Photos & Words by: Zack Morris
We often hear of the cycling culture that lives inside the country that is producing some of the absolute best riders in the world but seldom do we get a real inside sense of how things feel in the heart of Colombian Cycling. This past Sunday we had the chance to join up with one of Decuinink Quickstep’s star sprinters, Alvaro Hodeg as he rode with some friends in Medellin Antioquia, and the entire experience was something special so we had to share it with all of you.
At 24 years of age Alvaro Hodeg is approaching an important season for the future of his professional cycling career. Having officially turned professional in 2018 Hodeg has 3 seasons full valuable experience under his feet. From celebrating wins on the World Tour stage, to tough injuries Hodeg has had a taste of most aspects of pro cycling, except one thing and that’s the cobbled classics. As a member of the Wolfpack making the selection for the races like The Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix is very difficult, and a rider must be on absolute top form, and Alvaro shared that it’s his dream to race the classics.
The ride started out nearby the Rionegro Airport and the group made its way towards what is another famous cycling town, and home of the Henao brothers San Antonio, Antioquia. This is just about the flattest route a cyclist can ride near by Medellin.
Of course the town line sprints also exist in Colombia, and as the boys warmed up so did their desire to smash their friends for the famous sprint points.
Olympic Bronze Medalist in the Rio Games, Carlos Ramirez was mixing it up with former sprinters jersey winner at the Tour of Colombia, Karol Torres, Olympic Gold Medalists Mariana Pajon’s brother Miguel Pajon, and of course one of Colombia’s most well-known cycling photographers Pipe Cano who by the way was riding a specialized Allez that Peter Sagan gave to him earlier this year.
In San Antonio we were joined by Julian Henao on the Moto, who is the cousin of Sebastian Henao of Team Ineos and Sergio Henao of team UAE Emirates.
After a series of towline sprints and messing around with the boys, the group stopped by a popular cycling stop for some fresh Juice and snacks! It was here that we had the chance to chat 1 on 1 with Alvaro about his upcoming year, and what his goals are.
ZM – Alvaro, where will you start your season this year and what does your Calendar look like right now?
AV – “I’ll start my season at the Vuelta San Juan in Argentina, but many of the races are still up in the air. I know that the Giro is on my race schedule this far, but I’m hoping to make the selection for the big classics this year. I think my team is one of the most difficult teams to make the roster for races like Roubaix and Flanders because those two races might be more important than the Tour de France for us, and our team hosts a deep roster for one-day classic racing specialist”
“For me, my dream is to race the classics, the big classics like Paris Roubaix and Flanders. But I think I have a chance this year. After the Giro this year I was able to maintain my fitness, and I think I’m bringing an even better composition to the racing calendar this year.”
Hodeg has 12 wins in his professional career and is up for a new contract at the end of the 2021 season, and from our observation, he is just a few small details away from being one of the top sprinters in the world. Hodeg doesn’t lack power, or the heart of the front end of the peloton in it’s most heated moments. With 3 seasons of racing in his legs and mind, we think Hodeg is on the cusp of a big season. With just a couple of tweaks to his timing in the finale’s Hodeg can win a lot of races.
After the coffee stop, the boys continued on their parade of smashing each other for one last town line sprint where Pajon took the final victory of the day, it was quite the lead out. After that Hodeg jumped in his car, and cheered his friends up the final climb of the day, the famous and painful 5km Topos ascend at 2600+ meters elevation.
At the end of the day we couldn’t be more impressed with the personal character of young Hodeg, who is already a legend in his country but as humble as they come. He’s a regular guy, with a great heart, positive attitude and the right mindset. Surrounded by a great group of people who are all passionate about the sport of cycling, the sky is the limit for the Colombian sprinter.
