The Colombian national time trial champion, Daniel Felipe Martinez, will not be in the time trial of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which will be run next Saturday, July 27 in the French capital.
Martinez, born in Cundinamarca, but based in Antioquia for some years (on Tuesday he was walking through the Viva Envigado shopping center with his family), had a problem with his passport to leave the country. For that reason, the Red Bull-Bora Hasgrohe, German team for which he competes, recommended him not to travel to avoid inconveniences in the future.
However, Daniel Felipe, current runner-up in the Giro d’Italia, will be present in the road cycling race of the Olympic Games, which will be held on August 3 in Paris and in which the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar will not be present, who said he would prepare for the world cycling championship, to be held between September 21 and 29 in Switzerland.
The 275-kilometer route, which will take place in the surroundings of Paris, could benefit Martínez, since it has several important climbs in which the Colombian cyclist could shine in the company of Santiago Buitrago, who will be the other national representative in the road race. “El Buitre” comes from occupying the tenth place in the general classification of this year’s Tour de France, which for the first time in history did not finish in the French capital.
What Colombia loses with the loss of Daniel Felipe?
One of the medal options that the Colombian delegation had in Paris was with Daniel Felipe Martínez in the time trial. The 28-year-old rider, born in Soacha, Cundinamarca, is one of the men who has competed best against time in our country.
Last January, in the national road race held in Tunja, Boyacá, Martínez finished the time trial in 54 minutes and 2 seconds. With this result he managed to win the gold medal and consolidated his position as national champion in the CRI for the fourth time in his professional career.
Daniel Felipe also finished in first place in that competition in the 2019, 2020 and 2022 editions. In fact, he was going to be the representative of our country in the Tokyo Olympic Games that, due to the pandemic, were held in August 2021. Martinez could not enter the Japanese country on that occasion because he tested positive for covid-19.
At the moment, it is known that the president of the Colombian Cycling Federation, Mauricio Vargas, as well as the national road coach, Carlos Mario Jaramillo, are traveling to Paris to finalize the details before the start of the competitions in French territory. The opening of the Olympic Games will be next Friday, scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m.
After competing in the Olympic Games, Daniel Felipe Martínez will have to join Bora to participate in the Vuelta a España 2024, which will start next August 17 in Lisbon, capital of Portugal. So far it is known that Nairo Quintana from Boyaca will also be in the Iberian round.
Source: www.elcolombiano.com