Rigoberto Urán has announced that he will retire at the end of the current season, after 19 years in the professional peloton. 

Urán’s current team, EF Education-EasyPost, made the announcement after the Tour Colombia, where the 37-year-old was starting his 2024 season. 

It had been reported that the Colombian was considering retirement and his team then confirmed that a decision was made and the current season would be his last in the sport. 

“As a cyclist, I believe the time has come to say: we have reached the end,” Urán said in a statement released by EF. 

“It has taken me a long time to come to this decision,” he added. “It is something I have thought long and hard about. The truth is that it is scary. Cycling has given me everything in life. 

“For almost 23 years, my aim was to get up, eat breakfast, and ride my bike. I was a part of a team that took me to the major races around the world. Now that is going to end.”

In a recent interview with Cyclingnews, Urán suggested that he feared the prospect of retirement but a decision has now been made. 

“It’s not easy, and a lot of people have struggled with it, not just in cycling but in every sport,” he explained to Cyclingnews at the Tour Colombia. “You often spend more nights in the year sharing a room with a teammate than with your wife. 

"It’s a life where you have lots of people doing everything for you. And when you finish, you don’t have that anymore.”

Throughout his long career, Urán has ridden for a variety of major teams including some of the very biggest in the WorldTour. He started out at Tenax-Salmilano in 2006 before going on to ride for Team Sky between 2011 and 2013. Urán then rode for Omega Pharma- Quick-Step before joining Cannondale, which later became EF Education, in 2016. 

Urán has claimed 14 professional victories to date which includes stage wins at all three of the Grand Tours. The Colombian narrowly missed out on overall Grand Tour victory on three occasions. He finished second twice at the Giro d’Italia in 2013 and 2014 and took second place at the 2017 Tour de France behind Chris Froome. 

Another notable moment for the Colombian was the 2012 London Olympics. Urán won a silver medal in the road race, which finished on the Mall, behind Kazakhstan's Alexander Vinokourov.

EF have not confirmed Urán’s final race although it is likely to be after the Olympics this summer. The Colombian said he would look to make the most of his final year racing. 

“I'm going to try to enjoy it, give my best in the races, and race every one like it is my last,” Urán said. “This season will be a thank you, a thank you very much. I only have gratitude for the team, for all the people, all the many coaches and many teammates who were always there to help me over the past 20-plus years.”

Rigoberto Urán has apologised and deleted a video posted to his social media showing him riding his bike at a fair speed with his baby daughter strapped to his chest.

His daughter hangs from a baby carrier worn by her father suspended in the air, wearing green sunglasses but without a helmet, as the EF Education-Nippo rider speeds along, many of his followers reacting to the video calling the stunt irresponsible and dangerous.

At one point, Urán takes one hand off his bike to adjust his daughter's sunglasses, not looking at the road.

Following the backlash, Urán deleted the video, posting a new one of him and his daughter in the jacuzzi at home, the baby still wearing the sunglasses but this time with a pool float as the Urán's upped their health and safety game, save any social media lifeguards also take him to task over this latest video.

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“I went completely wrong. I won't do it again. I'm sorry," Urán said of the deleted video.

EF's riders have found themselves unable to avoid controversy this off-season, with two of their outgoing riders Lawson Craddock and Sergio Higuita finding themselves in hot water after evidence emerged of them riding their new team's bikes while still under contract to ride EF's Cannondale machines.

Higuita was filmed riding a Specialized, who provide machines for his new employers Bora-Hansgrohe, at Urán's recent Giro de Rigo Gran Fondo event in Colombia. EF originally terminated his contract before backtracking on that decision.

American team-mate Lawson Craddock was also sent a contract termination letter after he was photographed riding a Giant at a Mellow Jonny’s event in Texas, the machine of his new team for 2022, BikeExchange. Again, EF came to an agreement with Craddock over the incident.

Rigoberto Urán won his first time trial in more than six years, with the Colombian devastating the Tour de Suisse competition with a rapid time on stage seven.

The EF Education – Nippo rider was a huge 40 seconds faster than nearest challenger Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) in the 23.2km mountainous time trial. 

Not since the 2015 Colombian nationals has Urán, now 34, won a time trial, but he showed his form just a fortnight out from the Tour de France to move into second overall on GC with just one stage remaining.

Stage five victor Richard Carapaz of Ineos Grenadiers was fourth fastest and he remained in the lead ahead of the decisive final day.

Although he increased his advantage to Jakob Fuglsang (Astana-Premier Tech), who was second on GC going into the stage, by almost a minute, Carapaz’s 26 second lead was whittled down to just 17 seconds thanks to Urán’s impressive effort.

Elsewhere, Tom Dumoulin was just two seconds off a podium spot on his continued return to racing, the Jumbo-Visma man settling for fifth with the same time as Carapaz, the duo two seconds slower than Bahrain-Victorious’ Gino Mäder who claimed third-place.

How it happened

The mountainous time trial was as simple in design as it was risky in reality, with riders starting in the valley at 1,400m of elevation before climbing 9.5km to 2,046m. They then had an 11km descent into Andermatt. 

Riders chose different set-ups for the race, some on road bikes, others on time trial-specific machines. Disc wheels or deep rims were also dependent on a rider’s preference.

From the moment he set off, Søren Kragh Andersen (Team DSM) looked fast, powerful and intent on proving competitive, reaching the summit of Overalp Pass in a time of 26:49, the quickest in the race up to that point by some 34 seconds.

On the descent, the Dane touched speeds approaching 100kmh as he favoured a risky approach in order to improve his time. He finished with a time of 37:06.

