‘The destruction of my career’ – Colombian champion Osorio on Bahrain dismissal

TUNJA, COLOMBIA - FEBRUARY 04: Alejandro Osorio of Colombia and Team GW Erco Shimano during the 4th Tour Colombia 2024 - Team Presentation on February 04, 2024 in Tunja, Colombia. (Photo by Maximiliano Blanco/Getty Images)
Alejandro Osorio (GW Erco Shimano) at the team presentation for the Tour Colombia 2024 (Image credit: Getty Images)

The Continental teams in the Tour Colombia peloton are dotted with faces familiar from the WorldTour. Race leader Rodrigo Contreras had stints at QuickStep and Astana. His Nu Colombia teammate Sergio Henao won Paris-Nice in 2017. Giro d’Italia stage winner Jonathan Caicedo is here with Mexican squad Petrolike.

For most, the prospect of returning to the WorldTour seems a distant one, and in some cases, it isn’t even an ambition at all. Alejandro Osorio, however, is perhaps the exception to the rule, and the Colombian champion illustrated as much with his fine victory on stage 3, where he emerged from an elite group that included Rigoberto Urán and Egan Bernal at the end of a breathless circuit race around Tunja.

Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.