The Colombian cyclist, Alejandro Osorio, 25 years old, who races for the GW Erco Shimano team, had an outstanding performance in the 3rd stage of the Tour Colombia, beating competitors such as Rigoberto Urán and Egan Bernal, being the first cyclist who does not belong to the World Tour, to win a stage of the competition. This performance contrasts with his abrupt departure from Bahrain-Victorious, shortly after being hired.
Osorio reflects on Bahrain-Victorious dismissal
Regretting the way he was dismissed by the Bahrain team, the Colombian Champion described the situation as unfair. The dismissal, which took place in 2022, just three months (31.03) after joining the team, still hurts him and according to him, it was like “the destruction of my career”.
Multiple breaches of contract
“At the time, it was reported that the dismissal was due to multiple breaches of contract.” The Colombian thought about suing the team for dismissal without a specific cause, but the cost of litigation was too high.
“I couldn’t afford the cost of hiring a lawyer to compete against a team like Bahrain Victorius, which has a lot of money,” Osorio explained to the American website Cyclingnews.
“One day I was reprimanded for eating at an ice cream shop because I was violating the nutritionist’s instructions. On another occasion, I was accused of breaking the Covid-19 health bubble by going to a shopping center to buy a phone chip”, he detailed about the alleged breaches of contract.
The most serious alleged breach of contract
Osorio revealed a more serious breach of his contract: “After becoming seriously ill after Strade Bianche, they put me in isolation. Upon returning home to Andorra, I ended up forgetting my helmet on the team bus. There, I decided that I shouldn’t go out wearing a helmet from another brand.” “I ended up making the mistake of uploading a friend’s route activity to my profile on TrainingPeaks (a platform that records athletes’ training).”
“That was, without a doubt, my most serious mistake. However, I don’t see it as something big enough to justify my dismissal.”
Osorio prefers not to elaborate much about the future. His focus, for now, is to continue demonstrating his talent and proving that he deserves to be at the highest level of the sport. “Now I’m just enjoying the current moment. However, God willing, I will soon be in Europe, that way I will be more satisfied”, concludes Osorio.