Rigo Urán missed the Tour de France: his team explains why and confirms it for the Vuelta a España

Until this year, Colombian cyclist Rigoberto Urán had maintained a great consistency competing in the Tour de France: He participated in ten editions, the last eight of which were consecutive.

He finished in the top ten three times in the race: In 2017 he achieved a historic second place, behind the British Chris Froome. And then, he was eighth in 2020 and tenth in 2021.

In his final season as a professional, Rigo hoped to ride his last Tour before his announced retirement from cycling. However, the EF-EasyPost team made a different decision: they did not include him in a team in which Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz arrived as the candidate for the general classification. In fact, after three stages, Carapaz is the leader of the race.

EF-EasyPost manager explains why Rigo didn’t go to the Tour

In an interview with ESPN, EF EasyPost manager Jonathan Vaughters explained the reasons why it was decided that Rigo would not ride the 2024 Tour.

“It was a very difficult decision. We have a lot of respect for Rigo for everything he has done for the team, but he didn’t have the rhythm and we didn’t have many points of reference to evaluate his fitness,” Vaughters noted.

However, the team plans for Rigo to bid farewell in another of the big races: Vaughters has him on the list for the Vuelta a España, which will begin on August 17 in Lisbon (Portugal) with a 12-kilometer individual time trial to Oeiras.

“In the end, Rigoberto will be in the Vuelta a España, which will be his last Grand Tour. Without a doubt, these decisions are not easy, but we hope that everything goes well for us,” the manager insisted.

This is how Rigoberto Urán fared in the Vuelta a España

Rigo will then compete in his eighth Vuelta a España. He was twice in the Top 10: seventh in 2018 and ninth in 2022, in which he also won a stage, the seventeenth, between Aracena and the Monastery of Tentudia, 162.3 kilometers long.

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