The Colombian teams' low budget assault on the pro tour field in Colorado.

[ElChingon]

I think many are missing the big picture.

Its not about what other can give to them. Its about what you can do with what you have! I'm sure they'll take any free-bies they are given and use them but I doubt they'll end up using them like the ProTour teams do. Like when a team dumps parts because they have a scratch on them or are not the latest or of that year or not prototypes. As with most people they use the bikes/parts till they cannot be used anymore. The custom made repair bike stand is considered cheap but if a ProTour team mechanic does the same thing he's being true to his craft, has attention to detail and needs to have it his way, a super mechanic if you will. Here we just have a cheap home made bike stand Then people are supposedly super concerned with being Green yet look at people being Green as cheap and low budget. Nope, they're setting the bar for a low carbon footprint to the environment.

Angles no one will see due to where they come from. Move the team to Frisco and everyone's view of what they are doing changes 180 degrees. There's a word for this...

The best part is everyone is remembering these teams that spent the least amount of money to be at these races, yet the teams that spent way too much are forgotten, lets see you name the teams that didn't win without looking them up

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

the colombian mecaniciens are know for their passion and skills. I think certain teams use a number of them like geox and androni

about infantino from another topic:

he used to be a big talent. an un-colombian type of rider and also track rider in early years. he even did top 5 world championships itt in zolder as a junior. he rode in italy for a number of years where his itt really declined, as with any rider in italy basically but he became a really good climber there. he tore apart the fields and won in races like valle aosta, giro del friuli, trofeo matteotti u23 and giro delle valli cunesi. one of his most amazing wins in 2008 valle aosta was this one:

1 Abreu Rafael Infantino (Col) G.S. Podenzano Juvenes Steriltom 3.46.33 (36.495 km/h)
2 Alessandro Colo' (Ita) Promociclo 1.49
3 Mauro Finetto (Ita) Filmop Sorelle Ramonda Parolin 1.51
4 Vincenzo Ianniello (Ita) G.S. San Marco Concrete Imet Caneva 2.16
5 Ardila Alex Norberto Cano (Col) G.S. Unidelta Bottoli Arvedi Garda
6 Angelo Pagani (Ita) Filmop Sorelle Ramonda Parolin 2.32
7 Francis Greef De (Bel) Davitamon Win For Life Jong Vlaanderen 2.44
8 Bedoya Julian Atehortua (Col) G.S. San Marco Concrete Imet Caneva 2.55
9 Enrico Zen (Ita) Filmop Sorelle Ramonda Parolin 3.51
10 Daniel Martin (Irl) V.C. La Pomme Marseille 3.54

he finally got a contract with italian amica chips team but the team folded soon. he went back to colombia into the perfect arms of raul mesa and epm-une, former orbitel, where his itt became more of a weapon again.

still the problem that has haunted him since his youngest days is he's the most unregular rider I've ever seen. he follows the best days with the worst days which means he's basically useless for gc riding, also in colombia. so he is used as an attacker and helper mostly. his itt performance in colorado was one of his infamous good days, also the day before he rode well in the "mountain"stage. he reminds me somewhat of el milagroso javier zapata who was infamous in colombia, he was called miracle man because on a strong day no one could beat him in any discipline, like itt, climbing, downhilling.

infantino is a pretty bad downhiller though btw

also he is quite big for a colombian (1.84) and has blonde hair and both dominican and colombian passport as he has a dominican mother, that I think is actually of portugese descent.

edit: here is is pretty impressive wc 2002 itt result, look at those names!!

1 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) 28.30.37 (48.831 km/h)
2 Mark Jamieson (Aus) 0.10.36
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) 0.25.98
4 Thomas Dekker (Ned) 0.30.17
5 Rafael Infantino Abreu (Col) 0.39.92
6 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) 0.44.18
7 Jukka Vastaranta (Fin) 0.45.03
8 Dmitry Kozontchouk (Rus) 0.50.92
9 Roberto Traficante (Ita) 0.57.12
10 Matej Jurco (Svk) 0.58.20

 

[Swabian Lass]

Good read. I always hoped they'd do well, now even more so.

 

[c&cfan]

...
9 Roberto Traficante (Ita) 0.57.12
...

really??????

 

[patrick767]

Cool article, thanks for posting it. The Colombians performed better in Utah, but then the field was stronger in Colorado and the American riders in particular were very highly motivated to win and quite familiar with the area. Several of them live and train there at least part of the year.

I'm thinking they got some great exposure in these two races as well. Colorado had the big name riders and Utah upgraded their race status and drew a stronger field and more publicity. Plus they'll be stronger in the future if Colorado gives their race course a much needed difficulty boost.

