Colombia in the Giro d’Italia 2022: was it the worst in recent years? Analysis

Colombian cycling ends this Sunday one more participation in the Giro d’Italia, that began with the expectation of fighting for the podium and ended with the emotion of an immense Santiago Buitrago.

(Giro d’Italia 2022: Jai Hindley dethrones Richard Carapaz)
(Giro d’Italia 2022: this is how the classifications are, after stage 20)

It is clear that the mishap, the health problem of Miguel Ángel López in the fourth stage, when he was preparing to climb to the finish line on Etna, in the first high finish, he put an end to what could have been a magnificent performance.

Now it’s easy to say what could have happened and it didn’t, but it is true that because of the names and men who fought in the general, ‘Superman’ López should have been in the fight, because he is a man with a winning history and a good cycling for the dispute of great races.

López has been in debt for four years, in terms of the fight for the general classifications of the greats.

The last four times you have taken part in the tests you have not responded: He has retired in the 2020 Giro, in the 2021 Tour de France, in the Vuelta a España last year and this year, again, in Italy.

still in debt

The abandonment of López on that day left the leading role in the hands of the other five cyclists in the country in the Giro and it was clear that the aspiration to win a stage belonged to Fernando Gaviria and Iván Sosa.

Diego Camargo was there for leaks, to show himself off; Buitrago was going to be at the service of Mikel Landa and Pello Bilbao, as it was in the end; Sosa never responded, he melted and it was more the expectation that was thought about him than what he fulfilled.

(Santiago Buitrago: how far will the new cycling jewel go?)

Harold Tejada arrived to be López’s gregarious, but without his compatriot he had to work for Vincenzo Nibali, who had a good race, in his last Giro he was ahead, he gave more than expected.

The Giro for Colombia is not good, for sure. There was a fight for the podium, and that did not happen. As said before, the statistic is unforgiving and admits no excuses.

It is not that it is an obligation to appear in all the races, to win, to be the champion, but it is no secret to anyone that in light of the results this race was not good, it was pale. It is not the worst Giro of the Colombians in recent times, after López’s podium in 2018 and Egan Bernal’s title in 2021. .

Gaviria could not. Second in Messina and Reggio Emilia and third in Balatonfüred were his best results. He was close, he hit the post, but he went blank. In addition, in Scalea he was sanctioned for committing an offense against two cyclists.

You can see the desire to obtain victory, triumph in one of the three three-week races that he has not tasted since the 2019 Giro.

Buitrago is exceptional. It is because, at only 22 years old, he found himself in extraordinary shape in the third week of the race to do two jobs: help his bosses, Landa and Bilbao, in the fight for the general classification, and look for the partial victory, which he achieved Wednesday at Lavarone.

(Giro d’Italia 2022: former cyclist who ran with Nairo and Chaves, is now a cook)

He had already been fifth in a fraction, eight days ago, on Sunday, and he cried by starting second in the stage ending in Cogne, when he was unable to catch up with Giulio Ciccone.

At last!

On Wednesday he cried again, but this time thanks to his giant triumph. That day he felt good, he asked his technicians for permission to go in the breakaway and fight for the partial victory, they gave him the endorsement and he answered.

Buitrago had a good reserve in his tank to fight for the white jersey of the best youngster with the Spanish Juan Pedro López and to look for a place among the ten best in the general, but those objectives went into the background, because the interests of his team prevail more with Landa’s fight for the podium than personals. Something very normal.

“What Santiago did leaves us with the peace of mind that there is a Colombian cyclist for the future. He came to do teamwork and left a stage winner”, Paolo Alberati told EL TIEMPO on Friday, who took him to Bahrain.

And that phrase confirms that in this Giro Colombia it was left in the hands of a young man who came to the race to work, not to win, while the so-called veterans, the seasoned men and those ‘chosen’ to obtain the victories, remained in debt, since López, Gaviria and Sosa did not respond.

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Lisandro Rengifo
Editor of THE TIME
@lisandroabel