Do you remember them? For many of today’s cycling fans, the 1980s and 1990s were the first real contact with the world of cycling. The televised broadcasts of the great cycling tours brought to the living room, and to the eyes of many children, great feats in the Vuelta a España, the Giro d’Italia, or the Tour de France. They also made familiar those cyclists who, over the years, have gone on to fill the best pages in the history of this sport. In that sentimental memory, there is a very special place for Colombian professionals. Cyclists who came from a place that at the time seemed very far away and who were sometimes seen as true mountain specialists by the rest of the peloton. Today we once again recall those self-sacrificing mountain fighters who made us so excited from the sofa.
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Lucho Herrera, the trailblazer
Lucho Herrera was the predecessor of the Colombian climber figure who triumphed in Europe. Before his meteoric breakthrough, cyclists from his country had serious difficulties performing at a high level when they raced in Spain, Italy, or France, but the Little Gardener of Fusagasugá, as he was nicknamed, broke all the molds. He won 3 stages of the Tour (including at Alpe d'Huez) and another 3 in the Giro, as well as the overall mountain victories at the end of the 80s. But his greatest feat came in 1987, when he won the Vuelta a España, along with a stage and the mountain classification. Rivals like Laurent Fignon or Pedro Delgado couldn’t get within 3 minutes of the Pilas Varta-Café de Colombia rider, a tyrant in the mountains and a cunning strategist on the flat stages. He is considered a national hero in his country.
Fabio Parra, the most complete
If Lucho Herrera opened roads that until then seemed off-limits for Colombian cyclists, Fabio Parra widened them. The Kelme or Seguros Amaya rider not only performed well in the mountains, but also offered more than acceptable performances in time trial stages. Thanks to that versatility, he finished third on the podium in the 1988 Tour de France—the one won by Perico Delgado—and second in the 1989 Vuelta a España. As for that third place on the Champs-Élysées, it was the first time a Colombian had gone so high. Until Nairo Quintana was crowned runner-up in the French round in 2013 and 2015, in Colombia it was considered a feat very difficult to repeat. One to remember is stage 13 of the 1991 Vuelta a España, between Ezcaray and Valdezcaray (La Rioja), a demanding mountain time trial in which he beat Miguel Induráin, Anselmo Fuerte, and Perico Delgado. In that sixth participation in the Spanish competition, which was won by Melchor Mauri, he would achieve fifth place overall.
Oliverio Rincón, the successor
Oliverio Rincón Quintana was one of those climbers who brought great prestige to Colombia in the 1990s. He achieved something reserved for very few: winning at least one mountain stage in all three Grand Tours. Coming from very humble origins, his name entered the public spotlight when, at just 21 years old, he snatched the 1989 Vuelta a Colombia from Fabio Parra. Since then, many considered him Parra’s natural successor. Fourth in the 1993 Vuelta a España, many still remember his performance in stage 17, starting in Santander and finishing at the Lakes of Covadonga. Neither the 231 kilometers of the stage nor the 8 mountain passes intimidated the Colombian, who was only 31 seconds away from the third place occupied by Laudelino Cubino.
Álvaro Mejía, with honey on his lips
Mejía, who is now 50 years old, was a professional between 1989 and 1997. After showing his enormous talent in his native Colombia, in 1990 a confluence of factors led him to make the leap to Europe to debut in the Dauphiné Libéré. The French Alps witnessed his abilities, which allowed him to win a stage and take third place overall. At 23, he seemed ready for anything on the old continent. In 1991, he would win the Vuelta a Galicia, and two years later he would achieve what would be one of the greatest feats of his carrera, fourth place overall in the Tour de France.
For an entire summer, he kept a country, Colombia, on the edge of their seats, seeing in him the chosen one to stand alongside the greatest. Indeed, until the penultimate stage, the time trial, he was in second place overall behind Miguel Induráin. Cycling was cruel to the Colombian, who had to watch as Tony Rominger and Zenon Jaskula pushed him off the podium to take second and third place, respectively.