the long-term race leader and fellow French favourite, Julian Alapahilippe, who spent 14 days in the yellow jersey and won two stages, was awarded the “super combativity” prize for most aggressive rider.

At 22, and third youngest winner in the history of the Tour, Bernal also claimed the best young rider classification, in addition to the yellow jersey. But despite his prowess in the mountain stages, Bernal also finished the Tour without a stage win, as did teammate Chris Froome in 2017.

Bernal is widely tipped to go on to further Grand Tour success after this breakthrough win for South American cycling, but Brailsford is wary of the impact stardom may have on the young Colombian.

“The big thing is that the status of his life will change and at a relatively young age,” he said. “He’s got all his 20s to adapt to that. I think it will go one way or another for him. Some carry on and get used to the world they live in and everything they have to deal with and other people don’t.

“A lot of the guys who became successful for us were older, late 20s, and the life-change came after they got used to life at a certain level. When it happens younger you adapt quicker so you grow up in a different world from some of the other guys. His agent I know very well and is close to him. He’s got a good network around him and his coach is really important now. So we need to sit down and have a plan.”

Thomas, who was lying second overall in the 2017 edition when he was forced to abandon the race after a crash on stage nine, was proud of his efforts even though he was unable to retain his title. “[I was] second in the Tour de France two years ago, I was here with a broken collarbone and my arm in a sling and watching Froomey win his fourth, and really just disappointed not to be able to ride my bike, and I would’ve taken second then, but it just shows how times and expectations have moved on,” Thomas said. “But I think I can be proud of how I just managed to get in decent enough shape. This year has just been mainly downs, it hasn’t been a smooth ride at all, and even in the race it was one thing after the next. But I can be happy with it, I gave it everything, didn’t let the downs affect me and just kept pressing on. To be second to a teammate makes it OK. If it was Kruijswijk sitting on the top step, and I was second then for sure I would be a lot more disappointed.”

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Egan Bernal becomes first Colombian to win the Tour de France in Paris

Team INEOS' Egan Bernal became the 2019 Tour de France champion on Sunday. He is the first Colombian to hold the title.

Team INEOS' Egan Bernal became the 2019 Tour de France champion on Sunday after the Colombian finished Saturday's penultimate stage in the yellow jersey.

Saturday's stage was reduced by 71 kilometres to just 59.5, with the Cormet de Roselend removed from the route after a landslide had blocked the road.

Vincenzo Nibali, the 2014 Tour winner, was in the day's breakaway and then launched a solo attack on the climb to the finish at Val Thorens to claim victory, 10 seconds ahead of Alejandro Valverde.

Bernal is the first Colombian to win the Tour in Paris and, at 22, the youngest champion for 110 years.

On Saturday, hundreds of people in Bernal's hometown near Bogota celebrated the historic victory of their hero in the final Alpine stage of the Tour de France.

Residents cheered Bernal's success while local children staged a bike race of their own.

Born into a family of modest means - his father is a security guard and his mother is a farmworker - there was little to distinguish him from dozens of other hard-charging young cyclists chasing a dream.

His first coach Fabio Rodriguez said Bernal made it thanks to "work and honesty."

Perpetuating the tradition of great Colombian climbers, Egan Bernal left his mark on the Tour de France in the mountains.

Bernal kept the yellow jersey Saturday after the last Alpine stage, and barring a crash or a last-minute health issue, he will become the first Colombian to win the Tour when it ends on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Sunday.

His breakout performance caps a decade of steady progress for Colombia's cycling "beetles," named for the steady determination they use to haul themselves up almost any mountain.

Gifted with superb climbing skills, the super-light Bernal — he only weighs 59 kilos - is a former mountain bike specialist.

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Egan Bernal becomes first Colombian to win Tour de France

Egan Bernal became the first Colombian to win the Tour de France when he retained the overall leader's yellow jersey after Sunday's 21st and final stage won by Caleb Ewan of Australia.

The 22-year-old Bernal, the youngest rider to win the race in 110 years, gave Team Ineos -- formerly Team Sky -- their seventh title in the past eight editions.

He beat teammate and defending champion Geraint Thomas of Britain with Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk coming home third.

