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."
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.
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."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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