The next rider to impress was Dumoulin who posted a time six seconds faster than Andersen at the top of the climb, and then finished with a new fastest time of 36:58. Just a minute later, however, Mader beat him by two seconds.

New best times were being reset almost every few minutes at the climb’s summit, with Domenico Pozzovivo of Qhubeka Assos going six seconds faster than Mader but not descending fast enough to maintain his lead, eventually finishing seventh.

Urán was the first and only rider to go sub-26 minutes up the climb, Alaphilippe threatening to as well, but ultimately 12 seconds shy of Uran with a time of 26:11.

Urán maintained his advantage on the downhill and recorded a blistering time of 36:02, with Alaphilippe coming home 40 seconds in arrears but still posting the second quickest time.

Carapaz was the eighth fastest up the mountain, but Fugslang was way down in 20th position, the Dane unable to mount a comeback on the descent neither, finishing with the 15th fastest time, 103 seconds off Uran’s effort. He slipped to fifth on GC.

Carapaz descended quickly and impressively finished in fourth place with a time of 36:56. The 2019 Giro d’Italia winner, who hasn’t won a stage race since his Grand Tour victory, will be confident of sealing the victory on Sunday.

Result: Tour de Suisse, stage seven: Disentis Sedrun > Andermatt (23.2km)

1. Rigoberto Urán (Col) EF Education-Nippo in 36.02
2. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceunink-Quick Step at 40 seconds
3. Gino Mäder (Sui) Bahrain-Victorious at 54s
4. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers at same time
5. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Jumbo-Visma at 56s
6. Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Deceuninck-Quick Step at 58s
7. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Qhubeka Assos at 1:00
8. Rui Costa (Por) UAE-Team Emirates at same time
9. Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team DSM at 1:04
10. Stefan Küng (Sui) Groupama-FDJ at 1:05

General classification after stage seven

1. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers in 20:37.27
2. Rigoberto Urán (Col) EF Education-Nippo at 17s
3. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-Quick Step at 39s
4. Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Bora-hansgrohe at 1.07
5. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana-Premier Tech at 1.15
6. Michael Woods (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation at 3.10
7. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Qhubeka-Assos at 3.16
8. Sam Oomen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma at 3.39
9. Rui Costa (Por) UAE-Team Emirates at 3.43
10. Esteban Chaves (Col) BikeExchange at 4.29

Have you ever wanted a pro level bike that has ridden 3,000-plus kilometres in the Tour de France?

Well, now you have a chance to win Rigoberto Urán's Cannondale SystemSix that he rode to eighths place in the general classification.

You are able to enter a sweepstake to try and win the bike, starting from December 1 and finishing on December 31, available in United States, Canada (excluding Quebec), Austria, France, Germany, Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. To enter the competition for free, click here.

The competition is in celebration of what was one of the closest Tours de France we've had in years - in such a bizarre and unpleasant year, the Grand Tours really brought some joy to our screens.

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The bike is straight from the Champs-Élysées complete with signed race number still fixed to the bike, Shimano Dura-Ace Di2g groupset, Vision Metron 55 race wheels plus a Hollowgram crankset with a Power2max power meter included.

It is built to Urán's exact measurements but is a 51cm frame and a unique, one-of-a-kind, bike of one of the most popular riders in the WorldTour peloton.

The Colombian climber, affectionately nicknamed Mick Jagger, has been one of the leading Grand Tour riders of his generation with three Grand Tour podiums - two at the Giro d'Italia and one at the Tour de France.

He has been a professional rider since 2007 and has raced for five teams including Team Sky, Quick-Step and his current team, EF Pro Cycling in a very successful career.

Taking nine career victories so far, he isn't a prolific winner, but the Colombian is a very classy rider with wins at the Tour, the Giro, Tour de Suisse and the Deine Deutschland Tour among others.

The Colombian announced in mid November that he will be renewing his contract with EF Pro Cycling to 2022 and that he hopes to target the Vuelta a España, as it is the only Grand Tour he has not managed to reach to podium.

Rigoberto Urán announced that he will extend his contract with EF Pro Cycling after another solid performance in the Tour de France.

The Colombian climber has only been on the start list for six races in this strange season that has been marred by the global pandemic, but still managed to get a solid top eight at the French Grand Tour, taking two ninth place stage finishes along the way.

Speaking during a virtual event hosted Tour Colsubsidio, Urán told guests he would be extending his contract with his current team. EF Pro Cycling are yet to officially announce the news.

Urán has been with EF in it's various forms since 2016, when he joined from Etixx - Quick-Step.

He has since managed various top-10s and podiums in Grand Tours and Classics including a second place overall at the 2017 Tour de France, just 59 seconds behind the winner, Chris Froome (Ineos Grenadiers).

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Urán says that he was relieved that he was able to perform so well at the Tour after recovering from an awful crash at the Vuelta a España in 2019 where he broke his left collarbone, shoulder blade, some ribs and a couple of vertebrae along with some damage to his lung.

He has been a key rider in guiding young climbers Dani Martínez, who took the overall title at this year's Critérium du Dauphiné, Hugh Carthy, who came third in the 2020 Vuelta a España, and Sergio Higuita, Colombian national road race champion and Vuelta stage winner.

Urán, 33, has indicated that he would like to aim for the Vuelta a España in the 2021 season, the only Grand Tour he is yet to get a podium in.

Another rider who has announced that he will be extending with the American team is Tejay Van Garderen, who has extended his contract for another year as he settles into a support role after not getting that big win as leader.