Also the winner of the white jersey for the best Under-25 rider, Bernal did not win a single stage, but he was first at the top of the Col de l'Iseran when the 19th stage was stopped because of hailstorms and landslides in the Alps.

Kruijswijk's Jumbo-Visma team shone throughout the race, winning four stages through Dylan Groenewegen, Wout van Aert, Mike Teunissen and the team time trial.

Briton Adam Yates failed to impress but his Mitchelton-Scott team also claimed four stages. Yates' twin brother Simon won two stages while Matteo Trentin and Daryl Impey took one apiece.

France's Julian Alaphilippe, who wore the yellow jersey for 14 days but cracked in the Alps and ended fifth overall, was the race's most exciting rider.

The world No. 1, who had looked to become France's first winner since Bernard Hinault in 1985, was voted this year's most aggressive rider after also winning two stages.

"Alaphilippe changed the deal of this Tour de France, no question about it," said Tour director Christian Prudhomme.

"There was also the absence of [four-time champion] Chris Froome, which gave hope to many riders."

Slovakian Peter Sagan wrapped up a record seventh green jersey for the points classification, surpassing the previous mark he held jointly with German Erik Zabel.

Frenchman Romain Bardet won the polka dot jersey for the mountains classification, a consolation prize after dropping out of overall contention early on.

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Former winner Bernal to compete in 2024 Tour de France

Colombian rider Egan Bernal, who has made a promising start to the season, announced on Wednesday he would be taking part in the Tour de France in a bid to repeat his triumph of 2019.

“I’m done with the first part of the season, now in Colombia for a few days to prepare for a good Tour de France!!!”, the Ineos rider wrote on his Instagram account.

The 27-year-old announced himself to the public five years ago when in the space of a couple of months he landed Paris-Nice, the Tour de Suisse and, crowned it with the Tour de France.

Two years later he collected his second major Tour with victory in the Giro d’Italia.

In January 2022, however, he suffered a serious training accident in Colombia that almost cost him his life.

Back in the saddle last year, Bernal had a difficult season, far below his pre-crash form. But he made a good start to 2024, finishing third in the Tour of Catalunya in March behind Slovenian Tadej Pogacar and Spaniard Mikel Landa.

Before returning to Colombia, he finished the Tour de Romandie in 10th place on Sunday.

The Tour de France starts on June 29 and runs till July 21.

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Far From the Tour de France, Colombia Falls Hard for Cycling

Soccer still reigns supreme in Latin America, but a popular ride in the hills above Medellín showcases a nation’s second love.

By James Wagner

Reporting from Medellín, Colombia.

The route up Las Palmas starts near the valley floor, but it doesn’t stay there for long. It is 10 miles up to the summit, an arduous climb of roughly 3,400 vertical feet, a journey of long rises and sharp turns, of straining muscles and heaving lungs.

Some riders stop at the lookout point halfway up for the views of the city and don’t continue. A few take extended breaks. The reward comes at the top, where restaurants, bike stores and coffee shops await, and where this month amateur riders have gathered day after day to watch their countrymen competing a continent away in cycling’s biggest race.

“Not everyone dares come up here,” Anderson Murcia, 37, said in Spanish as he stopped briefly to drink water and snap photographs on a recent morning.

The top of Las Palmas, though, is more than a vantage point, a rest stop high above Medellín and its 2.5 million residents. In some ways, the popular route is also a perfect place to take the measure of a sport that has made Colombia the cycling epicenter of Latin America.

Amateur cyclists take on Las Palmas’s challenge every day, but so have professionals, including some of the Colombians racing in this year’s Tour de France. A pro can do a version of the ascent in 30 minutes. A weekend warrior will need nearly twice as long, or much more. The pride is in the punishment, and the achievement, and in being part of a sport that, among Colombians of all ages, has become an unexpected national pastime.

“Soccer beats all, but cycling is the second-biggest sport in the country,” said Jorge Mauricio Vargas Carreño, the president of the Colombian Cycling Federation. “It’s the sport that has the most affection among all Colombians because of the successes we’ve had at the international level.”

