Santiago Botero Echeverry (born October 27, 1972) is a Colombian former professional

road bicycle racer 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 was a pro from 1996 to 2010, during which time he raced in three editions of 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 ...

and four editions of the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...

(the Tour of Spain). He was best known for winning the mountains classification in the Tour de France, and the World Championship Time Trial.

Biography

Beginnings

Since childhood, he was very fond of bicycles, especially after his father, Alberto Botero, gave him a mountain bike, with which he practiced and began to compete in mountain bike races in

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

. Although he was not a good academic student, he became one of the most important cyclists in Colombia. Juan Darío Uribe, the sports doctor who discovered him and was his mentor in road cycling, says that he gave him the same effort test given to his other runners (some of them were Óscar de Jesús Vargas, Carlos Mario Jaramillo and

Juan Diego Ramírez Juan Diego Ramírez Calderón (born July 21, 1971 in La Ceja, Antioquia) is a male road cyclist from Colombia. Career ;1994 :1st in General Classification Vuelta a Boyacá (COL) ;1995 :1st in General Classification Clásica Nacional Marco F ...

) on a stationary bike. The results were incredible. These pro riders hit 600 watts of power and nearly passed out. Santiago looked like a robot at this point in the test and hardly felt tired. “I realized that he had special conditions. None of the thousands of athletes from Indeportes Antioquia that he had studied showed such a level of strength,” said Dr. Uribe. Uribe insisted that Botero should train in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and not in Colombia, so Santiago decided to go to that continent to make his professional debut in 1996 with the Spanish team Kelme.

Career

He was, for the greater part of his career, a member of the team, but in 2003 joined . His performances as part of the Kelme dissipated in Team Telekom, with the team management blaming his lack of discipline in training, but he claimed health problems. In October 2004 he joined , together with

Miguel Ángel Martín Perdiguero Miguel Ángel Martín Perdiguero (born 14 October 1972 in Madrid) is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist. He finished his career riding on the UCI ProTour for the Phonak Hearing Systems cycling team, with whom he had ridden since ...

from , and

Víctor Hugo Peña Víctor Hugo Peña Grisales (born July 10, 1974 in Bogotá) is a Colombian professional retired road racing cyclist. He last rode for the professional cycling team. In 2003, Peña became the first Colombian to wear the yellow jersey at the T ...

and

Floyd Landis Floyd Landis (born October 14, 1975) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. He finished first at the 2006 Tour de France, and would have been the third non-European winner in the event's history, but was disqualified after test ...

from . He lives in both Colombia and

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

with his wife. Botero joined the American domestic team, , for the 2008 season. Botero finished his professional career riding for the Colombian team . He was also previously the manager of

UCI Continental 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, the ...

team .

Results

Born 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 ...

, Botero was the World Champion in the

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also track-b ...

in 2002. His career highlights include a stage win in the

Vuelta a Andalucía The Vuelta a Andalucía (Tour of Andalusia) or Ruta del Sol (Route of the Sun) is a regional Spanish road bicycle race first held in 1925. Since 2005, it has been a 2.1 category race on the UCI Europe Tour. The race became a part of the new UCI P ...

in 1999, a stage win in the

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the Col d'Èze overlookin ...

in 1999, a stage win in the 2000 Tour de France, the

mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...

in the 2000 Tour de France, two stage wins in the Vuelta 2001, the third place in the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in the

in 2001 and two stage wins and fourth place overall in the 2002 Tour de France. Other victories include a stage win in the Clasica Bogota in 1997, a prologue win in the Vuelta a Chile in 1997 and a stage win in GP Mitsubishi in 1998. After joining T-Mobile his accomplishments in the Tour diminished sharply. On May 1, 2005 he won the

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. I ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, 33 seconds ahead of rising Italian star and favorite for the Giro d'Italia

Damiano Cunego Damiano Cunego (born 19 September 1981) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2018 for the , and teams. Cunego's biggest wins were the 2004 Giro d'Italia, the 2008 Amstel Gold Race, a ...

. Romandie is often used as a preparation race for the Giro d'Italia. Botero carried that form into the 2005 edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré when he won the

ahead of Americans

Levi Leipheimer Levi Leipheimer (born October 24, 1973) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. He was twice US national champion, winning the time trial title in 1999 and the road race in 2007, and is an Olympic medalist. Leipheimer was born a ...

and

Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 Tour de ...

as well as winning the mountainous sixth stage which brought him into second overall in the general classification. On February 28, 2007, Botero was presented with his new team UNE Orbitel in Bogota, Colombia. He outlined that his ambitions for the year would be to win 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 ...

, to be the Colombian national champion and a podium place in the

UCI World championships The UCI world championships are annual competitions promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to determine world champion cyclists. They are held in several different styles of racing, in a different country each year. Championship winne ...

event. In August, Botero won the

for the first time in his career. He dominated the event by winning the prologue and two stages along the way as well as wearing the leaders jersey for most of the race.