Van Garderen posted about his extension on Instagram saying "thrilled to announce I will be riding with EF Pro Cycling for the 2021 season.

"Going on season 12, and we got a lot of exciting things to look forward to."

The best placing the American had all season was a 21st place in the individual time trail at Paris-Nice.

The vast majority of Van Garderen's wins have come in his home country, with overall wins at the Amgen Tour of California in 2013 and the USA Pro Challenge in 2013 and 2014.

He is likely to play a similar role to Urán in supporting some of the younger riders, which has already been shown with him riding through the ITT at the Vuelta with Carthy, who went on to put in a great ride on the day.

"I knew the country had a population of over 40 million and I thought 'well if it's like it's depicted, everyone would have left'.

"What I found were people who are incredibly welcoming and grateful that you've seen through the sort of horror stories that you're drip-fed and, not that you've realised they're not true, but that they can't be representative because human beings don't live like that."

That was Matt Rendell's first trip to Colombia in 1998, where he pretended to be a cycling journalist to cadge interviews with a Colombian cycling commentator and subsequently extract the phone number of Chepe González, who he then stayed with for a week.

Twenty-two years later, the 'Mr Colombia' of the cycling press says it has been "amazing to watch and a lovely privilege" as the South American nation has flourished, becoming not only a well-trodden path for backpackers who can take stories of what the country is really like back home but also the development of a golden generation of cyclists, culminating in Egan Bernal delivering the country's first-ever Tour de France victory last year.

It's too early to write biographies of these riders, according to Rendell, who instead has opted to focus on 15 Colombian pros and chart their story from the beginning until now in his new book 'Colombia Es Pasión!'

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"You would think in biographies that when a rider reaches the WorldTour that's when their life starts but I think of it the other way round," Rendell tells Cycling Weekly. "They eat, they sleep, they train, they all kind of become the same because their lives are so demanding.

"The most interesting part of their lives is their childhoods. And so it's really about those years and where they fit into the mosaic of Colombian development."

The early-season showcase for the incredible rise of Colombian cycling is the Tour Colombia, which attracts an abundance of WorldTour talent and captures the attention of fans all over the world with the colourful roadsides created by the nation's passionate fans. And really, it's just the start of what could be, Rendell thinks.

"I think it's a race that suffers from an astonishing lack of ambition because as you know, it costs money to have television coverage, you have to pay a lot of money to Eurosport to show your event, and the thing is that most cycling events exist in order to show helicopter shots of beautiful beaches and landscapes to the potential tourist market," Rendell says.

"Colombia is at a different stage of its development. The cycling is really a present for the people of Colombia. There isn't a kind of business plan, they haven't quite got around to thinking of it as a way of marketing Colombia to the outside work. It's more a question of nation-building. I think it's a shame. I think it's a missed opportunity."

What a great conversation to be having about the potential of Colombia's future, when times haven't always been as filled with promise. The book covers the darker moments, including the harrowing story of the murder of Rigoberto Urán's father.

"I went along with this sort of inflated desire to solve who and why [Urán's father was murdered] and it slowly dawned on me that it's not my death to investigate," Rendell explains.

"One of the things I found out, that struck me, was that there was a group of boys who went out on a ride and they were stopped by the paramilitaries and Rigoberto's father was with them. There were two adults with them and the group they encountered were rustling cattle and they got the two adults to help them and then they put a bullet in Rigoberto's father's

neck.

"Rigoberto wasn't there, he was at school that morning, but among the boys who were was one cyclist whose father had been murdered in front of his eyes by a paramilitary group who had burst into the house and gunned him down in front of the family. This boy was then being held at gunpoint by these paramilitaries, it's beyond anything you can imagine. So that's probably one of the most shocking things."

Conversation then turns to the man of the moment in cycling, Egan Bernal. Asking Rendell what he knows about the 23-year-old Ineos rider is like a better Wikipedia just for cyclist's origin stories, with an infectious enthusiasm for their subject that the army of online encyclopedia devotees could only hope to capture.

"In Colombia for poor families it's very, very difficult to make savings, to put money aside, and his parents are very smart and were both in peasant farming families. They both moved to the town and they did make some progress and got social housing, and then cycling was all about having something to keep Egan off the streets.

"The chapter in the book about him is called 'The boy who grew up too fast' and his mother told me this amazing story where they were sat at the kitchen table when Egan was five and she said: 'Egan, I don't know what we're going to do,' and Egan would say, 'look, we're gonna get through this we're gonna be okay'. You know? When he was a five-year-old!"

Rendell then recounts how when Bernal was 10 or 11 years old and his parents were working in the cut flower industry, Colombia is the second-largest exporter behind the Netherlands he adds, and the workers were allowed to buy bouquets cheaply so his mother would buy 10 or 12 and Egan would sell them door-to-door. They would sell them for the equivalent of 65p, making a 25p profit, which would be split between going to household costs and paying for Bernal's schoolbooks and photocopies.

"Bernal said to me: 'I don't know if it's because of that, but I've never had any problem negotiating contracts, hiring and firing agents and deciding who I need working around me,'" Rendell recalls.

Is there something specific about this hardship that ties all these Colombian riders together? This time Rendell delves back into a conversation he once had with Nairo Quintana.

"Nairo said to me once that kids who've had to lead the life they've had to lead, a lot of them don't make it and they fall by the wayside, or they start drinking or taking drugs. And all of these kids, whether it's Rigoberto, Egan, Nairo, Esteban Chaves, Miguel Ángel López, they have in their heads, in their makeup, a kind of genius for coping, because they've had tough lives," Rendell says.