The roots of that connection go back decades. Colombians have been riding on cycling’s biggest stages, like the Tour de France, since the 1970s. In 1984, Luis Herrera, known as Lucho, became the first Colombian to win a stage at the race. Three years later, he became the first to win one of the three so-called European grand tours, prevailing at the Vuelta a España.

Herrera passed the baton to riders like Santiago Botero, who won the king of the mountains title at the Tour de France in 2000, and Nairo Quintana, who finished second overall in the race in 2013 and in 2015. Colombian women have since won Olympic medals in road cycling and BMX.

Their countryman Egan Bernal, however, did them all one better: In 2019, he became the first Latin American to win the Tour de France.

“It’s part of our culture,” Bernal, 26, said in a recent telephone interview. “In Colombia, I think 90 percent of the homes have a bike. And a lot of people use them as a mode of transportation, especially the more humble people, and over the years they’ve used it more.”

He added: “Everyone in Colombia is happy when they’re given their first bike.”

The main reasons cycling blossomed in Colombia, according to cyclists, officials and coaches, are the nation’s socioeconomics, history and topography (large swaths of the country are at higher elevations, such as Medellín, at 4,900 feet, or the capital, Bogotá, at 8,600).

“Cycling has become very important in our country,” said Rigoberto Urán, 36, a Colombian cyclist who has finished second in the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia and the Olympics. “Colombia is a country with a lot of problems — political problems — and our history is stained by narcotrafficking. So cycling has sort of given us a new image for some time.”

José Julián Velásquez, the sporting director of Team Medellín-EPM, a professional team founded in 2017 to develop cycling in a city and region known more for the notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar, said many Colombians were raised riding hills and mountains since bikes are a more affordable way to get around. Quintana, for example, grew up in a town 9,300 feet above sea level and had to pedal up steep gradients every day just to get home from school.

As a result, many Colombian cyclists are known as escarabajos, or beetles, for their doggedness as climbers.

Colombia is the only Latin American country in the top 20 of the rankings by Union Cycliste Internationale, the sport’s global governing body. In a sport dominated by and centered in Europe, Colombia was ranked 10th.

The coronavirus pandemic only deepened Colombia’s connection with the sport, with people buying more bicycles to get around and exercise.

Martha Gómez grew up around cycling because her father was a fan, following the careers of the Colombian riders and watching the Tour de France every year. She said she learned to ride as a child but didn’t start taking cycling more seriously until 2021. She now averages as many as 60 miles a week.

“Women were more about being in the gym or walking,” Gómez, 41, said. “But with the pandemic and being locked up indoors, it led us to find a healthier life. Riding up Las Palmas, you didn’t use to see many women, but now you see more. And women aren’t just riding on the road but up the mountains, too.”

On Sunday mornings and holidays in Medellín, as in Bogotá, the local authorities shut down main roads, including the high-speed lanes of the city’s biggest highway, for exclusive use by cyclists. On a recent morning, they dotted its lanes and inclines. Several wore the jerseys of professional cycling teams, or the Colombian national squad. One child pedaled away in a Quintana shirt.

“I feel like that when something starts to take off, everyone gets that craving,” said Sara Cardona, 39, a pediatrician who averages about 40 to 60 miles a week.

It is not uncommon, Cardona said, to run into Colombian stars and even their European rivals on training rides. Amateur riders, both competitive and hobbyist, like to measure themselves against the times posted on familiar climbs like Las Palmas on the popular cycling app Strava .

Last week, Cardona left her house at 7:30 a.m. to make sure she made it up the mountain in time to catch the end of that day’s Tour de France stage on television. On the way to the Safetti bike store and coffee shop, she ran into a store employee who was also cycling up Las Palmas. They made a friendly wager on who would win the Tour de France stage.

The prize: a strong cup of Colombian coffee.

James Wagner is an international sports correspondent, based in Mexico City. He joined The Times in 2016, covering baseball and reporting from the World Cup and the Olympics. A Nicaraguan-American from the Washington area, he is a native Spanish speaker. More about James Wagner

Mark Cavendish makes first visit to Colombia on unusual route to Tour de France success

Mark Cavendish ’s career has taken him all over the world, from Rio de Janeiro to Melbourne, from the Arctic circle to South Africa. But not, it turns out, to one of the great breeding grounds for cycling’s mountain goats, Colombia.

