Rigoberto Urán facts for kids
Urán in 2019
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rigoberto Urán Urán | ||
| Nickname | The Bull from Urrao, Rigo Norrea, Mick Jagger | ||
| Born | 26 January 1987 Urrao, Colombia |
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| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Weight | 63 kg (139 lb; 9 st 13 lb) | ||
| Team information | |||
| Current team | Retired | ||
| Discipline | Road | ||
| Role | Rider | ||
| Rider type | Climber | ||
| Major wins | |||
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Rigoberto Urán Urán is a famous Colombian former road racing cyclist. He was a professional rider from 2006 until 2024. During his career, Urán won fifteen races, including stages in all three of cycling's biggest races, called Grand Tours. He also won a silver medal at the Olympic road race in London in 2012.
Rigoberto Urán made history as the first Colombian to finish on the podium of the Giro d'Italia. He came in second place in 2013 and again in 2014. In the 2017 Tour de France, he won a stage and finished second overall, which was a huge achievement.
Contents
Early Life and First Rides
Rigoberto Urán started cycling when he was 14 years old, thanks to his father. Sadly, a few months later, his father passed away. Rigoberto then had to work selling lottery tickets to help his family. By the age of 16, he became a professional cyclist and moved to Medellín to join a Colombian cycling team called Orgullo Paisa.
Rigoberto's Cycling Journey
Starting in Europe (2006–2007)
When he was 19, Rigoberto moved to Italy to ride for Team Tenax. The next year, he joined another team and won a time trial race in Spain. He also won a stage at the Tour de Suisse, a big race in Switzerland. During another race in Germany, he had a bad crash and broke both his elbows and his right wrist.
Joining Caisse d'Epargne (2008–2010)
In 2008, Rigoberto joined the Caisse d'Epargne team. He finished second in the Volta a Catalunya and third in the Giro di Lombardia, which is a very important one-day race. He also rode in his first Tour de France in 2009. In 2010, he competed in the Giro d'Italia and the 2010 Tour de Suisse. He also started the Vuelta a España but had to leave the race after a fall.
Time with Team Sky (2011–2013)
2011: New Team, New Challenges
Rigoberto joined Team Sky in 2011. He did well in several races, including finishing 5th in Liège–Bastogne–Liège. At the Tour de France, he became the team leader after another rider had to leave. He even wore the white jersey for the best young rider for a few days. Later that year, he finished 3rd at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec in Canada.
2012: Olympic Medal and Giro Success
In 2012, Rigoberto got his first win for Team Sky at the Volta a Catalunya. He had a great Giro d'Italia, winning the white jersey for the best young rider and finishing seventh overall.
His biggest moment in 2012 was winning a silver medal in the Olympic road race in London. He was very close to winning gold! Later, he won the Gran Piemonte race in Italy and finished third in the Giro di Lombardia.
2013: A Grand Tour Podium
Rigoberto was part of the Team Sky squad for the Giro d'Italia. He won a stage in the mountains and moved up to third place overall. When his team leader had to leave the race, Rigoberto became the main rider for Sky. He rode incredibly well and finished second overall, which was his first time on the podium of a Grand Tour.
After the 2013 season, Rigoberto announced he would be joining a new team called Omega Pharma–Quick Step.
Omega Pharma–Quick Step (2014–2015)
Rigoberto started 2014 with his new team. He led his team at the Giro d'Italia. He won a stage that was a time trial and, for the first time, wore the pink jersey as the race leader! This made him the first Colombian ever to wear the pink jersey. He finished second overall in the Giro d'Italia for the second year in a row.
Later in 2014, he had to leave the Vuelta a España because he was not feeling well. In 2015, he had a strong start to the season and later won his first World Tour race, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec.
Cannondale Pro Cycling Team (2016–2024)
2016: New Team, More Podiums
In 2016, Rigoberto joined the Cannondale Pro Cycling Team. He aimed for the Giro d'Italia and finished 7th overall. He ended the season with a third-place finish at the Giro di Lombardia, which was his third time on the podium in that race.
2017: Tour de France Success
Rigoberto had a fantastic 2017 season. He won Stage 9 of the Tour de France in a very close finish, even though his bike was damaged in a crash! He continued to ride strongly and finished second overall in the Tour de France, which was his best result ever in that race. His team manager praised him as an amazing leader.
2018: Strong Performances and Challenges
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In 2018, Rigoberto started his season well in Colombia, winning a stage at the Colombia Oro y Paz race. He also won a stage and finished second overall at the Tour of Slovenia. He started the Tour de France as one of the favorites, but unfortunately crashed and had to leave the race. He recovered and finished 7th overall in the Vuelta a España, which was his first top-10 finish in that Grand Tour. He also finished second at the Giro dell'Emilia in Italy.
2019: A Tough Year
Rigoberto had a challenging year in 2019. He crashed out of the Vuelta a España on Stage 6. His best result that year was finishing 7th overall in the Tour de France.
The 2020 cycling season was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the Tour de France, Rigoberto led his team and finished eighth overall. He avoided crashes and rode consistently throughout the race.
2021: More Top Finishes
Rigoberto won a stage at the Tour de Suisse in 2021, finishing second overall in that race. He also led his team at the Tour de France, where he finished tenth overall. At the Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021), he placed eighth in both the road race and the time trial.
2022–2024: Completing the Grand Tour Set and Retirement
In 2022, Rigoberto achieved a special milestone by winning a stage at the Vuelta a España. This meant he had won at least one stage in all three Grand Tours (Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España) during his career. He finished ninth overall in the Vuelta that year.
Rigoberto continued to race in 2023, with top-ten finishes in the Volta a Catalunya and the Tour de Suisse. He retired from professional cycling in 2024, after a long and successful career.
Major Achievements
Rigoberto Urán had many important wins and high finishes throughout his career:
- Olympic Games: Silver medal in the Road Race (2012)
- Giro d'Italia:
- Second place overall (2013, 2014)
- Won the Young Rider Classification (2012)
- Won 2 individual stages (2013, 2014)
- Tour de France:
- Second place overall (2017)
- Won 1 individual stage (2017)
- Vuelta a España:
- Won 1 individual stage (2022)
- National Championships: Won the Colombian National Time Trial Championships (2015)
- One-Day Races:
- Won GP de Québec (2015)
- Won Milano–Torino (2017)
- Won Gran Piemonte (2012)
Images for kids
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Urán in 2019
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Urán at the 2010 Giro d'Italia
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Urán riding for Sky at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné
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Urán winning a stage at the 2013 Giro d'Italia
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Urán in 2014
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Urán (left) following Chris Froome at the 2017 Tour de France
See also
In Spanish: Rigoberto Urán para niños
