“If I come back to the start of the biggest races, it will be a great victory for Latin America”. In an interview with Cyclingnews, Nairo Quintana still determined to race in Europe despite being out of contract. This pugnacity is shared by all Colombian cyclists. Colombia is plagued by violence, drugs and cartel control. Cycling offers hope for a better future, and their success is only the fruit of personal courage.
Cycling despite civil wars in Colombia
from 1898, races are organized in Bogota, The capital of the country. The context of violence leads to the last-minute cancellation of several events. In 1899, the Thousand Days War breaks out. Liberals and conservatives tear each other apart. Between 100,000 and 300 000 Colombians lose their lives, and a serious economic crisis takes place. One of the main consequences of this war is the independence of Panama in 1903. Despite these tensions, the weekend races in Bogota manage to keep the flame alive for cycling.
End of war does not mean end of tensions. However, there is a significant drop in violence. The country's international relations are normalizing. The independence of Panama is officially recognized in 1914. The United States pays 25 million dollars in compensation for their role in the independence of Panama. But in 1948, Colombia is experiencing a new dark page in its history. The violence starts on 9 avril 1948 with the assassination of Jorge Eliecer Gaitan. Liberal leader, he is disapproved by Conservatives and even some Liberals. Until 1960, 200 000 to 300,000 Colombians are killed in the context of the civil war. It is in this new wave of tensions that Colombian cycling is experiencing an important stage in its development..
Efrain Forero offers Colombian cycling its first beautiful pages! He is born in 1930 in Zipaquira, in the department of Cundinamarca. Egan Bernal was also born in this department. With other cyclists, he is thinking of organizing a stage cycle race, on the model of the Tour de France. Unfortunately, companies are not convinced enough to sponsor the project. Furthermore, the geography of the country reinforces their reluctance, including the Andes Cordillera. The mountain range is shared by seven countries: Chili, Argentine, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela and therefore Colombia. Its strong reliefs persuade companies that it is impossible to have several stages in the country.
Forero wants them to lie. For it, he completes a solo tour of Colombia. In 1950, he launches with his bike through the whole country to support his idea of a tour of Colombia. People look at Forero like crazy, without knowing that in a few years they will acclaim him as a hero. The newspaper Time is convinced. Back from his trip, Forero embarks on the organization of the first Tour of Colombia. 10 steps are on the program, disputed over a period of 13 days. And the 5 January 1951, from Bogota, 35 South Americans set off. There where 50 years earlier were contested the first races of the country, Colombian cycling takes off.
The war seems to have disappeared. Race is at the heart of all discussions. The crowd is passionate about cycling. On the side of the roads, the population is present en masse to encourage these precursors. Across the 1 154 kilometers of trails, sand, mud and stone, only five competitors forfeit. Others experience endless glitches. Forero thus bursts six times. But he manages to cross the finish line of the last stage, in Bogotá. With 5 hours and 34 minutes ahead of the second, he is rewarded for all the efforts made in preparing for the competition. The Colombian people hold in Efrain Forero their first idol. And Colombia holds its first major sports competition. Far from political and social considerations, cycling becomes a religion in its own right, and the fervor has not disappeared since!
The Colombian Dream
The cycling craze is only just beginning. It is now necessary to register this passion in the long term. For the second edition of the Tour of Colombia, the Olympic champion is on the starting line. Frenchman José Beayert, titled in 1948, is seduced by the competition. But its presence in Colombia is not limited to the fifteen days of competitions. As he explained himself: « I stayed another month for the inauguration of the Bogota velodrome, then another month... ». The native of Lens fell in love with the land of coffee at first sight. Cycling and Colombia are two entities that go well together.
José Beayert will finally settle down permanently in Colombia. He guides the country's cyclists in their move towards the international level. Young Colombians start dreaming. The sports dream allows them to travel, to believe in a better life. Cycling is like a stranger in a country where violence and cartels punctuate life. And Beayert will realize it, at his expense. He coaches the national teams, but Colombia will also bring him a lot. The Frenchman finds himself in trafficking cases, of murders, … but back to cycling.
A sport to develop must also have a tragic side. We just have to wait for the third edition of the Tour of Colombia to make the event a little more legendary.. Titus Gallus, young Colombian hopeful, meets death in the race. In the descent of Alto de Minas, Gallo falls fatally. Colombia finds here the first martyr of cycling. His death reinforces the drama of the sport, but the enthusiasm is also increased tenfold. The Colombians feel ready to face the best runners of the time.
In 1953, the violence continue to ravage the country. The very authoritarian President Laureano Gomez wants to strengthen the nationalist feeling of the country. The victory of Colombian Ramon Hoyos over Beayert during the Tour 1953 serves Gomez's political plan. But he aims even further. The French media are interested in Colombian development, able to beat a Frenchman. They agree with Colombia to allow the participation of six Colombians in the Route de France of the same year.
