Rough climbing gem from Colombia set to turn professional with Team Picnic PostNL!

The era of legendary Colombian climbers Nairo Quintana, Rigoberto Uran and Esteban Chaves is slowly coming to an end, with new generation lead by Santiago Buitrago and Einer Rubio gradually entering the top ranks of the biggest races. Team dsm-firmenich PostNL (called Team Picnic PostNL from 2025 onwards) hopes to have their slice of pie with a surprise signing of 2004-class climber Juan Guillermo Martinez!

"The results of the season caught the attention of different teams. I had several proposals but finally we chose DSM (Team PicNic Postnl)," the 20-year-old Colombian reveals the news at ADN. "They spoke to me before the Tour de l'Avenir and asked me for an immediate response."

Apparently, the traditionally Dutch-German formation wants to broaden its horizons: "The first thing they told me was that they wanted to learn a little more about Latin cycling, and even more about Colombia, which has had many role models in recent years. They want to open new doors and not just stay with the European cyclists."

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It's never easy for the young Colombians to break through, many choosing the path through the ranks of Italian local scene. Martinez is another success story after the likes of Ivan Sosa, Einer Rubio or more recently Martín Herreño and Edward Santiago Cruz.

Seeing the great palmares as junior, racing both in Spain as well as on the domestic scene, Q36.5 offered the Colombian to develop with its U23 team for the past two seasons. The work beared fruits as Martinez came on top of the prestigious climbing race Bassano - Monte Grappa and finished 6th overall at even more renowned Italian U23 stage race Valle d'Aosta, with 2nd and 4th places on a stage.

"It has cost me a lot of sacrifice to get here. Since I arrived in Europe I realized that we had to work very hard to be in this place. We always looked at all the details and I was willing to do whatever was possible to achieve this dream. I had difficult moments, but thanks to God, my family and the good people around me we were able to overcome them and move forward," Martinez reminds that it took more than just talent to succeed overseas.

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For the first months of 2025, the young Colombian is most likely going to learn the ropes racing with Team Picnic PostNL's Development formation. As the season progresses, he should slowly integrate with the WorldTour team and show his full potential, even if he admits there are areas he needs to work on like bike-handling and time trials.

"My goal is to earn a place in the Vuelta a España to find out what my future holds within the team for the big challenges. I want the Vuelta to be my debut in the big ones and not before. I want to manage my process and my learning process well."

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