That changed recently when he arrived in South America for the Tour Colombia, which begins on Tuesday, a six-day race returning to the calendar after a four-year hiatus. It is the start of Cavendish’s more unusual route towards his ultimate goal this summer, like every year, winning at the Tour de France .

“I can’t believe it after so many years, but it’s my first time in Colombia,” Cavendish said ahead of the race, speaking by Lake Sochagota three hours north of the capital, Bogota. “We spent a week in Medellin which was incredible, and then we came up here to Paipa [where the race starts]. The only problem was I couldn’t breathe for two weeks. But now I understand why riders from Colombia just play with us when they come down to sea level.”

Cavendish has been undergoing an intense three weeks of altitude training in Colombia. He will be judged on the sprints at the Tour de France as he tries to clinch one more stage win – his 35th – and break clear of the Tour record he shares with the great Eddy Merckx. But to be on the startline for the sprint-friendly days in the Tour, he will first have to scale some gruelling climbs inside the time cut.

The Tour is always dubbed brutal and unforgiving when the route is released, but this year’s race will be particularly challenging for a power rider like Cavendish, with four summit finishes as well as a day riding over treacherous gravel. “I’m a little bit in shock after seeing the presentation,” Cavendish said of the route when it was unveiled back in October . “I really thought last year was hard. This is – I can’t even – it’s a very, very, very hard Tour de France.”

And so with a gruelling Tour comes gruelling preparation. It is not all about readying himself for what might be his final Tour, though: Cavendish has come to Colombia to win.

“Of course, I always think about the Tour de France,” he said on Monday. “I’ve always thought about the Tour de France in my whole career. But that doesn’t mean you take the rest of the races easy. As a sprinter especially, you’re marked on your wins. Second, third, fourth or fifth doesn’t matter, you’re rated by your wins, so it’s always important to win throughout. And both on a physical and mental point, the motivation you get from victories early in the year can carry you through to July.”

He is armed with a strong Astana Qazaqstan team which includes his long-time sidekick Michael Morkov and fellow leadout man Cees Bol. Their main rival for the sprints is Colombia’s very own Fernando Gaviria, a former teammate of Cavendish at QuickStep now riding for Movistar.

Colombia is one of the most passionate corners of the cycling world, and yellow flashes of the country’s football shirt can always be seen along the Champs-Elysees in great numbers on the final day of the Tour de France. It is a productive county too with a long tradition stretching back to Luis Herrera, Colombia’s first Tour de France stage winner, achieved upon Alpe d’Huez in 1984. A raft of talented climbers have come through over the past decade, including grand tour winners Nairo Quintana, Richard Carapaz and Egan Bernal, and they are all racing this week, with Bernal representing a Colombian national team rather than the absent Ineos Grenadiers.

The return of the Tour Colombia is an important milestone: since Bernal’s Tour de France glory in 2019 , things have gone downhill for the country’s cycling stock. Bernal suffered a career-threatening training crash; Quintana tested positive for tramadol at the 2022 Tour de France, twice; another star, Miguel Angel Lopez, is currently suspended while he is investigated over an anti-doping violation.

The Tour Colombia was cancelled during the pandemic and then collapsed due to a lack of funding, but it finally returns and will provide a stage to showcase Colombian talent, as well as the country itself. Only three WorldTour teams have entered this hastily arranged edition – Movistar, EF Education and Astana – but there is hope that it will be the start of a flourishing race in years to come.

For Cavendish, it is the start of what he hopes will be a memorable year. Last year was supposed to be his last, but such was the agonising way his Tour de France ended – literally in the case of his broken collarbone , psychologically with his near miss in Bordeaux the day before – that he had to come back for one more tilt at writing new history.

He will be 39 and an underdog at the Tour among the best sprinters on the planet, but he is still fiercely competitive with ferocious acceleration in his thighs, and the Tour Colombia offers a chance to hone his racing instincts up against Gaviria, a man with legs a decade younger.

“We’ve got a very strong team, and I know Fernando has a strong team with Movistar too,” Cavendish said. “But like we’ve seen with the road championships in Colombia, there are a lot of domestically based riders who can spring a surprise. We’ll just enjoy it and see how it goes.”

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How to Watch 2024 Giro d’Italia

With a clear favorite, two time trials, and majestic mountain passes, cycling’s most beautiful Grand Tour promises a spectacle at its finest.

What Happened Last Year

Riders to watch.

Here’s everything you need to know about the 2024 Giro d’Italia:

Dates: Saturday, May 4 - Sunday, May 26

How to Watch

If you’re a Max subscriber ($9.99/month), then you have access to the streaming platform’s B/R Sports package, which is the only legal way to stream the Giro d’Italia in the USA. For now, the package is free to all regular Max subscribers, but at some point, it will cost an additional $9.99 each month. That’s not as affordable as GCN+ used to be, but considering everything else you get with the B/R Sports package (such as MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAA Men’s March Madness, U.S. Soccer, and 24 Hours of Le Mans coverage) it’s a pretty good deal.

Max has a user-friendly app for smartphones, streaming devices, game consoles, and smart TVs. There’s also an easy-to-navigate website, which is a helpful option for streaming the race from work. (Don’t worry, we won’t tell your boss.)

You could cancel your monthly subscription at the end of the race, but remember that Max will be offering live streams of many road, mountain, track, and cyclocross races throughout the rest of the year. If that floats your boat, consider getting an annual subscription for $99.99 (or $149.99 for ad-free streaming).

The 107th edition of the Giro d’Italia covers 3,386.7K (2,138 miles) over 21 stages, with two individual time trials, seven stages with uphill finishes, and six to eight stages expected to end with field sprints.

This year’s Grande Partenza takes place in Piemonte, near the French-Italian Alps, with two challenging road stages that will force the Giro’s GC contenders to be at their best right away. Stage 1, a 136K stage from Venaria Reale to Torino, features three categorized climbs–including the Superga and the Colle Maddalena–but it’s a short, punchy, uncategorized ascent just before the finish that could determine the stage winner.

Stage 2 begins in San Francesco al Campo and ends after 150K with this year’s first summit finish–on the Category 1 Santuario di Oropa, the climb on which deceased Italian legend Marco Pantani took one of his most famous stage wins in 1999. By the end of the first weekend, the GC battle will already be in full swing.

The race then begins working its way south, and Stages 3, 4, and 5—which finish in Fossano, Andora, and Lucca, respectively—should be days for the Giro’s sprinters. (Although the finishes of Stages 3 and 4 feature ramps inside the final 10K that could thwart the fast men.) Stage 6 brings the race from the coast into Tuscany (it finishes in Rapolano Terme) and features 12K of the strade bianche (“white gravel roads”) that give March’s Strade Bianche road race its name. If there’s one stage during the first week that has the potential to cause a few surprises, it’s this one.

Stage 7 is the first individual time trial of the Giro, and it’s a tough one: beginning in Foligno, the 37.2K race against the clock starts with over 30K of flat roads. But there’s a nasty sting in the course’s tail: a 6.5K climb to the finish line that starts steep and then ascends more gradually to the line. Riders who don’t pace themselves on the flat part of the course could explode on the final climb. There could be large time gaps here.

Starting in Spoleto, Stage 8 brings the second summit finish of the first week–on the Category 1 Prati di Tivo, a 14K climb in the Umbrian Apennines with an average gradient of 7%. With a field sprint expected in Napoli at the end of Sunday’s Stage 9 (after a 214K stage that starts in Avezzano), Stages 7 and 8 will determine which rider will wear the maglia rosa into the Giro’s first Rest Day.

The second week begins in Pompeii with Stage 10, a 142K stage that features a summit finish on a new climb, the Category 1 Bocca della Selva, a 20.9K climb with a deceiving 4.6% average gradient. The first few kilometers are actually downhill, so the climb is actually harder than its statistics suggest.

