Santiago Buitrago, winner this Wednesday of the 17th stage in Lavarone, is the sixteenth Colombian rider to win a stage of the Giro and the youngest of them all, according to the statistics of the Italian round.
The cyclist from Bogotá, aged 22 years, 7 months and 21 days, surpasses Fernando Gaviria as the youngest Colombian winnerwho was 22 years, 8 months and 18 days old when he won the first of his five Giro stage wins in Cagliari.
Last year, Egan Bernal took two stages (Campo Felice, Cortina d’Ampezzo) before conquering the final general classification and giving Colombia its second Giro title, after that of Nairo Quintana in 2014.
Total, Colombian cyclists have accumulated 32 stage wins in the Giro, since ‘Cochise’ Rodríguez triumphed in Forte dei Marmi in 1973.
(Know: All the victories of Colombia in the Giro).
The rider from Bogotá achieved the greatest victory of his career so far.
A few minutes after Buitrago climbed, he achieved the feat, EL TIEMPO contacted Tim Harris, British coach of Bahrain, his team, to find out the details of Buitrago’s success. This answered.
The importance of victory
“We are happy for the victory and for Santiago. When we hired him, I was personally at his house and met his family. We have always supported him. Perhaps because of all that unites me with him is that I feel the victory as if it were my own Harris said.
“The important thing about the victory is that he got it when he was only 22 years old. He is a young cyclist who has learned to read the races and who is determined to win, as he has done in this Giro“, he added.
The road is just beginning
“Santiago is a man who has a lot to learn. Every day he improves more, that has been seen this year with what he did in the Saudi Tour and in this Giro d’Italia. What he has done is very great and I am sure he can improve more . Victory in the Giro guarantees him a climb up the ladder of status in the team for years to come. That he did this at his age means that he has the mentality to be able to fight for big things,” Harris explained.
Team work
“In the Buitrago team he has been sensational. We are fighting for the general with Mikel Landa and Santiago has done his job as a domestique. To this we must add that he has sought the stage victory, that means that its form is exceptional“, highlighted the British coach of Bahrain.
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