Cycling finds itself thrust into the heart of conservative Gomez's politics. Jacques Gilard produced a long research on the political dimension of this adventure of Colombian cyclists in France. He explains in particular that the population fully adheres to the project.. But the media favorable to the president must nevertheless temper the ardor of the population. Without disuniting with the presidential project, they talk about the “glorious uncertainty of the sport” to start a possible disaster for the Colombian runners.
Unprepared, the Colombians suffer the level gap with the European riders. The national epic wanted by Laureano Gomez turns into a fiasco. The Colombian dream is still far from reality. Set out to conquer Europe, the six emissaries finally find themselves humiliated. They return to the land without glory. Colombian cycling still has to wait before it can compete in the cycling planet. Ramon Hoyos, the winner of Beayert during the Tour 1953, will take Colombian cycling through this challenge.
During the Tour 1955, he win 12 of the 18 stages of the competition. He consecutively won the Tours 1953, 1954, 1955 and 1956. He wins all the races he starts. Colombia sees him as its first true cycling 'monster'. His ease in the mountains earned him the nickname "mountain beetle".. François Barbant reports several anecdotes related to his popularity. The night, his supporters can't help but serenade their sleeping hero. Hoyos also shines at the South American level. He confided in the microphone of the Colombian cycling federation, he wins the online race of the pan american games 1955 that take place in Mexico City. these last years, the violence continues to rage.
Get out of national poverty
Colombian cycling quietly continues its development at the national level. The Tour of Colombia helps anchor the tradition of cycling within the population. Cyclists must redouble their imagination to reconcile competitions but also their work. In the years 1960, Colombia diversifies its economy. Industrial growth is accelerating but the population remains very poor. Coffee and sugarcane cultivation supports millions of workers and their families.
In this decade, a new cyclist wins the support of the crowd. Martin Emilio Rodriguez, born in Medellin in 1942, signe 39 stage victories on the National Tour. This record still stands today. Alongside his sporting career, Rodriguez, nicknamed Cochise, continues to sell jeans. And to attract customers, he signs an autograph for a pair of pants purchased. However, this double life does not slow him down in his conquest of the world. He thus won two stage victories in the Giro (1973 and 1975) and also participates in the Tour de France 1975. He ends this edition with 27The Tour of the Pays de Vaud place.
But the Colombian who has contributed the most to the influence of Colombian cycling throughout the world is Giovanni Jiménez. In 1965, he flies to Europe to seek victory on the old continent. For six years, he combines good performances without managing to raise his arms. And the 22 July 1971, he raises his arms. Colombia holds its first victory in Europe here. The failure of 1953 is very far away. The 140 kilometers of the Mechelen Grand Prix (Belgium) mark the transformation of Colombian cycling. Jiménez then rides under the colors of the French team.
Giovanni Jiménez confirms this good performance ten days later. Le 31 July, this time he wins alone. At the end of the 178 km the l'Omloop van de Scheldt banks, he knew how to defy all the predictions. Alongside Merckx, Poulidor, It will be the same on Tirreno-Adriatico then on the Tour of the Alps. he faces the best cyclists of his generation. He joins the BIC team (with Jean-Marie Leblanc, director of the Tour de France 1989 at 2006). Colombians will no longer leave the professional peloton. Jiménez's solitary exodus paves the way for all his future compatriots. Export is successful. Several years later, the first Colombian team participates in the Tour de France. In 1983, Colombia enters the only amateur team at the start of the event.
This date definitively marks the entry of Colombians into the international cycling ecosystem.. Six Colombian runners cross the finish in 1983. But from 1984, they take a new symbolic step. Le 16 July 1984, the 17The Tour of the Pays de Vaud stage connects Grenoble to Alpe d’Huez. This mythical summit is a framework for the spectacle which will be played out. Alone, Lucho Herrera gives his country its first victory on the Grande Boucle. In the ascent, Herrera notably manages to let go of Bernard Hinault and Laurent Fignon.
Through these different individual exploits, we were able to see that Colombian cycling is above all the fruit of a few individuals. Determined and full of courage, they managed to overcome the obstacles of civil wars, economic misery, of the social crisis, of the distance between Europe and their country, …the barriers are legion. But determination always pays off in the end. In all these stories, cyclists have always been able to count on the enthusiasm of the population. But the authorities are not very present or their interventions have been more of an additional obstacle than a real boost to the Colombian epic.. But even today, the emergence of Colombian cyclists at the highest level is the result of personal determination, in a social context which remains extremely fragile.
