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

Tough Times for the Cycling Federation

Nairo Quintana, champion and cycling federation critic.

Lack of support for cyclists, poor preparation for competitions, measly prize money and opaque finances.

The 89-year-old Colombian Federation of Cycling is passing through troubled times, if you believe its critics.

The most prominent of those critics is Nairo Quintana, winner of the tours of Spain and Italy.

The league “doesn't send all the athletes (that it could to races), doesn't provide financial support, doesn't publicize its accounts and doesn't provide support," to riders, Quintana said.

Recently, in fact, the Vuelta a Tolima was canceled because the federation had not

BMX champion Mariana Pajón defends the federation.

obtained the necessary permits. And, in another race, riders had to pedal through mud and evade potholes. 

In additional, critics call the federation's anti-doping efforts weak. Two months ago, Coldeportes' anti-doping laboratory was shut down because it did not meet international standards.

Many also called the planned prize money for women in the canceled Tolima tour inadequate: Only 70,000 pesos, or about US $25, for stage winners and 600,000 pesos, or $210, for the tour winner.

Paradoxically, the federation charges cyclists 680,000 pesos for racing licenses, reportedly one of the highest rates in the world, and wealthy corporate sponsors.

Quintana had also opposed the election in January of Jorge Ovidio González, a veteran cycling official, as federation president. Some alleged that González bought votes with favors and are attempting to annul the election.

But Colombian BMX champion Mariana Pajón, winner of two Olympic gold medals, criticized Quintana in an audio message which she sent to her father but was leaked to the media.

"It makes me sad, because a person such as Nairo should be careful of what he says," she said, and suggested that Quintana was bitter because his candidate for federation president was defeated. Pajón's father is a federation official.

Pajón acknowledged that there were problems, but said that the federation could not support all racers.

Federation president González also said that Quintana was misinformed about subjects such as racers' health insurance.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Nairo's Great Absence

The great absence. Nairo Quintana. (Photo: Wikipedia)

2014 has been, by any measure, a banner year for Colombian bike racer Nairo Quintana. After all, he won the Tour de San Luis in Argentina and finished second, behind Alberto Contador, in the Tirreno-Adriatico in Italy. Then, Quintana, despite being sick, went on to win the Giro de Italia, one of cycling's three grand tours, as well as claiming the Giro's 'best young rider' award.

Nairo Quintana in the Tour of Britain.
(Photo: Wikipedia)

So, it seemed reasonable enough for Quintana to skip this year's Tour de France - despite finishing second last year - in order to rest up for the Vuelta a España, the third grand tour.

But early on in this year's Tour, the two favorites, Briton Chris Froome and Spaniard Alberto Contador crashed out, meaning that Quintana, if he were racing, would have a grand chance to win the grandest tour of all.

Of course Quintana, 24, should have many more opportunities to win the Tour de France. But in cycling, like all sports, anything could happen: a bad injury, the rise of another great champion, a personal crisis, which could eliminate his future chances.

That might leave Quintana looking back with regret to 2014, when the bicycle racing's greatest prize was almost there to be plucked.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours