With the Belém Tower in the background and hundreds of cycling fans, Lisbon hosted the presentation gala of the Tour of Spain 2024which will begin in the Portuguese capital on Saturday, where the 23 teams and 188 riders paraded on Thursday, with the presence of seven Colombians.
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The “anecdote” of the afternoon, as one of the presenters of the event, Pedro Delgado – double winner of the Vuelta and winner of the Tour de France in 1988 – defined it, was provided by the cyclist Slovenian Primož Roglic, Red Bull/Bora-Hansgrohe, the big favourite, arrived late and had to parade alone on the stage set up in the garden of the Torre de Belém. “I wanted to have the stage to myself and enjoy it,” joked the winner of three Vueltas a España.
If Roglic was the protagonist of the anecdote, the surprise was the dinosaur brought by the T-Rex Quick Step team (Soudal) of the Spaniard Mikel Landa, who warned: “If you don’t ride, you’ll be eaten.” Asked by Delgado if there will be “a lot of Landismo” in this Vuelta, the fifth in the last Tour de France answered with a “let’s hope, let’s hope.”
The most applauded at the ceremony were Portuguese runners such as Rui Costa, Nelson Oliveira and João Almeida: the latter one of the favourites in the 79th edition of this tournament. The UAE Team Emirates cyclist and fourth in the Tour, said that they are coming to the Spanish competition with “a strong team” and, if there are no crashes, they hope to do their best. Costa, from Intermarché-Wanty, expressed his happiness that Lisbon and Portugal will host the start of La Vuelta, while he was interrupted by his teammate, Rigoberto Urán, who started to encourage him and record videos with his phone.
The Vuelta will start on Saturday with a time trial from Lisbon to Oeiras, on the outskirts of the Portuguese capital, and then will have two stages through the interior of Portugal, before jumping to
Spain. This tour will include João Almeida’s hometown, Caldas da Rainha.
Miss Caffeína, with her song ‘Cuando acabe el verano’, and old acquaintances in Lisbon from their participation in the Rock in Rio festival, who sang in the middle and at the end of the gala.
The ceremony began with a display of World War I bicycles, which gave way to the participants in the competition.
The Colombians
The most important element that national cycling will have in the event, which will begin with a 12-kilometer route between Lisbon and Oreiras, in Portugal, will be Daniel Felipe Martínez, who arrives with the honor of having been runner-up in the Giro d’Italia this year, behind Slovenian Tadej Pogacar.
Two teams will have two Colombian cards. One of them, Movistar, is aiming for a trident with Enric Mas, Nairo Quintana and Einer Rubio.
Astana will also have two Colombians on its roster for this edition of the race: Harold Tejada and debutant Santiago Umba, who is just 21 years old.
The 2024 Vuelta will be the last major of Rigoberto Uran, who announced his retirement at the end of the season. He has seven participations and was twice in the Top 10 (seventh in 2018 and ninth in 2022, with one stage win).
The Colombian roster is completed by Brandon Rivera, who will be Carlos Rodríguez’s teammate at Ineos Grenadiers.
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