We expect Stage 11 (207K) to end with a field sprint in Francavilla al Mare, and Stage 12—with a jagged 190K stage through the Marche region (an area known for its muri or “walls”)—looks like the perfect day for a breakaway filled with puncheurs and riders who perform well in the spring classics. Friday’s Stage 13 is the flattest stage of this year’s race, which is probably a good thing considering the next two stages. This 179K stage from Riccione to Cento will be an active rest day for much of the peloton.

And they’ll need one because the third weekend begins with Stage 14–the Giro’s second individual time trial–a generally flat, 31K course from Castiglione delle Stiviere to Desenzano del Garda. This is a day for the Giro’s time trial specialists; the pure climbers will struggle to stay within shouting distance of their more powerful colleagues.

But they’ll have a chance for revenge on Sunday, when the race heads into the Alps for Stage 15, a 220K monster stage (the longest in this year’s race) with five categorized climbs, including back-to-back 2000m summits (both Category 1 ascents) at the end of the day, with a summit finish at the Mottolino ski resort just above Livigno. This weekend should blow the Giro wide open, leaving just a handful of riders still in contention to win the race overall.

The third week begins the same way the second week ends, with a 200K, high-altitude mountain stage. Stage 16 features the granddaddy of them all: the Stelvio, this year’s “Cima Coppi” as the highest summit in the race. Topping out at over 2700m, the climb comes early in the stage but will nonetheless offer a rude awakening to a peloton that’s coming out of the second Rest Day. After a long ride down into and through a valley, the day ends with the Category 1 Passo Pinei and then a summit finish on the Category 2 Monte Pana, in Santa Cristina in Val Gardena.

At “just” 159K, Stage 17 is much shorter than the previous two mountain stages, but it’s jammed with five categorized climbs, including the Category 2 Passo Sella and the Category 1 Passo Rolle. The day ends with two ascents of the Category 1 Passo Brocon, which the riders climb for a second time on their way to the finish line. This will be an intense stage, and it could pose a challenge for the team defending the pink jersey to control. The riders will be either climbing or descending from start to finish and if someone’s going to stage a third-week ambush, it could come here.

The next two stages offer a break from the mountains. Stage 18 brings a 166K downhill ride from Fiera di Primiero to Padua that should end with a field sprint. Stage 19 looks like the perfect chance for a small group of opportunists–who have likely been saving themselves in the high mountains–to escape and fight for a breakaway stage win in Sappada.

The 154K stage begins in Mortegliano and climbs steadily throughout the day, culminating with three categorized climbs in the second half stage, the last of which the riders summit just 7K from the finish. After so many days of intense climbing–and with one more day in the mountains still to come–the peloton could just sit back and let the break go all the way to the finish.

That sets the stage for Stage 20, the last chance for anyone hoping to steal the 2024 Giro d’Italia from whoever's been leading it. And–as the last two editions have shown us–that’s a realistic possibility. Starting in Alpago, the stage rolls along for about 85K before the first of two ascents of the Monte Grappa, an 18K climb with an average gradient of 8.1%–that’s steep . This isn’t a stage with a summit finish–the race finishes in Bassano del Grappa after a long descent from the top of the Monte Grappa down into the valley below–but even without one, the stage should still provide a dramatic conclusion to the Giro’s GC battle.

The race concludes Sunday in Rome with a 122K road stage featuring several circuits through the Eternal City. The day will begin with clinking glasses of prosecco, and end with one last chance for the sprinters to grab some glory.

You can find the elevation profiles and course maps for each 2024 Giro d’Italia stage here .

For the second year in a row, the 2023 Giro d’Italia was decided on the grand tour’s penultimate day. In 2022, Australia’s Jai Hindley (BORA-hansgrohe) took the pink jersey from Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) on Stage 20. Hindley won a mountain stage at the end of the grand tour’s first week, then hung around near the top of the General Classification before seizing his moment late in the Giro’s final mountain stage and winning the race overall.

In 2023, Slovenia’s Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) followed the same formula, albeit without an early-stage win. After Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step)—who had won two stages and was wearing the pink jersey as the Giro’s overall leader—was forced to abandon the race after testing positive for Covid-19 on the eve of the Giro’s first Rest Day, Great Britain’s Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) took the maglia rosa . With the exception of the two days straddling the second Rest Day, Thomas held the jersey for much of the second and third weeks.