 

[profff]

the colombian mecaniciens are know for their passion and skills. I think certain teams use a number of them like geox and androni

about infantino from another topic:

he used to be a big talent. an un-colombian type of rider and also track rider in early years. he even did top 5 world championships itt in zolder as a junior. he rode in italy for a number of years where his itt really declined, as with any rider in italy basically but he became a really good climber there. he tore apart the fields and won in races like valle aosta, giro del friuli, trofeo matteotti u23 and giro delle valli cunesi. one of his most amazing wins in 2008 valle aosta was this one:

1 Abreu Rafael Infantino (Col) G.S. Podenzano Juvenes Steriltom 3.46.33 (36.495 km/h)
2 Alessandro Colo' (Ita) Promociclo 1.49
3 Mauro Finetto (Ita) Filmop Sorelle Ramonda Parolin 1.51
4 Vincenzo Ianniello (Ita) G.S. San Marco Concrete Imet Caneva 2.16
5 Ardila Alex Norberto Cano (Col) G.S. Unidelta Bottoli Arvedi Garda
6 Angelo Pagani (Ita) Filmop Sorelle Ramonda Parolin 2.32
7 Francis Greef De (Bel) Davitamon Win For Life Jong Vlaanderen 2.44
8 Bedoya Julian Atehortua (Col) G.S. San Marco Concrete Imet Caneva 2.55
9 Enrico Zen (Ita) Filmop Sorelle Ramonda Parolin 3.51
10 Daniel Martin (Irl) V.C. La Pomme Marseille 3.54

he finally got a contract with italian amica chips team but the team folded soon. he went back to colombia into the perfect arms of raul mesa and epm-une, former orbitel, where his itt became more of a weapon again.

still the problem that has haunted him since his youngest days is he's the most unregular rider I've ever seen. he follows the best days with the worst days which means he's basically useless for gc riding, also in colombia. so he is used as an attacker and helper mostly. his itt performance in colorado was one of his infamous good days, also the day before he rode well in the "mountain"stage. he reminds me somewhat of el milagroso javier zapata who was infamous in colombia, he was called miracle man because on a strong day no one could beat him in any discipline, like itt, climbing, downhilling.

infantino is a pretty bad downhiller though btw

also he is quite big for a colombian (1.84) and has blonde hair and both dominican and colombian passport as he has a dominican mother, that I think is actually of portugese descent.

edit: here is is pretty impressive wc 2002 itt result, look at those names!!

1 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) 28.30.37 (48.831 km/h)
2 Mark Jamieson (Aus) 0.10.36
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) 0.25.98
4 Thomas Dekker (Ned) 0.30.17
5 Rafael Infantino Abreu (Col) 0.39.92
6 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) 0.44.18
7 Jukka Vastaranta (Fin) 0.45.03
8 Dmitry Kozontchouk (Rus) 0.50.92
9 Roberto Traficante (Ita) 0.57.12
10 Matej Jurco (Svk) 0.58.20

infantino did quite well in the u 23 rankings in italy.
i considered him a promising rider and he deserved to be in a pro team after the valli cuneesi and valled' aosta performance.
but in italy, there is no more money in cycling, he came from a small team (gs podenzano ), no personal sponsor, so he lost the chance to go in the pro rankings that he surely deserved.
italian dt prefer to recruit italians without the skill of a pro rider but supported by somebody paying for making them run a couple of season in a small pro team before naturally failing.

winner anacona runs the same risk this season.
same thing happened with alex ardila cano
then they come back to colombia, feeling looser because they were unable to success in europe and where they become inconsistent rider , showing only sometimes their skills and shining only in good days.
colombians have to overcome a lot of difficulties to really shine in european pro environment, much more than our riders.
same thing happened to riders from russia and east europe 15-20 years ago

 

[Eric8-A]

winner anacona runs the same risk this season.
same thing happened with alex ardila cano
then they come back to colombia, feeling looser because they were unable to success in europe and where they become inconsistent rider , showing only sometimes their skills and shining only in good days.
colombians have to overcome a lot of difficulties to really shine in european pro environment, much more than our riders.
same thing happened to riders from russia and east europe 15-20 years ago

It's a shame no one's picked up Anancona. The kid's a great talent.

 

[Escarabajo]

Cool article, thanks for posting it. The Colombians performed better in Utah, but then the field was stronger in Colorado and the American riders in particular were very highly motivated to win and quite familiar with the area. Several of them live and train there at least part of the year.

I'm thinking they got some great exposure in these two races as well. Colorado had the big name riders and Utah upgraded their race status and drew a stronger field and more publicity. Plus they'll be stronger in the future if Colorado gives their race course a much needed difficulty boost.

Plus the route in Utah fitted their qualifications better than the one in Colorado. That's why Infantino was the best performer, because he was a good TT and more of a power rider than the average Colombian pro-cyclist.

