Rafael Antonio Niño Munévar (born 11 December 1949) is a retired
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
n
road racing cyclist
Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...
. He won the
Vuelta a Colombia
The Vuelta a Colombia (Spanish for ''Tour of Colombia'') is an annual cycling road race, run over many stages throughout different regions in Colombia and sometimes Venezuela and Ecuador during the first days of August. It is organized by the ...
in 1970. After that he became a professional cyclist from 1973 to 1974. He participated in the
Giro d'Italia. After one year as a professional he returned to Colombia and set up the Banco Cafetero team of which he was the undisputed leader. With this strong team he dominated the
Vuelta a Colombia
The Vuelta a Colombia (Spanish for ''Tour of Colombia'') is an annual cycling road race, run over many stages throughout different regions in Colombia and sometimes Venezuela and Ecuador during the first days of August. It is organized by the ...
and the
Clásico RCN
The Clásico RCN (Spanish for ''RCN Classic'') is an annual cycling road race that takes place over many stages through different regions of Colombia during October. It is organized by the Colombian Cycling Federation.
The event is sponsored b ...
during the 1970s. He earned the nickname El Niño de Cucaita. He won a record six editions of the
Vuelta a Colombia
The Vuelta a Colombia (Spanish for ''Tour of Colombia'') is an annual cycling road race, run over many stages throughout different regions in Colombia and sometimes Venezuela and Ecuador during the first days of August. It is organized by the ...
. After he retired he became a technical director of the Colombia professional cycling team,
Café de Colombia
Café de Colombia () was a Colombian based professional road bicycle racing Cycling team active from 1983 to 1990. The team was sponsored by the Colombian coffee growers Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia.
History
The team came into ex ...
, that participated in the
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
winning several stages during the 1980s.
Major results
;1970
: 1st Overall
Vuelta a Colombia
The Vuelta a Colombia (Spanish for ''Tour of Colombia'') is an annual cycling road race, run over many stages throughout different regions in Colombia and sometimes Venezuela and Ecuador during the first days of August. It is organized by the ...
;1971
: 1st Overall
Clásico RCN
The Clásico RCN (Spanish for ''RCN Classic'') is an annual cycling road race that takes place over many stages through different regions of Colombia during October. It is organized by the Colombian Cycling Federation.
The event is sponsored b ...
: 3rd Overall
Vuelta a Colombia
The Vuelta a Colombia (Spanish for ''Tour of Colombia'') is an annual cycling road race, run over many stages throughout different regions in Colombia and sometimes Venezuela and Ecuador during the first days of August. It is organized by the ...
;1972
: 1st Stage 6
Vuelta a Colombia
The Vuelta a Colombia (Spanish for ''Tour of Colombia'') is an annual cycling road race, run over many stages throughout different regions in Colombia and sometimes Venezuela and Ecuador during the first days of August. It is organized by the ...
: 2nd Overall
Vuelta al Táchira
The Vuelta ciclista al Táchira (''English'': Tour of Táchira) is a multi-day road bicycle racing stage race held annually each January since 1966 in the state of Táchira in western Venezuela. The Vuelta al Táchira is part of the UCI America To ...
::1st Sprints classification
: 3rd Overall
Clásico RCN
The Clásico RCN (Spanish for ''RCN Classic'') is an annual cycling road race that takes place over many stages through different regions of Colombia during October. It is organized by the Colombian Cycling Federation.
The event is sponsored b ...
;1973
: 1st Overall
Vuelta a Colombia
The Vuelta a Colombia (Spanish for ''Tour of Colombia'') is an annual cycling road race, run over many stages throughout different regions in Colombia and sometimes Venezuela and Ecuador during the first days of August. It is organized by the ...
::1st Stages 2 & 6
;1975
: 1st Overall
Vuelta a Colombia
The Vuelta a Colombia (Spanish for ''Tour of Colombia'') is an annual cycling road race, run over many stages throughout different regions in Colombia and sometimes Venezuela and Ecuador during the first days of August. It is organized by the ...
::1st Mountains classification
::1st Stages 7, 10 & 12
: 1st Overall
Clásico RCN
The Clásico RCN (Spanish for ''RCN Classic'') is an annual cycling road race that takes place over many stages through different regions of Colombia during October. It is organized by the Colombian Cycling Federation.
The event is sponsored b ...
::1st Points classification
::1st Mountains classification
::1st Combined classification
::1st Stages 4 & 5
;1976
: 1st Stages 3b & 4
Vuelta a Boyacá
The Vuelta a Boyacá is a road cycling
Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes recreational, racing, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, road cyclists are ge ...
;1977
: 1st Overall
Vuelta a Colombia
The Vuelta a Colombia (Spanish for ''Tour of Colombia'') is an annual cycling road race, run over many stages throughout different regions in Colombia and sometimes Venezuela and Ecuador during the first days of August. It is organized by the ...
::1st Points classification
::1st Mountains classification
::1st Combined classification
::1st Stages 1, 7, 10 & 11
: 1st Overall
Clásico RCN
The Clásico RCN (Spanish for ''RCN Classic'') is an annual cycling road race that takes place over many stages through different regions of Colombia during October. It is organized by the Colombian Cycling Federation.
The event is sponsored b ...
::1st Points classification
: 2nd Overall
Vuelta a Cundinamarca
The Vuelta a Cundinamarca is a road cycling
Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes recreational, racing, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, road cyclists a ...
::1st Points classification
::1st Stages 1 & 6
;1978
: 1st Overall
Vuelta a Colombia
The Vuelta a Colombia (Spanish for ''Tour of Colombia'') is an annual cycling road race, run over many stages throughout different regions in Colombia and sometimes Venezuela and Ecuador during the first days of August. It is organized by the ...
::1st Stage 4
: 1st Overall
Clásico RCN
The Clásico RCN (Spanish for ''RCN Classic'') is an annual cycling road race that takes place over many stages through different regions of Colombia during October. It is organized by the Colombian Cycling Federation.
The event is sponsored b ...
::1st Points classification
::1st Mountains classification
::1st Combined classification
::1st Stages 3a & 5
;1979
: 1st Overall
Clásico RCN
The Clásico RCN (Spanish for ''RCN Classic'') is an annual cycling road race that takes place over many stages through different regions of Colombia during October. It is organized by the Colombian Cycling Federation.
The event is sponsored b ...
::1st Combined classification
::1st Stage 4
: 4th Overall
Vuelta a Colombia
The Vuelta a Colombia (Spanish for ''Tour of Colombia'') is an annual cycling road race, run over many stages throughout different regions in Colombia and sometimes Venezuela and Ecuador during the first days of August. It is organized by the ...
;1980
: 1st Overall
Vuelta a Colombia
The Vuelta a Colombia (Spanish for ''Tour of Colombia'') is an annual cycling road race, run over many stages throughout different regions in Colombia and sometimes Venezuela and Ecuador during the first days of August. It is organized by the ...
::1st Stages 6 & 13
;1981
: 1st Stage 11
Vuelta a Colombia
The Vuelta a Colombia (Spanish for ''Tour of Colombia'') is an annual cycling road race, run over many stages throughout different regions in Colombia and sometimes Venezuela and Ecuador during the first days of August. It is organized by the ...
References
1949 births
Colombian male cyclists
Living people
Sportspeople from Boyacá Department
20th-century Colombian people
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