Most people mark their 50th birthday with cake. Oscar Sevilla marked his with a pro contract, rather than riding 50km to mark the occasion like most senior citizens.
On Tuesday 29 September 2026, the Spanish-born, Colombia-based veteran announced he will race on with Team Medellin-EPM in 2027, his 29th season as a professional. “I have received a very special gift,” Sevilla said in a social media video, promising to represent the team and city with motivation, discipline and respect.
The renewal comes after a rough season for Team Medellin-EPM. In March, the Colombian team was barred from racing for 30 days by the UCI Disciplinary Commission after two riders were notified of anti-doping violations within 12 months. The cases involved unexplained abnormalities in the Athlete Biological Passports of Aldemar Reyes, 30, and Fabio Duarte, 39, the 2008 under-23 world champion.
Sevilla’s professional story began in 1998, when he turned pro with Kelme. In 2001, he stood on the Vuelta a España podium and finished seventh at the Tour de France. He was later implicated in the Operación Puerto doping investigation and dismissed by T-Mobile in 2006. He served a doping ban of his own, then moved to Colombia in 2011 and built a second career. He has won the Vuelta a Colombia three times and the Clásico RCN four times.
His last international victory came in October 2023, when, at 47, he won the Tour of Hainan by one second over Sebastian Berwick, then 23 and not yet born when Sevilla turned pro. This season, he finished fifth overall at the Vuelta de la Independencia in the Dominican Republic and seventh at the Tour de Beauce.
As for retirement, Sevilla has said he will stop when getting out of bed to train becomes too hard. Based on Tuesday’s news, the alarm clock is still winning… and that’s good news for the gran fondo crowd.
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