Rodrigo Contreras took victory in the Tour Colombia 2024. Contreras, from the continental team Nu Colombia, was attacked a lot during the last stage, but managed to resist. The final stage ended in a sprint, and Jhonatan Restrepo won the stage with superiority.
To decisive stage
The decisive stage of the Tour Colombia took cyclists to the country’s capital, Bogotá. The expectation was for an intense fight, with the climb to Alto de Patios, 2.6km with an average gradient of 7%, being a potential watershed. The top of this climb was located about ten kilometers from the finish line.
Bernal attacks and causes chaos in the race
Egan Bernal, the winner of the 2019 Tour de France who was competing in this competition for a Colombian national team, was not satisfied with his fifth position in the general classification and decided to shake up the race. Bernal broke away with Javier Jamaica, from Team Medellín, and had a one-minute advantage, becoming, for a moment, the virtual leader of the race.
However, the rival teams fighting for the leader’s yellow jersey began to chase Bernal and the Colombian’s advantage began to gradually diminish, causing Bernal to be absorbed back into the main group with around 40km to go.
This did not slow down the frenetic pace of the race, as several cyclists, including Richard Carapaz, Bernal himself and Rigoberto Urán, tried to destabilize Contreras, who stood firm in the face of the attacks.
Restrepo stands out in the final sprint
In the end, Olympic champion Richard Carapaz attempted a final attack on Alto de Patios, but Contreras and his Nu Colombia team managed to respond. Carapaz tried to resist in the final 12 km, on flat terrain, but the main group, made up of elite cyclists such as Contreras, Urán, Bernal, Jonathan Caicedo and Colombian champion Alejandro Osorio, managed to catch Carapaz.
Finally, the stage victory went to Jhonatan Restrepo, from the Colombian team, who took advantage of the last kilometer and surpassed the efforts of Caicedo and Carapaz in the final sprint.
Contreras arrived with the same group and celebrated the overall victory in the competition, once again showing his superiority in the 2024 Tour Colombia.
Watch the arrival
Results of the 6th stage of the Tour Colombia 2024
