The Vuelta a Colombia (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

for ''Tour of Colombia'') is an annual

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

road race, run over many stages throughout different regions in

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 ...

and sometimes

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

during the first days of August. It is organized by the

Colombian Cycling Federation The Colombian Cycling Federation or FCC () is the national governing body of cycle racing in Colombia. The FCC is a member of the UCI and COPACI. External links * Cycle racing organizations Cycle racing in Colombia Cycling Cy ...

, and was previously included in the

UCI America Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, th ...

History

The first Vuelta a Colombia was held in 1951 as an idea of Englishman Donald W. Raskin and a few of his friends, emulating the European Tour de France. It was a 1,233 kilometers race which was divided in 10 stages which included three rest days. Thirty-five cyclists lined up for the race and of which thirty finished the race. The first champion of the Vuelta was Efraín Forero Triviño who won seven stages of the race. For the second edition, the race was increased in stages to 13 and was around 1,670 km in length. It was held from the 12 to the 27 or 28 January 1952. It appears that 60 cyclists lined up for the race. The 3rd edition of the race was the first edition to have 15 stages that covered 1,750 km. Over the years, there has been several serious accidents and even deaths during the race. Some of these cyclists, who have had very serious and career-ending accidents, include Conrado "Tito" Gallo, Gilberto Achicanoy, Felipe Liñán and Ernesto Santander. In 2005, there was a tragic accident in the Vuelta in which a local radio journalist, Alberto Martínez Prader, died while transmitting the race. Martinez was traveling in a jeep with José Fernando López and Héctor Urrego when, descending from the La Linea peak towards

Calarcá Calarcá is a municipality in the eastern part of the department of Quindío Department, Quindío, Colombia. It is located 4 km east of the departmental capital Armenia, Colombia, Armenia. Its nickname is ''La Villa del Cacique'' in homage o ...

, the vehicle lost control on a curve and fell into a ravine. It is currently a fifteen-stage race that is regarded as one of the toughest races in

. The mountain passes that the

peloton In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close ( drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reductio ...

encounters are hundreds of metres higher than any of the passes used 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 ...

. The 2010 edition was won by Sergio Luis Henao of the Indeportes Antioquia-Idea-FLA-Lotería de Medellín Team ahead of teammate

Óscar Sevilla Óscar Miguel Sevilla Rivera (born 29 September 1976), nicknamed ''El Niño'', is a Spanish-Colombian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI Continental team . He is a climber with a pedigree in stage races, having finis ...

and José Rujano, the previous year's winner.

Doping

On 21 November, Róbinson López ( Loteria de Boyaca), current U23 Colombian champion, tested positive for the third generation blood booster - CERA. A week later, news broke that Luis Alberto Largo ( Sogamoso–Argos–Cooservicios–Idrs), Edward Díaz (),

Jonathan Felipe Paredes Jonathan may refer to: *Jonathan (name), a masculine given name Media * ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer * ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski * ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...

and Fabio Nelson Montenegro ( Ebsa–Indeportes Boyaca), Luis Camargo Flechas ( Supergiros) and Oscar Soliz ( Movistar Amateur Team) had all tested positive for CERA at the 2017 edition of the race.

Past winners

References

External links

Results at Cycling Archives

Esciclismo Vuelta a Colombia

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vuelta A Colombia Cycle races in Colombia Recurring sporting events established in 1951 UCI America Tour races 1951 establishments in Colombia Super Prestige Pernod races

History

Doping

Past winners

See also

References

External links