EF Education-NIPPO pro Rigoberto Urán knows how to throw a gran fondo party. Over 3000 fans, friends and legendary Colombian cycling idols, including Grand Tour champion Egan Bernal, joined Uran at the two day Giro de Rigo in Piedecuesta, Colombia this past weekend.
With an A-list of cycling stars that looks more like the start sheet of a Tour de France stage, the third edition of Giro de Rigo rolled out Sunday morning with 3279 riders from 18 countries, among them notable pros Egan Bernal, Lucho Herrera, Mauricio Soler, Victor Hugo Peña, Mauricio Ardila, Daniel Martínez and Sergio Higuita.
Even government officials were excited about the event with Governor Mauricio Aguilar saying “the region will be the epicenter of one of the most important national and international competitions, the Giro de Rigo!”
Uran chose Piedecuesta as the host city to help the revive the local post-pandemic tourism economy and hosted a formal dinner party to raise funds for local charities, where he himself served guests wine from the region.
The gran fondo route covered 115 kilometres on fully closed roads through the beautiful Santander region. “Rigo” described the route as, “very hard, it is 3,200 meters of unevenness for those who make the 115-kilometer journey and it is similar to a stage of the Tour de France, with a first climb of 10 kilometre with 20% ramps and a second climb of 24 kilometres, constantly ascending through the Pescadero.”
Next year Uran will host Giro de Rigo Costa Rica on 27 November 2022.
PHOTOS: El Giro de Rigo
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