Rigoberto Urán

Rigoberto Urán Urán, ODB (born 26 January 1987) is a Colombian former road racing cyclist who competed as a professional from 2006 to 2024. During his professional career, Urán took fifteen victories, including stage wins at each of the three Grand Tours and he won a silver medal in the road race at the 2012 Olympic Games.

He became the first Colombian ever to make the podium of the Giro d'Italia, when he finished second behind Vincenzo Nibali in the 2013 edition of the race, having taken leadership of Team Sky following the abandonment of team captain Bradley Wiggins. He also won a mountain-top stage in that race with a solo breakaway. The previous year, he had won the white jersey for best young rider, and a seventh-place finish overall. In the 2014 Giro d'Italia he finished second again in the general classification, this time behind countryman Nairo Quintana. At the 2017 Tour de France, Urán won the ninth stage and finished second overall, fifty-four seconds down on race winner Chris Froome.

Early life

Urán was first introduced to the world of cycling at the age of 14 by his father, who was assassinated a few months later by one of the country's paramilitary terrorist groups. Rigoberto had to work as a lottery-ticket seller to help his family and at the age of 16 he turned professional and moved to Medellín to ride for Orgullo Paisa, a Colombian cycling team.