Luxembourg’s New Hope

17 May 2016

Bob Jungels. He was born on the 22th of September, 1992. He grew up in Rollingen, a city in the middle of Luxembourg. At a young age, Bobby already dreamed of becoming a professional cyclist. He found out that he could ride hard and fast, so he became a specialist in time trials at a young age. He was still a junior in 2009 and won the time trial at the World Championships. Some already pointed out back then that he was very talented and people in Luxembourg called him the ‘new Andy Schleck’. In 2012, he moved from the amateur team UC Dippach to the Leopard Trek Continental Team. In that year he won Paris-Roubaix under 23 and the overall classification in the Flèche du Sud. After this year he signed for RadioShack – Leopard, which became Trek Factory Racing in 2014. In the three years he spent at this team, he learned how to race in WorldTour races, between the best professional riders of the world. In 2015, he showed to the cycling world that he was capable of climbing in the high mountains. He became 27th overall in the Tour de France and ended up in the top 15 in the stage to the Alpe d’Huez. This was not unnoticed by other teams. The Etixx – Quick Step team saw his potential and the manager Lefevre signed him for 2016. His goals for his first year there were clear. The Spring Classics and the Giro d’Italia. The Spring Classics were a bit disappointing for him, so he was eager to ride a good Giro. After he made it through the first week without too much damage, he knew that the pink jersey was in his reach. Today he succeeded. He is the second rider from Luxembourg who gets to wear the pink jersey. It is 57 years ago that the legendary rider Charly Gaul wore the pink jersey. It is not only a confirmation to himself, but also a mark in the cycling history of Luxembourg. He stated in the interview after the stage that it was one of the best days in his life. Without a doubt, there will come many more days like this for him. Bob Jungels. He is on his way to become Luxembourg’s new hope.

© Bob Jungels / @BobJungels

Colombian Hope

6 July 2013

Today’s stage in the Tour included some outstanding performances.
It was the first mountain stage after a week of hard work for all the teams.
Chris Froome (SKY) won, took over the yellow and the polkadot jersey
and teammate Richie Porte was able to secure the second place.
Alejandro Valverde finished third and is the leader of the Movistar Team.
However, it was Valverde’s teammate who impressed the spectators
by being the first rider who crossed the Col de Paihères of 2001 metres,
the mountain before the final climb of 1375 metres to Ax 3 Domaines.
Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas is his name.
He was born on the 4^th of February 1990 in Colombia.
In 2009, he won the Columbian time trial for riders under the age of 23.
The following year, he signed a contract with Café de Colombia.
Then he got the chance to ride the Tour de L’Avenir and immediately
won two stages and the GC of this famous race in France for promising riders.
This made his family, friends, and fellow citizens of Columbia very proud.
In 2011, he was the King of the Mountains in the Volta a Catalunya.
Team Movistar then decided to sign this talented young rider.
So in 2012 Nairo got the opportunity to ride many more
prestigious races where he could show off his climbing skills.
He won the Vuelta a Murcia, the Route du Sud and the Giro dell’Emilia.
On top of that, he also got to ride his first Grand Tour, the Vuelta a España.
The TTT was conquered by him and his team and he managed
to secure the 36^th place in the general classification.
Not bad for a 22-year-old climber in his very first Vuelta.
This year, he has already won the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco.
So it was no surprise that he made the selection for the Tour de France.
However, the road to where he is today, in the white jersey
at the Tour de France, has not been as easy as it may seem.
The 23-year-old comes from the Republic of Colombia, a country
known for its armed conflict between the government and guerrillas.
Poverty is for many people in Colombia a serious issue.
As the newspaper El Espectador stated, the Quintana family
also had to face “precariously difficult economic conditions”.
Nairo’s parents struggled to make ends meet, but still managed
to send their son to a school, 16 kilometres away, on a second-hand bike.
Nairo’s love for cycling gradually grew and eventually led to competing in races.
Despite the fact that the Quintana family had to take up many jobs to be able
to survive and pay for all the costs, they always kept believing in cycling.
Nairo has always been proud to be able to represent his country and
at the moment, a beautiful new house is being built for his parents in Colombia.
The positivity he sends back to Colombia marks the beauty of cycling.

 Nairo Quintana (MOV) after the 8th stage in the Tour de France: most combative rider of the day and the new owner of the white jersey