 

[hrotha]

Visas cost money? How can that be legal?

 

[Mambo95]

Visas cost money? How can that be legal?

It's fairly standard. Admin fees and all that. Usually sports teams use a specialist agency to do these sort of things (I know I did when I went to China and it's worth the money to be fair)

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

infantino did quite well in the u 23 rankings in italy.
i considered him a promising rider and he deserved to be in a pro team after the valli cuneesi and valled' aosta performance.
but in italy, there is no more money in cycling, he came from a small team (gs podenzano ), no personal sponsor, so he lost the chance to go in the pro rankings that he surely deserved.
italian dt prefer to recruit italians without the skill of a pro rider but supported by somebody paying for making them run a couple of season in a small pro team before naturally failing.

winner anacona runs the same risk this season.
same thing happened with alex ardila cano
then they come back to colombia, feeling looser because they were unable to success in europe and where they become inconsistent rider , showing only sometimes their skills and shining only in good days.
colombians have to overcome a lot of difficulties to really shine in european pro environment, much more than our riders.
same thing happened to riders from russia and east europe 15-20 years
ago

wow, really great post that is so very true. alex canp even more so than infantino. Ive rarely seen a rider dominate the italian u23 mountains like cano, from a different world but no team ever signed him because italian cycling like spanish cycling is very racist. anacona has same problem, he rides for small italian team so he couldn't valle aosta for instance. one thing he can hope for now is he will be signed by a good colombian team that ride in europe. I always advise colombian young talents to never go to italy, spain or anywhere in europe unless it's pct or pro tour team. otherwise it's better to stay in colombia for sure

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Visas cost money? How can that be legal?

are you serious? they cost money everywhere

 

[hrotha]

are you serious? they cost money everywhere

I'm from the EU and I've never lived abroad. It's not like I've ever needed a visa.

Admin costs, sure, I can see, but while making them particularly expensive might be standard and legal, surely you'll agree it's an abuse.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

I'm from the EU and I've never lived abroad. It's not like I've ever needed a visa.

Admin costs, sure, I can see, but while making them particularly expensive might be standard and legal, surely you'll agree it's an abuse.

you've never been to holiday in non eu country?

and yes it's an abuse, same with paying f'n 70 euros for an id card or handicapped parking pass

 

[Mambo95]

I'm from the EU and I've never lived abroad. It's not like I've ever needed a visa.

Admin costs, sure, I can see, but while making them particularly expensive might be standard and legal, surely you'll agree it's an abuse.

Abuse? Probably a little strong. You have to remember that since 11/9 America has been paranoid of anyone from the outside, even Canada, and Colombia, rightly or wrongly, isn't at the top of the Friends of America list since the days of Pablo Escobar. Getting 15 to 20 potential cocaine mules (Homeland Security's view, not mine) into the States isn't easy or cheap.

 

[hrotha]

you've never been to holiday in non eu country?

and yes it's an abuse, same with paying f'n 70 euros for an id card or handicapped parking pass

Yes, I've been to Canada, but I didn't need any visa. I think you don't need them in Canada if you're staying for less than... 6 months? Or something like that. Honestly I wasn't paying attention, I'm terrible with paperwork and bureaucracy.

 

[Mambo95]

Visas, when you get outside the EU are a funny business. Even when you've got the genuine documents it's not straight forward. About six or seven years ago some friends of mine had to take a (field) hockey team to Belarus. They did their research and took with them the fashionable bribe of the time - Premiership football jerseys. They were all cheap fakes, but it got the job done.

 

[profff]

wow, really great post that is so very true. alex canp even more so than infantino. Ive rarely seen a rider dominate the italian u23 mountains like cano, from a different world but no team ever signed him because italian cycling like spanish cycling is very racist. anacona has same problem, he rides for small italian team so he couldn't valle aosta for instance. one thing he can hope for now is he will be signed by a good colombian team that ride in europe. I always advise colombian young talents to never go to italy, spain or anywhere in europe unless it's pct or pro tour team. otherwise it's better to stay in colombia for sure

well, i do no agree completely. i do not think it is true racism, at least fot italians.
it more a matter of ignorance and incapacity . the ds are very often former pro rider with no perspective, unable to manage the economical issue and not willing to take any risk.
they just prefer to choose italian riders because it is easier to deal with them, because very often there is somebody, some little local sponsor, ready to pay the minimum salary for them, because the ds prefer to make happy some old fella friend of them , former pro rider, now ds of an u 23 team,,, a small mafia.

if you do not believe me , read the roster of any italian team except liquigas, and you will find unknown names of people with mediocre or no palmares in the u 23 ranks.
read the list of the italian neo pro of the last years:you will find dozen of riders who never performed at the level of infantino and alex cano...