"Think of Rigoberto and the people who knew him, who observed him in the weeks and months after his father's murder. They said he took over his father's rounds selling lottery tickets and his cycling training then became very structured while he also went to school. He had those three things to do, including being the breadwinner for the family.

"All the other boys were at the river swimming and Rigoberto would say 'no I have this to do I have that to do,' and they channeled this genius for coping into cycling. They trained in a very, very structured and rigorous and disciplined way. And in a sense, it was a coping mechanism. I think that's what sets them apart."

Matt Rendell's Colombia Es Pasion!: The Generation of Racing Cyclists Who Changed Their Nation and the Tour de France is now available from the places you'd usually buy books

Plenty of teams were caught in the chaos on stage six of the 2019 Vuelta a España, but it was EF Education First who suffered the most significant blow.

The peloton were hit by a high-speed descending crash just over 100km into the stage to Ares del Maestrat, when water on the road surface caused riders to slide out.

EF leader Rigoberto Urán and support rider Hugh Carthy were went down heavily in the crash, and were forced to abandon alongside former race leader Nicolas Roche (Sunweb).

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But it wasn’t the end of the misfortune for the American outfit, as their rider in the day’s breakaway, Tejay van Garderen, also crashed on a descent later in the stage.

Both Urán and Carthy suffered broken left collarbones and will need surgery, while Van Garderen, who suffered heavy road rash on his right side and had significant pain in one of his fingers, was able to finish the stage but the team were unsure if he would start stage seven.

CEO of EF Education First Jonathan Vaughters said: “This has really not been a great day for the team. Now the most important thing is that we focus on making sure Rigo and Hugh and the rest of the team are healthy and we refocus the guys still racing on other objectives.”

Four EF riders went down in the Urán crash – Logan Owen needed five stitches in his right leg while Sergio Higuita was suffering from pain in his lower back.

Owen and Higuita will continue in the race, while the team said Van Garderen would undergo further assessment before stage seven and a decision would be made on whether he would race.

Sports director Juanma Gárate said: “We’re going to continue on, but we need a bit of time to recuperate.

“The moment when Tejay fell I said to the team ‘okay guys, to do this we have to do it as a team and we take strength from each other,’ and that’s what we’re going to do. It was a moment that can really demotivate everyone, but they continued on and kept their minds on what they were doing, and they did their best. Tomorrow we will make sure we take care of each other and we take it from there.”

Urán had been strong in the opening week of the Spanish Grand Tour and was sitting sixth overall on the morning of the crash, just 59 seconds down on race leader Miguel Ángel López (Astana).

The Colombian said: “Today we’ve had a really tough day, there was a crash on a descent on a corner and there were a number of riders who went down, there was no possibility to avoid the crash.

“Us riders, we are used to having these crashes so we know what it takes to recuperate from them. There’s no other option, we just have to take some time out and recover to then come back.”

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Carthy, who had been a key animator of the race while riding for Urán said: “If we look at the work we’ve done this week, we can be happy. The team now can look forward and continue racing. I wish them luck.

“I’m all okay – nothing too serious. Could have been a lot worse.”

Tejay van Garderen (EF Education First) has revealed he is set to play a support role for team-mate Rigoberto Uran at this year's Tour de France.

"I was pleased to have everything just come together and feel like I had good form in California," van Garderen said, "but I had bad luck with the crash which affected me a bit in the closing days and I couldn’t quite close it out.

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"So to finally do that at the Dauphiné, I was able to capitalise on some good form."

The former Tour de France white jersey winner has made his mark on new team EF Education First, which he moved to from the now defunct BMC team last year.

"It’s been tremendous, I’ve enjoyed all the riders and all the staff. It’s a lot different from BMC but at the end of the day the goals and the missions are the same and that is to get out there and win bike races," the American said.

Despite a stirring performance at the 2019 Critérium du Dauphiné where he finished second, 20 seconds down on Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), the American will have to play second fiddle and support Rigoberto Uran who will be the team's designated leader.

"We have a lot of faith in him [Uran] and believe he can have a good ride. But we are going to have multiple goals going into the Tour," van Garderen said.

"The first one being the stage two team time trial and then Michael Woods is really good at jumping in breakaways and racing really aggressively. I think he showed last year at the Vuelta a España that he can win a big summit finish from the breakaway but also offer really good climbing support for Rigo."

Rigoberto Uran finished second to Chris Froome (Ineos) at the 2017 Tour de France by only 54 seconds, his highest ever placing in the French Grand Tour. The Colombian also finished runner up at the Giro d'Italia for two consecutive years, in 2013 and 2014.

Van Garderen continued: "There will be opportunities for everyone at the Tour with the main goal being placing Rigo as high as we can. The one thing that is always predictable about the Tour is how unpredictable it is, you’ve got to be ready for all scenarios and just adapt. I think we are lucky to have a team as we do and a leader as strong as Rigo."

Currently based at altitude in Andorra, van Garderen will head to Girona in the coming days to link up with his EF Education First team-mates for a team time trial camp, a major early target for the team.

"We definitely have the riders, equipment and the motivation to pull out a good one, which will certainly put us in the hunt and anything can happen on the day," van Garderen said, "so we just have to go with the idea that we have the chance to win and then if we can win then that would start the Tour off on such a positive note and get the ball rolling."

Warren Barguil (Arkéa-Samsic) and Rigoberto Urán (EF Education First) have both been forced to abandon the 2019 Paris-Nice with injuries after crashing on stage two.

