"I know that I can be up there with the best talents" - Santiago Buitrago ambitiously aims for White jersey at the Tour de France

Santiago Buitrago will be making his debut at the 111th edition of Tour de France. His team Bahrain - Victorious will entrust the Colombian to carry the team colours in general classification and put up a fight for the White jersey.

Having already competed twice at the Giro d'Italia and three times at the Vuelta a Espana, the team believes it's the right time to pose their Colombian talent with a challenge of riding the Grande Boucle. "I’m really excited about my first Tour de France, the team and I have been working hard over in Andorra at training camp, and I think at this Tour you need to be ready from the first stage. It’s a really hard opening week," Buitrago assesses in press release.

Buitrago has fond memories of racing in Italy. That's where his talent was discovered by Bahrain's scouts in 2019 and where he already succeeded in winning his first grand tour stages in 2022 and 2023. Thus he's already looking forward to returning to the country for the Grand Départ. "We start in Italy, which is comfortable for me. I have experience racing the Giro, and I’ve won two stages there, so hopefully, this will bring good fortune to me on this year’s Tour."

The 24-year-old Colombian will start the race with his eyes set on general classification and especially the White jersey. However in such stacked field, he might make a switch for stages further into the race. "I am fighting to do my best in the GC, and there is really strong competition, but I know that if I follow my race, I can be up there with the best talents and also fight for the white jersey. I have a great team with a lot of experience who will guide and help me through the upcoming three weeks."