 

[Eric8-A]

anacona has same problem, he rides for small italian team so he couldn't valle aosta for instance. one thing he can hope for now is he will be signed by a good colombian team that ride in europe. I always advise colombian young talents to never go to italy, spain or anywhere in europe unless it's pct or pro tour team. otherwise it's better to stay in colombia for sure

I think his best bet would be to be picked up by Androni

 

[profff]

I think his best bet would be to be picked up by Androni

"il principe" savio is not belovedin colombia as many thinks on the forum. he used to sign young colombians at minimumwage allowed by Uci rules and then leave them alone in italy.
as a matter of fact, he is working more with guy from venezuela as rujano and monsalve, his last important signings among young south americans.

the only team which is on rider from colombia is palmiro's masciarelli, that signed sarmiento and betancourt, the last winners of giro bio.
sarmiento next year will probably go to liquigas next year, while i have no news on betancourt, that, imho, is stronger than sarmento.
the problem with small teams, like acqua e sapone is that they allow the colombians to go back to train in their homeland and very often they come back in bad shape. betancourt started the giro quite out of form a little overweight and he was 4th in the finestre stage, staying with ruyano after being in the first escape of theday. guys like betancourt have great skills, but they have to be closely followed by teams, otherwise they are likely to be happy just being in a team paying what it is for them a good salary.
palmiro masciarelli and acqua e sapone have few money, next year they will be probably without garzelli with their partecipatin at the giro in gopardy.

so , rider , like annacona have difficult perspective in italy, because androni willl have only 16 riders and three orfour of them will have their salary paid by personal sponsor and acqua e sapone i do not know.

i expect sarmiento to improve, because liquigas it is a great team, they do a lot of stages and rifers are really followed by coaches. that will be a goosìd chance for sarmiento and i hope that will be possible for betancourt, a huge talent.

it will be important if uran and duarte prepare well for the giro of lombardia, to report the focus on colombians. they have both the qualities of doing well in that race ( uran as already been 4th )and i hope that duarte regains good form after the vuelta where until now his performance have been very average,. he started in fact in not very good shape, coming back from a long training period in colombia.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

I think his best bet would be to be picked up by Androni

savio will never pick him up. he's not venezuelan so he won't get money to get him and savio isn't as colombian-loving as he's made to be. he's more for money with dubious sponsors and he will trait is nation alegiance for anything, look at him now with venezuela. he's absolutely great manager and team director, don't get me wrong but he's also screwed over tons of riders throughout the years, especially the colombians. colombian federation fired him

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

"il principe" savio is not belovedin colombia as many thinks on the forum. he used to sign young colombians at minimumwage allowed by Uci rules and then leave them alone in italy.
as a matter of fact, he is working more with guy from venezuela as rujano and monsalve, his last important signings among young south americans.

the only team which is on rider from colombia is palmiro's masciarelli, that signed sarmiento and betancourt, the last winners of giro bio.
sarmiento next year will probably go to liquigas next year, while i have no news on betancourt, that, imho, is stronger than sarmento.
the problem with small teams, like acqua e sapone is that they allow the colombians to go back to train in their homeland and very often they come back in bad shape. betancourt started the giro quite out of form a little overweight and he was 4th in the finestre stage, staying with ruyano after being in the first escape of theday. guys like betancourt have great skills, but they have to be closely followed by teams, otherwise they are likely to be happy just being in a team paying what it is for them a good salary.
palmiro masciarelli and acqua e sapone have few money, next year they will be probably without garzelli with their partecipatin at the giro in gopardy.

so , rider , like annacona have difficult perspective in italy, because androni willl have only 16 riders and three orfour of them will have their salary paid by personal sponsor and acqua e sapone i do not know.

i expect sarmiento to improve, because liquigas it is a great team, they do a lot of stages and rifers are really followed by coaches. that will be a goosìd chance for sarmiento and i hope that will be possible for betancourt, a huge talent.

it will be important if uran and duarte prepare well for the giro of lombardia, to report the focus on colombians. they have both the qualities of doing well in that race ( uran as already been 4th )and i hope that duarte regains good form after the vuelta where until now his performance have been very average,. he started in fact in not very good shape, coming back from a long training period in colombia.

duarte came back from a long period of revalidation and only a few weeks of training in colombia.

betancourt will probably stay. but problem with masciarelli is he doesn't understand at all colombian riders and difference, first year he get sarmiento that has great work ethics and training workload. betancourt is from antioquia and totally different, he has trouble getting on weight. but they give him the same treatment and when he returns with overweight they punish him by riding crappy races and not even the giro. which only unmotivates betancourt even more. fortunately at the end I hope they understood it was best to let betancourt ride giro. because honestly garzelli is done and betancourt is true hope. also a&s are interested in edward beltran. he would be very good buy