The second day of racing was fast and chaotic with crosswinds creating echelons and causing a number of crashes. The stage was eventually won by Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) from a small escape group, with the Dutchman holding on to the overall lead having taken the yellow jersey on stage one.

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Frenchman Barguil crashed early on in the stage after 59km, and was immediately taken to hospital after being attended to by on-race medical staff.

Scans at the Dourdan hospital initially indicated a double fracture in his second cervical vertrebra and he remained in hospital overnight on Monday. On Tuesday however, further scans revealed less severe injuries.

Barguil was transferred to a specialist centre in Paris which showed he had suffered a cervical sprain, requiring 10 days in a neck brace. His team also confirmed he lost consciousness after crashing.

The French team also lost Maxime Bouet to a crash on the stage, with the 32-year-old needing to have an X-ray on a painful knee.

For Urán, who crashed much later with just 40km remaining on the stage, he'll need several weeks recovery having fractured his collarbone and suffered some road rash.

EF Education First said the Colombian will return to his base in Monaco where he'll have surgery to repair the break on Wednesday. He'll then be able to being training on the turbo trainer before resuming outdoor training in a few weeks' time.

That will probably see him miss out on competing in his next scheduled stage race at the Tour of the Basque Country, which begins on April 8.

“I had a tough crash,” Uran said on the crash. “Today, there was a lot of wind. I touched a rider, another rider touched my wheel.

"I feel disappointed, of course. I had good legs. That’s cycling.”

Paris-Nice continues on Tuesday with stage three, a 200km route that should end in a bunch finish.

The Colombian team for the World Championships in Austria has been revealed, and it includes some of the strongest climbers in the peloton.

Movistar’s Nairo Quintana will join Vuelta a España rivals Rigoberto Urán (EF Education First- Drapac) and Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) to tackle the gradients of Innsbruck later this month.

Also riding in the Colombian colours will be Team Sky’s Sergio Luis Henao and cousin Sebastián.

The eight-man squad will do battle on the Austrian slopes against the likes of Simon and Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), who headline the British squad.

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Lopez, Urán and Quintana are currently fighting for position in the top-ten of the Vuelta a España, but will joined forces for the elite men’s road race on September 30.

Big Colombian names missing from the squad are Team Sky’s promising youngster Egan Bernal and Esteban Chaves (Mitchelton-Scott).

Tour of California winner Bernal suffered gruesome facial injuries after a crash in the Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian last month.

Chaves was forced to skip this year’s Vuelta after being diagnosed with Epstein-Barr Virus.

The remaining places on the Colombian squad are taken by Daniel Martinez from EF Education First-Drapac, Movistar’s Winner Anacona and Rodrigo Contreras (EPM).

Quintana may appear the favourite from the Colombian team as the only rider to have won a Grand Tour, but the pure climber has struggled to find previous form this season.

The 28-year-old has struggled to hold the wheel of rivals in Spain and has dropped off the podium.

Lopez is currently the best placed on the Vuelta general classification in fourth, followed by Quintana in sixth and Uran in eighth.

Colombian teams for World Championships 2018

Elite men’s road race

Nairo Quintana (Movistar)

Rigoberto Urán (EF Education First-Drapac)

Miguel Ángel López (Astana)

Sergio Luis Henao (Team Sky)

Daniel Felipe Martínez (EF Education First- Drapac)

Sebastián Henao (Team Sky)

Winner Anacona (Movistar)

Rodrigo Contreras (EPM).

Elite women’s road race

Ana Cristina Sanabria (Swapit Agolico)

Paula Andrea Patiño (UCI World Cycling Centre)

Liliana Moreno (Astana Women’s Team).

Under-23 men’s road race

Iván Ramiro Sosa (Androni Sidermec)

Alejandro Osorio (GW Shimano)

Wilmar Andrés Paredes (Manzana Postobon Team)

Einer Rubio Reyes (Vejus Italia)

Miguel Eduardo Flórez (Willier Selle Italia).

Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First-Drapac) has abandoned the 2018 Tour de France after deciding not to start stage 12 as he continues to suffer from injuries sustained on stage to Roubaix.

The Colombian finished second behind Chris Froome 12 months ago and had enjoyed a good first few days to find himself in sixth position overall heading into the cobbled stage on stage nine.

However Uran crashed on the stage to Roubaix and lost nearly two minutes, injuring his left arm and leg that made him suffer through the first two days in Alps. He was dropped on both of the first two mountain stages, losing six minutes on Tuesday and 26 minutes on Wednesday.

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With the general classification out of sight and his injuries still affecting him, Uran took the decison not to start stage 12, another monstrous mountain stage with three hors-categorie climbs between Bourg-St-Maurice and Alpe d'Huez.

“Today I have to share some bad news,” said Uran. “I didn’t recover after the crash. Yesterday in the first real climb, all day, there was pain in my body.

“It’s difficult for me and also for my team. We prepared for this Tour, all season we were focused on the Tour. Sometimes this happens, and this time, I think it’s the best decision for me to recover and to recover well.”

Team sports director Charly Wegelius said that it had been Uran's decision to withdraw from the race and that it was important for him to recover from his injuries to prepare for later in the season.

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“The most important thing is the rider’s health,” Wegelius said. “Rigo hasn’t recovered from his crash on the cobbled stage, and his position on the bike is compromised and could create further issues down the line.

“We along with Rigo felt it best to pull out of the Tour this morning so he can recover and look toward the remainder of the season.

“Ultimately this decision comes down to the rider. If a rider wants to continue the race, we look to ways to do that safely. If a rider feels it best to pull out, we do not push them to continue.”

Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First), one year after placing second behind Chris Froome, will remain fighting for the Tour de France overall despite injuries that cost him on Tuesday on the first Alpine stage.

Uran lost 2-36 minutes to the favourites group, dropped on the final pass en route to Le Grand Bornard, where the Tour last arrived in 2009.

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"[I won't leave the race], of course not, but we have to look at how we can make the race," Uran said warming down at the bus on a turbo trainer.

"It's obvious that when you have a crash like this you have to reconsider your options."

The Colombian slid on some gravel in the ninth stage on Sunday to Roubaix. He tried to recover on the rest day on Monday, but the speed in the Alps was too much.

"It hurts, yes, my back, my knees, a little bit all over, and during the race, it's not so easy to go at a high rhythm. Today we really noted that. When it was a big group, it cost me a lot to stay there, so I was really feeling it out on the road."

Uran lost 1-28 minutes on Sunday and another 2-36 on Tuesday. With that, he sits 22nd overall at 7-08.

On stage 10, Team Sky's mountain men controlled the pace while a group of escapees maintained their space. Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) won the stage after making a late solo attack.

"I tried to stay in the front group today, but the blow from Sunday was pretty complicated," said Uran, who lost contact on the final Colombière climb.

"Today in the race I was suffering, with some pain in the back. Now we are behind quite a bit and we'll regroup as a team and see what we can do. Tomorrow we will look at how we take on the stage."

At 108.5 kilometres, the stage to La Rosière on Wednesday could potentially explode early and leave little hiding space for Uran and those suffering.

"Tomorrow is harder, shorter and more explosive, so that's why I am out here on the rollers," he said. "We are here until the final. We are not giving up."

Last year's Tour de France runner up Rigoberto Uran recovered from a potential race defining crash with five kilometres to go on stage four, to maintain his strong start in this year's race.

Fernando Gaviria took his second stage of the race, following on from taking the yellow jersey on stage one.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly at the team bus at the finish line, EF Education First-Drapac sports director Charly Wegelius said that there was nothing his riders could do to avoid the late crash.

"Rigo [Uran] fell down, Taylor [Phinney] fell down that I know of, the kid from Lotto-Soudal basically just fell in front of them and they couldn’t do anything. Luckily they thought on their feet and got Rigo going quickly which was good news," Wegelius said.

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The chase back on resembled a mini team time trial following on from the American outfit's impressive result in stage three TTT around Cholet.

Wegelius was pleased to see both Uran and the team reaping the rewards.

"I think its nice for everyone in the organisation to see the results of the work that has been done on the TTT," he said. "If you look at the race compared to the other GC favourites yesterday it was good but we are also aware that it is one step along the way and we’ve ticked a box and had a little high five and moved on."

This Tour de France is the first since a UCI rule change brought about eight man teams instead of the nine man squads in previous years. This was applied based on safety reasons, however Wegelius doesn't believe it has made a huge difference with a number of crashes still taking place over the three mass start stages so far.

"I cant see how that has an impact, if a road is eight metres wide if you remove 20 riders from the last third of the peloton it doesn’t change the dynamics of the race."

Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac) took victory in the 2017 edition of Milano-Torino after attacking late on the final climb of the Superga.

After 180km of racing and a threatening early move by Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors), the race all came down to the final climb, where Uran was constantly towards the front of affairs.

The Colombian was part of a five-rider group which escaped early on the six kilometre ascent, before going solo with three kilometres remaining.

From there he never looked like losing, riding a strong tempo to cross the line with a 10 second margin of victory as Adam Yates (Orica-Scott) led Fabio Aru (Astana) across the line to complete the podium.

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How it happened

An early escape saw four riders get away on the roads out of Milan, as Patrick Lauk (Astana), Simone Andreetta (Bardiani-CSF), Guillaume Bonnafond (Cofidis), and Gregory Rast (Trek-Segafredo) steadily established a lead of more than five minutes.

Their advantage remained steady for much of the first half of the race, only beginning to fall as the peloton upped the pace on the approach to the first of two ascents of the Superga climb on the outskirts of Turin.

By the time the three breakaway climber had reached the base of the Superga with 23km to go, their lead was down to just 25 seconds, after FDJ in particular had worked hard to bring the gap down.

The first move from the peloton came from Dayer Quintana (Movistar), but that was quickly neutralised before Astana, Team Sky, and Movistar moved to the front to set tempo.

However the attacks didn't stop for long as first David Gaudu (FDJ) was able to pull a small group clear, before Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step) counter-attacked to go solo over the top of the climb.

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By the bottom of the descent with 10km remaining, Alaphilippe held a lead of 19 seconds over the Astana-led peloton, but was quickly caught over the next couple of kilometres as the road flattened out.

Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) led on to the final climb of the Superga, but it was FDJ's Rudy Molard who attacked first with five kilometres remaining.

Molard was able to quickly establish a gap, but he was caught by a counter-attack by Fabio Aru (Astana), with Egan Bernal (Androni-Sidermec), Mickael Cherel (Ag2r La Mondiale), David Gaudu (FDJ), and Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac) in his wheel.

However that group didn't stay together along as Cherel launched an acceleration, before being bridged across to by Gaudu and Uran, before the Colombian launched what looked like the decisive attack.

Uran was peerless as he moved away from his rivals, quickly establishing a sizeable lead as Adam Yates (Orica-Scott) chased behind having caught and passed Aru and Gaudu.

Yates was gaining, but not quickly enough, and although he had Uran in his sights, the Cannondale-Drapac was able to enjoy a solo victory.

