Second's Not Bad!

Nairo Quintana, 2nd place, winner Tom Dumoulin, of Denmark and third place finisher Italian Vincenzo Nibali

In the end, Dutchman Tom Dumoulin showed why he's known as a great time trialer by beating Colombian Nairo Quintana by well over a minute in today's final stage and vaulting into first place in the Giro d'Italia.

Sure, Quintana might have ridden more aggressively in the mountain stages and possibly built up the more than a minute's lead going into today's time trial which he needed to hold off Dumoulin. But such risky, aggressive riding might also have lost it all for Quintana, keeping him off of the podium altogether. Yesterday, after all, the guys at the Telegraph newspaper's Cycling podcast speculated that other contenders could keep Quintana off of the podium altogether.

As it is, Quintana now adds a second place finish to his 2014 victory in the Giro, his victory in the

Añadir leyenda

Vuelta a España and second and third-place finishes in the Tour de France, as well as victories in many lesser races. That makes Quintana one of the great riders of his generation and one of the greatest-ever Colombian bike racers. He is only the second-ever Colombian after the legendary Luis Herrera to win one of the three Grand Tours (Spain, Italy and France).

And Quintana was not the only Colombian to excel in this year's Giro. Sprinter Alejandro Gaviria won four stages and was the overall points leader.

Quintana is the leader of a generation of young Colombian cyclists who are making their homeland one of the world's great cycling nations.

The Giro d'Italia's Final Classification.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Hang On There Nairo!

Today's El Espectador newspaper celebrates Nairo's lead.

Colombian Nairo Quintana is wearing pink, but has a fight ahead of him to keep it on. Quintana fouoght and won the pink in Italy's mountains, his specialty, and has a 38 second lead over Dutchman Tom Dumoulin.

Nairo exults in wearing pink.

Now, the Giro de Italia has one stage left, but it is a time trial - Dumoulin's specialty. Dumoulin has to gain just over a second per kilometer tomorrow to beat Quintana, and presumably the rest of the contenders. Frenchman Thibaut Pinot, at 53 seconds back, and Russian Ilnur Zakarin, 1 minute 21 seconds back, are also threats to Quintana's chances for a podium spot, according to the Telegraph newspaper's bike racing podcast.

Blog by Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

A Star is Born

Fernando Gaviria winning a stage in the 2015 Tour de San Luis.
(Photo: Cycling News)

This was supposed to be Nairo Quintana's Giro de Italia - and it still may be. Winner of the 2014 Giro, Quintana and last year's winner Vicenzo Nibali were this year's favorites. And Quintana may yet win, but he needs to make up close to three minutes against race leader Dutchman Tom Dumoulin, an expert at time trials. With four mountain stages remaining, Quintana might do it. On Sunday, he shaved nine seconds off of Dumoulin's lead. (On Tuesday, he made up most of that time against an ill Dumoulin. However, the last stage is a time trial.)

But the Colombian who has already earned himself a memorable place in this year's Giro is sprinter Fernando Gaviria, a 22-year-old from Antioquia riding with Quick-Step who has already raced to victory in four stages of this year's Giro, a record for a Colombian.

Along the way, he also became a web sensation by riding a wheelie during the Giro's stage 15.

Gaviria first won prominence in the 2015 Tour de San Luis, and went on for more wins in the Tour of Britain, Tour la Provence and the Track Cycling World Championships, among other competitions.

But for Gaviria, like Quintana, the best is likely yet to come.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

The Secrets of the Sudden Success of Colombian Cyclists

All smiles:Nairo Quintana celebrates victory in the Giro d'Italia.

the Giro d'Italia, which ended yesterday. was all Colombia. Boyacense Nairo Quintana finished first, Antioqueño Rigoberto Urán second and fellow Antioqueño Julián Arredondo took the King of the Mountain jersey. Perhaps we should have seen it all coming since last year, when Quintana finished second and won the best climber's jersey in the Tour de France and Urán took second in the Giro d'Italia.

Rigoberrto Urán pops open a frizzy one after winning
stage 12 of the Giro d'Italia.

These guys are only the best known of a crop of young riders. How has Colombia produced such a great crop of young riders? What's changed? Here are some ideas:

Colombia's economy has grown, enabling local businesses to sponsor young riders and help them onto the first rung of the ladder toward professional racing.

Colombia is safer - This has made Colombia's own tour, the Vuelta a Colombia, more attractive to foreign riders, giving Colombian cyclists both more high-lever racing experience and opportunity to be discovered by Eruopean racing teams.

World cycling authorities have cracked down on doping. According to this theory, Colombia's many

Julian Arredondo, the Giro d'Italia's best climber.

mountains and opportunities for high-altitude training give its riders a natural advantage - but that advantage was for many years nullified by the common use of drugs like EPO,and blood transfusions, which artificially boost red blood cell levels. In the post-Lance Armstrong era, doping seems to have dropped - or at least changed - perhaps restoring high-altitude trainers' natural advantages.

Whatever happens, Colombia's cycling boom has potential to last, and even grow. That's pretty good for a relatively small, relatively poor developing nation.

Even so, as others have observed, cycling still receives only a fraction of the attention of futbol. Hundreds of Colombian journalists are following the national football squad during its World Cup training, but only a few covered the Giro d'Italia - even tho Colombia's not likely to win the football World Cup. El Tiempo, the country's main newspaper, covered its front page Monday with a picture of Quintana kissing the Giro's trophy, and even dyed the paper pink (representing the winning rider's pink jersey). But by this afternoon, the paper's website had returned to World Cup coverage.

Results of the 2010 Giro d'Italia. The sole Colombian flag marks Rigoberto Urán, the seventh-ranked young rider.

What a difference five years make! The 2014 Giro d'Italia's winners lists have eight Colombian flags - altho three of them belong to Nairo Quintana.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours