Spanish expatriate Oscar Sevilla missed out on taking his career fourth title in the Vuelta a Colombia on Sunday, coming second overall in the ten-stage race to a rider half his age - Diego Camargo (Colombia Tierra de Aletas).
The 44-year-old Sevilla clawed back 22 seconds of a nearly minute deficit to Camargo in Thursday's individual time trial then tacked on another nine in bonus seconds on Saturday's penultimate stage. But Camargo wisely marked Sevilla into the closing kilometres of the final stage and the 22-year-old finished on the same time, 12 seconds behind stage winner Salvador Moreno (EBSA) to seal a history victory.
Camargo is the latest talent to come out of the Boyaca region, the same department that has produced stars like Nairo Quintana and Miguel Ángel López in recent years.
He finished just outside of the top 10 in February in the Tour Colombia 2.1 and won the U23 Vuelta a Colombia three weeks ago before adding the elite title to his palmares.
Normally a UCI 2.2-ranked stage race, this year's Vuelta a Colombia was run as a national level event because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Sevilla won the race three times in a row in 2013, 2014 and 2015 after relocating to Colombia. His illustrious career in Europe ended with him being implicated in Operacion Puerto but he found love, happiness and success racing in his new country.
He was declared winner of the 2018 Vuelta a San Juan after Gonzalo Najar was disqualified for doping. In February, he finished third overall behind Remco Evenepoel in the Vuelta a San Juan after renewing with Team Medellin for the 2020 season.
At 44, Sevilla is far from the oldest professional cyclist, as Davide Rebellin continued to race this season past his 49th birthday.
Today's best Black Friday deals
Today's cycling-related highlights from the Black Friday sales. For even more, view our guide to the best Black Friday bike deals where you'll find on all things cycling, including bikes, helmets, clothing and more.
Today's best deals: USA
Today's best deals: UK
