Rigoberto Urán prepares for the 2023 season on Colombian roads, It will be his eighth with the EF Education-EasyPost and he will surely aim again for a good general classification in the Tour de France, race in which he was already runner-up in 2017 and top 10 in three other editions. The cyclist got off at the last minute of the Route Nationals due to a respiratory virus.
In an interview with TeleMEDELLÍN Sports, Rigo expressed his concern for the future of Colombian cycling, he does not see quality cyclists to take his place or that of other stars such as Nairo Quintana, Miguel Ángel López, Esteban Chaves, Egan Bernal, among others. He believes that after Higuita, Dani Martínez and Santi Buitrago, there is nothing else in the country.
“What is the reality… that we don’t have any good cyclists in Colombia, there is nothing. The last thing that was there is called Sergio Higuita, Daniel Martínez, Buitrago. There is nothing, there is no good cyclist ‘hp’, I don’t know what is happening. In Europe, cycling is very strong, here they continue to work, but that quality is lacking”, said Rigo Urán.
Rigoberto added that the vast majority of young cyclists It is difficult for them to adapt to the training and competition that takes place in Europe. He himself has witnessed how Colombian runners come and go immediately, no one can stay in that elite.
“Many cyclists have gone to Europe, but they can’t last one or two years. I have had the opportunity to take several, but they are not able to adapt to the pace of the race and they send them here, So it is something that worries us because at this moment we are without someone to replace us.Urán explained.