Twenty-five-year-old Colombian to step up to WorldTour?
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Darwin Atapuma (Columbia) gets flagged on by a countryman near the finish.(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Darwin Atapuma (Colombia) happy with his stage win in Poland(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Darwin Atapuma (Colombia) nabs the team's first win of 2013(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Darwin Atapuma (Colombia) en route to a second place result on the Tour of Poland's opening stage(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Darwin Atapuma (Colombia) finished second in the Tour of Poland's opening stage(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Darwin Atapuma (Colombia) has signed with BMC Racing Team for 2014. A report by website Mundo Ciclisto suggests the 25-year-old Colombian is set to join Tejay van Garderen and Cadel Evans at the American team.
Atapuma has been one of the stand-out riders for Claudio Corti's Team Colombia this season turning in consistently-strong climbing performances whenever the road spiralled upwards. Atapuma confirmed his worth last month when he when he won a gruelling sixth stage at the Tour of Poland in August, his best result to date. Having also finished 18th overall and fourth in the young rider classification in his maiden Grand Tour at the Giro d'Italia earlier in the year, Atapuma appears ready to make the next step.
BMC has been busy since the conclusion of the Tour de France in their attempts to re-structure their rider and staff roster. John Lelangue left the team immediately following the Tour citing personal reasons, with Allan Peiper stepping in to fill the void as a temporary DS.
On the road, Peter Stetina and Peter Velits have both joined the team in recent weeks and in combination with Atapuma should provide strong support for Van Garderen and Evans. Rick Zabel has also signed on as a neo pro for BMC for 2014 and will be an exciting future talent.
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