The last time most cycling fans saw Colombian veteran Rigoberto Urán in a bike race was a sadly memorable one, when he crashed out of this year's Vuelta a España in the first week breaking his hip.
But if he has anything to do with it, the next time the soon-to-retire Urán (EF Education-EasyPost) is seen participating in a major sports event may be in a very different kind of competition: on the football field.
In a lengthy interview with El Colombiano, the 37-year-old racer revealed that his next career goal is to become a professional football player, saying that it was an "unfulfilled dream."
Urán was also recently the subject of a very popular TV soap opera series - called Rigo' - about his hugely eventful life, one of four worldwide nominated for a prize in the Telenovela category at the upcoming International Emmy Awards. The final verdict will be announced at the 52nd International Emmy Awards Gala in New York on November 25.
As for his own objectives, Urán told El Colombiano, "I'm going to dedicate myself to professional football, it's an unfulfilled dream and I'm going to try it to see what happens."
"It's just crazy that Rigo' has been nominated for the Emmy Prizes, but my goal is professional football. I've got nothing to lose and you know I'm off the rails but I like trying things out," he laughed.
Twice second in the Giro d'Italia (2013, 2014) and once in the Tour de France (2017) and a winner of stages in all three Grand Tours, Urán was asked about his lengthy career, which began way back in 2006 with the small Irish-registered Italian squad, Tenax when he was just 19.
Back then Urán, like so many other riders from his country, was mentored by the late Marlon Pérez, the Colombian cycling star who recently died tragically in a violent incident in the town of Carmen de Viboral.
"He was a great friend, the guy who helped me to get to Europe through the Italian manager Guiseppe Acquadro. I lived with him [Pérez] for a year and a half, and it was good because that way I wasn't alone there, and that's something which can get complicated if you're not living with a compatriot," Urán said, recalling his first years as a pro.
After switching through multiple teams from Unibet to Caisse d'Epargne, Sky and then QuickStep, Urán's best shot at getting a Grand Tour win almost certainly happened in 2014, when he lost the Giro d'Italia to another Colombian star, Nairo Quintana. Urán was ousted from the top spot overall as a result of Quintana moving ahead on the snow-blasted descent of the massive Stelvio climb, when it was not made sufficiently clear if the race had or had not been suspended because of the very poor weather.
Urán insisted there were no hard feelings against Quintana for what happened that day, blaming himself as much as anybody for what happened, and saying "I think that everybody has to take advantage of their chances. I am very trusting and I believe that everybody acts like I do."
"But the truth is when there is a competition you can't be trusting like that, and that's what I'm telling athletes now. You can't be certain of anything until you cross the finish line.
"I'm not blaming Nairo because racing is racing. In the Giro there was a mistake, a race organisation error. He made the most of it and it worked out very well for him. That's why I don't feel bitter and I'm not bothered about talking about it. If you don't stay alert, you'll lose."
Urán backed up his lack of hard feelings about Quintana in the interview by naming him as one of Colombia's all-time modern-day greats of the sport along with Tour de France and Giro d'Italia winner Egan Bernal. Predictably enough, though, he placed Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) in a class of his own, saying "I've never seen anything like him in my life."
That said, Urán doubted that the current stars like Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and Pogačar could reach the same age as him and still be crushing the opposition in the way they currently do.
"It's impossible, because these guys have been training at a high level with their own special diets and making major sacrifices since they were 14. It'd be nice to see, but I don't believe it can happen," he said.
His own exit from the sport was anything but ideal, but as he concluded in his interview with El Colombiano, "Fortunately, nothing serious happened, so to tell the truth it didn't hurt to leave like that."
"I'd been building towards retiring for many years, and I've had a lot of recognition from riders, organisers and the public. I had planned to end my career in Madrid [in the Vuelta] but I've had a lot of support from my family, team and friends, and I have had 20 years in the sport, in which time I could do everything. So I'm leaving it feeling at peace with myself."
