Rigoberto Urán shows what he is made of: his message of gratitude to the team

When Rigoberto Uran He recalled on television the day his father was murdered by paramilitaries and began “crying” in front of the screen.

Near the retreat, the “Toro de Urrao” inspires Colombia with his history as a victim of the armed conflict. Urán's humble but happy life, portrayed episode by episode since last October, was split in two when misfortune knocked on the door of his house in 2001.
(Spectacular Olympic goal goes around the world: a gem)(This is how the world marathon record car remained after an accident in which he died)

The good bye

His father, also called Rigoberto, was murdered in strange circumstances in a rural area of ​​Antioquia (northwest), by far-right paramilitaries who bled the fields in the middle of a war against rebel organizations.

“I had a very secret part of my life that was all those difficulties that I had at the beginning” of my career, says Urán.

The cyclist was 14 years old when he had to see the body of his mentor and guide lying in a river. His confusion, despair and sadness at his loss was reflected in one of the chapters of the most watched soap opera in Colombia these days, called “Rigo.”

“It was very difficult for me to see it and the way the actors did it was incredible, (it was) a chapter that made me cry,” he details in an interview with AFP in Paipa, while competing in the Colombia Tour 2024. Near the retirement, a decision that generates “fear” for him at 37 years old, and with his mind set to be one of the most successful businessmen in Colombia, “Toro” is a television superstar.

Gratitude

The fears of “Rigo's” mother came true in the 2019 Vuelta a España. He crashed into the ground in the “worst” accident of his life: he broke his left collarbone, his shoulder blade in several places and his left lung was shattered. drilled after breaking two ribs.

Today he is still one of the highest ranking runners in the EF Education-Easypost, but being “realistic” he recognizes that he no longer performs as well as before and sees retirement as “closer than far”.

“Thank you for all these years @EFprocycling”, Urán wrote on his social networks.

The team, for its part, also sent a message to the Colombian runner.