Live in Boyacà is synonymous with mountains, altitude, dense air, countryside, vegetation, agriculture and, if you like, epic cycling.There's no Boyacense in the world who hasn't used a bicycle in their daily life. The countryside meets the city. Rural life mixes with modernity. The green of the valleys still stands out between the buildings and the mountains still retain the scent of great champions who have dared for centuries to challenge the harsh geography carved out more than 2.000 meters above sea level.
Not just climbers
Colombian cycling bears the unmistakable imprint of Boyacà, a prolific and talented department that it no longer produces only great climbers, but he also began to experiment and discover other specialties not exactly linked to the legend of the “escarabajos” and their many stories of conquering the great climbs. Brothers Julián and Sebastián Molano imposed the culture of sprinting and now Abner Santiago Umba, the young man who stood out among the professionals of the Vuelta al Táchira, will trace the path of 360-degree cycling.
Umba is coming
Umba has the physique of a climber, but is as fast as a sprinter and as explosive as the best of the "clasicomaniacs".”. At 18 years old he has the qualities of a modern cyclist Suitable for all types of scenarios. He showed it in Venezuela, but his journey cannot be limited to the race that has now put him on everyone's lips. His performances were varied and of high quality already in the youth categories.
Immediately a winner
In 2018 he won the Interclubes junior national title, beating the sprinters on a completely flat circuit designed in Palmira, in the Valle department. Then he shone at the Vuelta del Futuro, winning on the Ansermanuevo wall. And the following year, at the Vuelta del Porvenir, he finished fourth overall, winning a challenging medium mountain stage in Monterrey and the final circuit in Yopal, encouraging the escape and winning the stage with a speed that was unbeatable for his fellow adventurers. Victories of all kindsVariety and quality at the service of the nursery Arcabuco Ingeniería de Vías.
Even fast
«Together with my brother, we started as climbers, which is normal in Boyacà, but in the races we realized that we had the structure to win even in the sprint and we started to work more on that aspect", says Santiago, recalling the maturation times with Juan Alejandro, two years older and a specialist in group finishes. A pure sprinter with great explosiveness, he is currently part of the U23 Talentos Colombia team.
Football and bikes
«We had a childhood very focused on sport thanks to the full support of our parentsWe started at the city's football school, combining it with cycling because Our father had been a cyclist and wanted us to be one too.. When we started going to races and seeing the first results, we decided to dedicate ourselves completely to cycling", recalls the young man who has always had the encouragement of his father Libardo, an old-school cyclist who, after finishing his career, devoted himself entirely to truck driving to support the family he created with his wife Susana LópezNow both are enjoying the reward for their efforts with two exemplary and talented sons, who diversify the cycling culture of Boyacà and its surroundings.
Thanks to Nairo
Santiago grew up in the center of Arcabuco, 11 kilometers from La Cumbre, one of the most representative climbs of Boyacà and which in the early years was the cradle of Nairo Quintana, the idol who has just become his passport to elite cycling.
«He helped me with his agent Giuseppe Acquadro. He told me not to worry about the team, to stay calm. Thanks to him we got to theAndroni Giocattoli Sidermec», thanks Santiago, with a diploma from the Alejandro de Humboldt Educational Institute, where Nairo began writing his novel on his bicycle, between hard days back and forth from home to meet their academic commitments.
The future
In 2013, when Nairo made the leap into cycling's elite as a Tour de France rider-up, Santiago was an 11-year-old boy kicking a ball and still lacking a clear cycling horizon. Seven years later, he has emerged as one of the most important promises in Colombian cycling., with talents unlike any other for a rider born in Boyacà. He's a rider who applies versatility to the letter on any terrain.
