"Now you don't see someone to fight Tadej Pogačar or Jonas Vingegaard" - Santiago Buitrago recognizes difficulties in Colombian cycling
Cycling
Santiago Buitrago arrives at the Giro d'Italia with the hopes of trying to make a great role in Bahrain-Victorious. He arrives in great form after finishing eighth in the Tour of the Alps and third in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. In 2022 he won a stage and should fight for another this year.
Ahead of the Corsa Rosa he has responded to statements made a few weeks ago by Rigoberto Urán in which the EF Education-EasyPost rider, who will also be in the Giro, claimed that Colombian cycling was "finished".
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Buitrago, in statements picked up by Antena 2, understands that what is there today is far from the years of great successes of Nairo Quintana and Egan Bernal and does not hide it:
"I understand Rigo[berto Urán] and I understand the Colombian fans. We were used to Nairo 3 or 4 years in a row making podium in the Tour, fighting for the Tour victory and Rigoberto the same. Now you don't see someone to fight Tadej Pogačar or Jonas Vingegaard, or something like that."
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However, the Bahrain rider believes that it's one thing if they can't fight with the world's top riders and quite another that Colombian cycling has no life:
"There we do not have someone at that level, but neither is it to say that Colombian cycling is over and that we do not have that there is no one good or one or two. Cycling is changing, it has been changing these last three or four years and it is simply a matter of adapting to this new era of professional cycling."
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And he insists on that point: "In Colombia there are 200 kids, U23 that have a lot of talent and I believe that in some of those 200, there will be more than one that can come here in Europe and will continue to give very good results to Colombian cycling".
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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