But he cracked on Stage 20, an 18.6K uphill time trial from Tarvisio to the summit of the Monte Lussari. Roglič, who entered the day just 26 seconds behind Thomas on GC, won the stage by 40 seconds, taking the pink jersey–and the 2023 Giro–by a slim margin.

Thomas held on to finish second, and Portugal’s João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) finished third. Italy’s Jonathan Milan (Bahrain-Victorious) won the Points Classification, France’s Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) won the King of the Mountains Classification, and Almeida was the Giro’s Best Young Rider.

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates)

With most of the sport’s best grand tour riders (including Roglič) racing the Tour de France this summer, this year’s Giro has a short list of overall contenders, a list that’s headlined by one of the sport’s true superstars: Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates).

The 25-year-old has never raced the Giro, and he takes the starting line this year as the favorite to win and dominate it. Then he’s planning to head to the Tour, where he’s hoping to become the first rider since Italy’s Marco Pantani in 1998 to win the Giro and the Tour in the same season.

Geraint Thomas (INEOS-Grenadiers)

Pogačar’s biggest challenger will likely be Geraint Thomas, who’s coming back to the Giro after last year’s disappointment. The 37-year-old (he’ll turn 38 during the race) will have a strong and experienced team supporting him–and the course suits him–but he’ll have a hard time overcoming Pogačar.

Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma-Lease a Bike)

We’ll also be keeping an eye on Belgium’s Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma-Lease a Bike), who made headlines last December when it was announced that he was breaking his contract with BORA-hansgrohe (who had recently signed Roglič away from Jumbo) to join the Dutch superteam.

The winner of the Tour de l‘Avenir in 2022, Uijtdebroeks just turned 21 and is widely considered to be a future grand tour contender. Without Belgium’s Wout van Aert, who’s skipping the Giro due to injuries he sustained in a crash at a race in Belgium a few weeks ago, Uijtdebroeks becomes the focus of the team’s Giro plans. And with a strong squad alongside him, he could finish on the podium and is the easy pick to become the Giro’s Best Young Rider.

Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale)

Other GC contenders include Australia’s Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), a former fourth-place finisher at the Tour de France and Giro stage-winner; Italy’s Damiano Caruso (Bahrain-Victorious), a former Giro podium-finisher; Colombia’s Daniel Martinez (BORA-hansgrohe), a former fifth-place finisher at the Giro; Great Britain’s Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost), a two-time top-10 finisher; and France’s Romain Bardet (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), a former Tour de France podium finisher who was seventh at the Giro in 2021 but might be more of stage hunter this year.

Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek)

Other stage hunters include Italy’s Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), a three-time stage winner who was the Giro’s King of the Mountains in 2019; France’s Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-Quick Step), who’s riding his first Giro; and Canada’s Michael Woods (Israel-PremierTech), who’s hoping to complete a hat-trick of grand tour stage victories with a win in Italy.

Nairo Quintana (Movistar)

One of the most controversial riders in this year’s Giro will be Colombia’s Nairo Quintana (Movistar), winner of the Giro in 2014. But the 34-year-old hasn’t raced since finishing sixth overall in the 2022 Tour de France and then having his results disqualified after testing positive for tramadol, a painkiller that’s banned by the UCI (but not banned by WADA). He’s now back in the WorldTour with the team that made him famous. His return has not been a popular one , though, and it will be interesting to see how he’s received in Italy.

The Giro also offers several stage win opportunities for field sprinters, and that–plus the fact that the Tour de France is very not sprinter-friendly–means there will be lots of them taking the start, including Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek); Belgium’s Tim Merlier (Soudal–Quick Step); Dutch sprinters Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Fabio Jakobsen (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), and Australia’s Sam Welsford (BORA-Hansgrohe), Caleb Ewan (Jayco AlUla) and Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck); and Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty).

Last but not least, the Giro will see several North Americans taking the start, with Americans Larry Warbasse (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Magnus Sheffield (INEOS Grenadiers), and Will Barta (Movistar) joining Woods on the starting line, with more expected to join them as teams finalize their rosters.

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