Colombia: a social issue
But why only Colombia has this special destiny?? Other South American countries have more difficulty establishing their champions. The context is however similar. Colombian journalist Sinor Alvarado explains it this way: “The answer lies in a combination of geography and poverty”. Colombia remains an extremely poor country. In 2019, 37,5 % of the population is in a situation of monetary poverty. Facing strong political instability, the country cannot ensure sustainable development. As we saw for Rwanda, cycling has a special mission for young Colombians.
Politics took charge of structuring this loophole. And one man was particularly involved: Jairo Clopatofsky. Minister of Sports in the early years 2010, he wants to use cycling to lead a revolution. But this one is far from weapons. Using the bike, he wants to bring together the entire population. His dream of seeing one of his compatriots win the Tour de France came true in 2019 with Egan Bernal (Ineos), in front of Geraint Thomas (Ineos) et Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma). But this victory would not have been possible without the dynamic established by Clopatofsky at the head of his ministry. Continuing the golden legend of Colombian cyclists since 1950, he wants to forget the difficult context.
«The power of sport is stronger than any other cultural force » replies Clopatofsky to defend his policy. He who has a special destiny is ready to face all challenges to make cycling shine. At the age of 20 years, he becomes paraplegic following a car accident. He finds himself forced to use a wheelchair. But twenty years later, in 2005, he manages to regain the use of his legs with the help of medical treatment, but above all with a powerful determination. He thus created the Colombia-Coldeportes team. Under the colors of the country, its runners have the mission of representing it throughout the world, but above all bring the population together behind a common goal.
The team was born in 2011. In its ranks, we find in particular Esteban Chaves or Fabio Duarte. 38 runners, all of Colombian nationality, join the professional structure. The government invests heavily in the team to take on the best of the professional peloton in Europe. A continental team of 22 cyclists is born but it has an exclusively South American calendar. Colombia-Coldeportes is then the only national team still professional. The jersey is designed to represent the whole nation. On a black background, the three colors of the flag (yellow, blue and red) stand out. Also included are the two sponsors: Colombia and Coldeportes. Easily identifiable, it must allow spectators to see that Colombia is present in force!
The team finally disappears 2015. Riders no longer receive their salaries. The team has no more funds. Unfortunately, cycling does not escape the difficulties that all Colombians suffer. The results are mixed. In four contested seasons, alone 11 races are won. But she perfectly fulfilled her role of hope for the population with three participations in the grand tours (Round 2013, Round 2014, Return 2015). Beyond this political attempt, Colombian cyclists have managed to join the biggest teams on the international scene.
Colombians marked by their history
Still in the peloton today, Colombian cyclists bear witness to the crisis facing the country. Their emergence at the highest level, is for the majority, due to their determination. Since the Giovanni Jiménez era, the context is essentially identical. But these difficulties did not prevent them from performing. From a decade, Colombians constantly play leading roles. Au 18 October 2022, Colombia is in seventh place in the UCI World Tour ranking by nations. The country's very mountainous terrain favors the development of high-performance physiological capacities.. Altitude also plays a major role. Bogota is the highest capital in the world, culminating at 2,600 meters above sea level. But these geographical predispositions should not make us forget personal work.
No cyclists, whatever their nationality, does not arrive in the World Tour thanks to chance. This is even more true for Colombia. In this country, becoming a professional is a real escape. This is an opportunity that is not available to everyone.. And current runners are well aware of this. For Netflix, Nairo Quintana explain: “It has never been easy for me. My family came from a disadvantaged social class and my father was disabled, so much so that it was very difficult for me to make the most of my life”. The social aspect of Colombian cycling is shared by the entire nation. The various doping cases affecting South American cycling can be explained by their desire to escape poverty. They are ready to fully commit to professional cycling, even if it means going beyond the rules. But failure is not a possible end.
Eddy Jacome, journalist at Colombian Cycling, insists on the social and economic opportunity that cycling brings: “We have many children who live in rural areas, far from major urban centers, and who live in poverty. This situation forces them to travel by bicycle in very mountainous places and to search with great energy for a way out of poverty and everyone here knows that coming to Europe as a cyclist is an obvious way out of this.". This quote is even more relevant when we know that 90 at 95% Colombian athletes come from a relatively low economic class.
Tardily, politics has grasped the role that cycling can play. From Jairo Clopatofsky, the State invests massively. This sport is not at all profitable for private companies. Only two races per year are broadcast live on television. The calendar is very unstable due to the social and political context of the country. The main funding therefore comes from public administrations. Cities generally have their own team, like that of Medellin. The town hall finances everything and is the only sponsor of the team. It was created in 2017 with the aim of supporting youth cycling in the country. The romantic epic of the years 1950 gradually became the center of major political and social issues. Today, cycling is an escape route. And this opportunity is made possible by the selflessness of a few cyclists since 70 years !