Doping allegations

In 2006, Team Phonak dropped him on June 2 after he was named in media reports in the massive Operación Puerto doping probe in Spain, this just weeks before the start of the 2006 Tour de France. On October 2, 2006, Botero was cleared by the disciplinary committee of the Federación Colombiana de Ciclismo (Colombian Cycling Federation).

Retirement

Botero retired from his professional carrer in 2010 and that same year was awarded by

Coldeportes The Administrative Department of Sport, Recreation, Physical Activity and the Use of Free Time, Coldeportes was the national government department of sports in and for Colombia; it is charged with fomenting, planning and organizing the activities ...

as one of the most outstanding sportspersons in Colombia. The Colombian cyclist was 38 at the time of his retirement, working as a professional for 15 years, which has made him one of the best athletes in his country. Botero is a business administrator graduated from

Eafit University EAFIT University (originally the acronym in Spanish language, Spanish: Escuela de Administración, Finanzas e Instituto Tecnológico, «School of Administration, Finance and Technological Institute») is a private Colombian university located in ...

, in his country. He also studied service management at the University of Medellín.

Career achievements

Major results

;1998 : 4th Overall

: 8th Overall

Vuelta a La Rioja The Vuelta a La Rioja ( en, Tour of La Rioja) is a regional Spanish road bicycle race held in La Rioja. From 2005 to 2008, it was a 2.1 category race on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competi ...

;1999 : 2nd Overall

: 3rd Overall

::1st Stage 4 : 4th Overall

Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme The Catalan Cycling Week (''Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme'' in Catalan) was a multi-stage road bicycle race held in Catalonia, Spain. Held annually from 1963 until 2005, it was run as a 2.HC race on the UCI Europe Tour in the second half of March. ...

: 5th Overall

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (; en, Tour of the Valencian Community or Tour of Valencia) is a road cycling stage race held in the Valencian Community (''Comunitat Valenciana''), Spain. Its position in the cycling calendar means it is often ...

;2000 : 7th Overall

::1st

Mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...

::1st Stage 14 ;2001 : 1st

Clásica a los Puertos de Guadarrama Clásica a los Puertos de Guadarrama is a professional cycle road race held in the Sierra de Guadarrama, Spain in late August each year. The event was first run in 1978 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour T ...

::1st Stages 7 ( ITT) & 21 ( ITT) : 3rd Bronze medal blank

Time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and a mixed team relay. Events ...

: 8th Overall

: 9th

Classique des Alpes Classique des Alpes was a classic taking place as a mountainous single-day cycling race. It took place in Chartreuse Mountains, beginning in Chambéry and finishing in Aix-les-Bains. It was held between 1991 and 2004, a day before the start of the ...

;2002 : 1st Jersey rainbow chrono

: 1st

: 1st Stage 16

: 1st Stage 3 ( ITT) Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré : 4th Overall

::1st Stages 9 ( ITT) & 15 ;2003 : 3rd Overall

Clásica Internacional de Alcobendas Clásica Internacional de Alcobendas is a three-day professional cycle road race held in Spain in May each year. The event was first run in 1984 but was not held in 1988 and 1990. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI E ...

: 4th Overall

Vuelta a Asturias Vuelta Asturias is a professional cycle road race held in Spain in early May each year. The event was first run in 1925 but has not been held consistently until 1968 to present. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI E ...

;2004 : 7th

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

;2005 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stage 5 ( ITT) : 2nd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré ::1st Stages 3 ( ITT) & 6 ;2006 : 2nd Overall

Volta a Catalunya The Volta a Catalunya (; en, Tour of Catalonia, es, Vuelta a Cataluña, link=no) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of th ...

;2007 : 1st MaillotColombia

, National Road Championships : 1st Jersey red

Overall

::1st Prologue, Stages 6 & 14 ( ITT) ; 2008 : 1st Prologue

: 6th Road race,

;2009 : 1st MaillotColombia

, National Road Championships : 1st Stage 7 ( ITT)

; 2010 : 5th Overall

Tour de San Luis The Tour de San Luis was a road cycling race that was held in San Luis Province, Argentina from 2007 to 2016. The race consisted of a competition over an individual time trial, and six stages. The competition carried a UCI rating of 2.1, and i ...

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Botero, Santiago 1972 births Living people Colombian Tour de France stage winners Cyclists at the 1999 Pan American Games Cyclists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2007 Pan American Games Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists of Colombia UCI Road World Champions (elite men) Vuelta a Colombia stage winners Sportspeople from Medellín Colombian Vuelta a España stage winners Pan American Games medalists in cycling Pan American Games gold medalists for Colombia Colombian male cyclists Colombian Tour de Romandie stage winners South American Games gold medalists for Colombia South American Games medalists in cycling Competitors at the 2010 South American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games