Rising star Santiago Buitrago returns to Giro d'Italia: "They prefer me to go to Italy without any particular duties and with less pressure"

Santiago Buitrago had a great year in 2022 and has now revealed his desire to race in the Tour de France and make his professional debut in the coming year.

"The Tour de France is, without doubt, my favourite race," Buitrago told WinSports. During the previous season, Buitrago experienced great success by winning his first professional victory and the seventeenth stage of the Giro d'Italia.

His schedule for this season will mirror that of the last season, kicking off with the Saudi Tour. "My 2023 season will start in the Saudi Tour. Then I will return to the Giro d'Italia,” said Buitrago.

To his disappointment, it seems that he will not be able to compete in the Tour de France this year. “It would have been exciting for me to go to the Tour de France, but the team already has Pello Bilbao and Mikel Landa as captains, and they prefer me to go to Italy without any particular duties and with less pressure," concluded Buitrago.