Colombia es Pasion: a new Colombian pro team

The Colombia es Pasion (Image credit: Luis Enrique Barbosa)

By Luis Barbosa in Bogota, Colombia

The new pro team "Colombia es Pasion Coldeportes" is a Colombian cycling project that aims to go as far as the Café de Colombia and Postobon teams did in the '80s, with great riders such as Lucho Herrera and Fabio Parra. The team is being supported by two big sponsors: Proexport, the national export association, and Coldeportes, the Colombian sports institute. It will consist of 17 riders: 10 elite and seven under 23, who will represent the new face of Colombian cycling. The aim of the team is to show the real face of the Colombia as a country, and to open its doors through sport.

The team presentation in Bogota was graced by the Colombian president's wife, Lina Moreno de Uribe, and the presidents of the most important companies like Avianca airlines, Café de Colombia and Bancolombia, and the general manager of the Colombian sports institute, Daniel Garcia. Colombian cycling greats such as Martin Rodriguez, world champion on the track, Fabio Parra, 3rd place in the Tour de France in 1988, Rafael Niño, the most prolific Colombian winner, and Phonak's Santiago Botero, who was in Medellín but made his presence felt via a video conference, all wished the new team good luck.