Six years after the first and successful event, Colombian fans are getting ready to witness for the fourth time the most important cycling competition on the national calendar, the Tour Colombia UCI 2.1. It proves that this time he will have big stars in action, at the always difficult altitude of the Cundiboyacense plateau.
From February 6 to 11, three World Tour squads, two UCI Pro Teams, six national teams, eight continental formations and five national teams will animate the race, which returns to the UCI calendar after three years of absence.
This edition of the Colombian race will travel through the departments of Boyacá and Cundinamarca. It will start in Paipa and end in the country’s capital. The six fractions will have varied terrain so that different types of runners can enjoy themselves.
World stars to the delight of local fans
Great world stars such as: sprinter Mark Cavendish, who will lead the Astana Qazaqstan Team. The British will be accompanied by the Kazakh Alexey Lutsenko, and the Dutchman Cees Bol. Likewise, there will be the Ecuadorians Richard Carapaz and Jefferson Cepeda with the EF Education – Easypost and Jonathan Caicedo with the Forte Petrolike-Androni Giocattoli and there will also be the Italian Attilio Viviani, from the Team Corratec. All of them are part of the great international lineup in the first stage competition on the Colombian calendar.
Rigoberto Urán and Esteban Chaves with EF Education – Easypost; Nairo Quintana and Fernando Gaviria with the Movistar Team; Egan Bernal in the Colombian National Team, heads the list of national stars who will seek to star in the long-awaited Tour Colombia.
Sergio Luis Henao and Rodrigo Contreras at NU Colombia; Alejandro Osorio and Brandon Rivera on the GW Erco Shimano; Aldemar Reyes and Robinson Chalapud in Team Banco Guayaquil Bianchi; Óscar Sevilla and Fabio Duarte in Team Medellín; Diego Camargo and Nelson Soto, who will debut in the Forte Petrolike-Androni Giocattoli, will be some of the great cards of the continental squads that will seek to surprise the World Tour.
Height, a crucial factor in the demanding route
One of the most determining factors in the route of the Tour Colombia 2024 will be the height presented by the always difficult Cundiboyacense topography. It is a test that will have all the stages above 2,500 meters above sea level and will become a great test at the beginning of the season, especially for foreign artists.
On the first day the sprinters will have their first duel in a flat section of 155 kilometers. The peloton will start from Paipa and then do five laps of a circuit that will pass through Tibasosa, Sogamoso, Nobsa to reach Duitama, famous for the 1995 Cycling World Championships, in a foreseeable sprint finish, where the sprinters will appear for the first time, where surely, fast men like Fernando Gaviria, Johan Colón, Mark Cavendish, Nelson Soto, Attilio Viviani, among others, will have their first opportunity to appear.