Result

Milano-Torino 2017 (186km)

1 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac, in 4-24-51

2 Adam Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott, at 10 secs

3 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana, at 20 secs

4 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, at 28 secs

5 David Gaudu (Fra) FDJ, at 31 secs

6 Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky, at 31 secs

7 Daniel Martinez (Col) Wilier Triestina, at 33 secs

8 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ, at 35 secs

9 Pierre Roger Latour (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale, at 43 secs

10 Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo, at 53 secs

Rigoberto Uran will ride for Cannondale-Drapac until at least the end of 2020 after agreeing a new three-year deal with the American team.

Uran, who finished as a surprise runner-up at the recent Tour de France, had been linked with a move away from Cannondale, but has now signed a new contract with the team letting him structure his season around the Tour.

"A three-year contract offers security, and the team is willing to allow me to focus my season on the Tour de France," Uran said. "I was very happy to sign.

"I’ll race many races, and I have many goals,” said Uran. “The biggest, of course, is the Tour de France. I want to win the Tour."

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Cannondale-Drapac team boss Jonathan Vaughters said that the team had no hesitation in signing Uran, having supported him through a difficult start to his time at the team as he was plagued with illness through 2016 and the first part of 2017.

"Cycling is a sport where people have a bad year or two and they get written off quickly," Vaughters said. "Let me qualify that Uran’s ‘bad year’ included a seventh place finish at the Giro d’Italia while racing with bronchitis. We knew what he was capable of.

“His ambition [to win the Tour] is one that we share, and the team is excited to work with him on his biggest goal. Rigo is a great mentor and leader. Good times and bad, he inspires people."

Stage nine was the most dramatic of this year’s Tour de France. The descent off the Mont du Chat ended Richie Porte’s Tour, took down Dan Martin and broke Rigoberto Uran’s rear mech, leaving him with a single 53/11 gear on the run in to the finish.

Uran won the stage in a photo finish with Warren Barguil and, unusually for a GC rider, shared his power data on Training Peaks, which has published an analysis of the data.

Over the five hours plus stage, covering 181km and over 4000m of climbing Uran averaged 35.4kph and 219 watts power output.

The final climb of the Mont du Chat was 8km long at an average 10 per cent. Uran’s average power output was 343w with a heart rate of 173bpm, for an average speed of 16.3kph over the 29.5 minute climb.

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Uran climbed the first 5.4km of the Mont du Chat with the thinning GC group in 19.5 minutes at an average 332w. When Fabio Aru put in an attack in the last 3km, Uran upped his power output to 378w for over eight minutes to keep up, with a peak of 666w. His cadence averaged 81rpm in a 39/30 gear ratio.

On the wet descent where Porte crashed, Uran’s average speed was 59.2kph with a maximum of 84.3kph.

Once on the flat, with his bent rear mech preventing shifting, Uran’s cadence dropped to 70rpm. He still put out 339w for over four minutes. In the last kilometre, he averaged 463w for 35 seconds to take him to the 550m to go mark.

With 440m to the line, Jakob Fuglsang attacked. At this point, Uran’s power peaked at 1189w to follow Fuglsang’s wheel, keeping up 1025w for 210m at 83rpm and 50kph. Over the last 150m to the line, he averaged 816w and 56kph.

With Uran’s 63kg weight, his average power-to-weight ratio was 3.8w/kg, 5.4w/kg on the climb of the Mont du Chat and peaked at over 18w/kg in the finale.

Rigoberto Uran finishing second at the Tour de France may have shocked most of the cycling world - but it actually fell short of what the Colombian had aimed to do.

The Cannondale-Drapac rider has been the surprise of the 2017 Tour, winning stage nine and being within touching distance of the yellow jersey throughout the entirety of the race.

Ahead of the penultimate stage time trial in Marseille he sat 29 seconds off Team Sky's Chris Froome and had an outside chance of bettering the Briton's time and seizing the maillot jaune. Froome, however, posted the quicker time to all but win the Tour by 54 seconds from Uran.

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Uran had been confident of overhauling Froome in the final week, even if his team tempered such expectations. But after the finish in the south of France, Cannondale-Drapac boss Jonathan Vaughters admitted that winning the race had been the ambition all along.

"We would have liked to have won the Tour de France. Nobody else knew it, but we came to the race to win the Tour de France," Vaughters said.

"Rigo believes in himself always. He was more confident than all of us. He was very convinced that he was here to do something special. He pulled off an incredible ride, but Froome was more incredible."

Vaughters spoke outside the Stade Vélodrome, surrounded by his colleagues at Cannondale-Drapac who were hugging one another and giving each other high-fives in congratulations.

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Even if Uran had hoped for the top step, his team were delighted having secured a spot on the podium in Paris.

"I expected a top-five," Vaughters said. "Second is beyond my expectations and I am quite happy.

"You do everything to win the Tour and if you end up second, and you've done everything you can, you have to be happy."

A short 22.5-kilometre time trial in Marseille, with a 1.2-kilometre climb to Notre-Dame de la Garde will decide the Tour de France. Riders and teams have their say on who will win it and the race overall.

Sky's Chris Froome leads the race by 23 seconds over Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) and 29 seconds over Rigoberto Urán (Cannondale-Drapac).

Froome, who has yet to win a stage in the 2017 Tour, could prevail given his capacity recover and repeatedly perform over three weeks, and will surely be looking to take the win on the day to wrap up the overall victory.

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The Brit is certainly the favourite to all but secure his fourth Tour victory in Marseille, but some in the race think Urán could cause an upset.

"I think we could see a surprise with Urán," general manager of Quick-Step Floors, Patrick Lefevere told Cycling Weekly. "He could win the stage win and the Tour.

"It's only a 29-second gap to Froome. Do you remember the Giro d'Italia a couple of years ago? He put everybody back one minute and even more.

"I think he has the legs of [2014] when he finished second in the Giro and took the leader's jersey. If I was Froome I would not sleep very well."

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Away from the GC contenders, time trial specialists like Tony Martin (Katusha-Alpecin), Vasil Kiryienka (Team Sky) or Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo) will be hoping to pick up a prestigious stage win.

"Chris Froome will win," Orica-Scott sports director Matt White said. "He is the freshest out of all the guys. Only two or three could challenge him: Kiryienka, Roglic and Tony Martin.

"As far as the GC goes, we'll see a GC change between Urán and Bardet: I expect Urán to finish second overall and Bardet third. All the other positions between fourth and seventh will stay the same. Yates is a better time trial rider than Meintjes, and he should keep the white jersey."

Simon Yates sits seventh overall at 4-46 behind Froome, one spot ahead of white jersey rival Louis Meintjes (UAE Team Emirates) at 6-52.

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"Roglic will win the time trial and I think Froome will hold his advantage and win the overall," Team Sunweb sports director , Aike Visbeek explained. "But I am not ruling out an upset by Urán."

"It's going to be hard to beat Froomey, I reckon he will win the overall," said Michael Albasini (Orica-Scott). "In the time trial there is Tony Martin as the favourite. I hope for a win by Stefan Küng, a Swiss national mate."

"Froome is the favourite for the overall, he will ride a good time trial as well," Nikias Arndt (Team Sunweb) added. "I really hope that Tony Martin has good legs and can win it, but Froome and Roglic will challenge him. If I had to pick one over the other, it's Roglic."

Out of the time trial specialists, many tipped the Slovenian Primoz Roglic. He won the stage over Col du Galibier on Wednesday and took a Grand Tour time trial victory in Chianti at the 2016 Giro d'Italia.

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"I hope the overall changes in favour for Romain, but we must be realistic and say that Froome is the favourite," said Bardet's Ag2r La Mondiale team-mate, Jan Bakelants.

"I think the time trial will go to Roglic. He has won a lot of time trials this year and he is clearly in good shape based on what he did on the Galibier, that was quite amazing after being in the break all day. There were 25 kilometres slightly downhill with headwinds to the finish line and he kept off the big guns. He's clearly strong and I think he saved his legs the last few days."

Some watch the finish and then, in a hurried rush, run towards the team buses. Others set up camp outside the buses long before a stage finish, waiting patiently for a glimpse, and perhaps a selfie, with their icons.

The eccentric, flag-waving, chanting and colourful Colombian fans at the Tour de France are as much a part of the race’s tradition as the caravane and bunting is.

Each year they come to France to cheer on their heroes from home, and each stage they make an impression.

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For the past few years, in support of three-time podium finisher Nairo Quintana, they have set up a near-permanent camp outside Movistar’s big blue bus, both in the morning before a stage start and in the late afternoon after a stage’s finale.

This year, however, with Quintana fatigued and out of form after the Giro d’Italia, there has been more interest in Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac) who sits in third-place with two stages remaining, 29 seconds behind race leader Chris Froome (Team Sky).

His unexpected place in the podium spots has been greeted with enthusiasm by the Colombian spectators. Julian Ramirez, who has followed the Tour with friends since stage 11, hopes that his success will counter usual assumptions and stereotypes about Colombians.

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“Everybody is really happy because he has shown that Colombia is not only about bad things,” Ramirez told Cycling Weekly. “But that we are also great people, and people that can get through every problem. Rigo is a great, great person and he can come second in this Tour.

“He has been really surprising because in the last few years he has been really average, and not very good. But he has prepared really good for this Tour and has prepared mentally to win it.”

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While many pundits and fans have been shocked by Quintana’s performances, Ramirez says that neither he or his fellow Colombians, back home and in France, feel let down by the rider.

“Not at all,” he said. “He has given us many titles and won many races so we can say nothing about bad about him. Nairo has been a really good cyclist for four or five years. He has ridden good Tours, Giros and Vueltas. He is from our department – Boyacá – so we give him all the support we can.

“Every sportsman, a footballer, a cyclist, a boxer, if they have success in their sport, they are always welcome back as a hero. Nairo is a hero and will always be a hero.”

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Ramirez then tailed off, distracted by the sight of Quintana wheeling towards the Movistar bus. Many fans got a photo with the dimunitive rider. One even got a kiss. Quintana tucked away on the bus, the pilgramage from South America then moved six metres to the right to wait for Uran. Different rider, same reception. “Vamoz, Rigo. Rigo! Rigo!”

“It’s my first time here. It’s a great party," Ramirez said. "It’s wonderful. The caravane, all the people that come to see the cyclists, it’s wonderful. Wonderful.”

The Colombians will keep on supporting their countrymen, no matter who he is.

Rigoberto Uran's manager at Cannondale-Drapac has admitted that he and Romain Bardet require a huge stroke of fortune to overturn Chris Froome's lead in the final three days of the Tour de France.

After the summit finish on the Col d'Izoard on Thursday, neither Uran or Bardet - Froome's closest challengers in the general classification fight - were unable to eat into the Sky man's lead.

Bardet picked up four bonus seconds but finished on the same time as Froome, while Uran lost two seconds following a finishing climb that was devoid of the fireworks that were hoped and anticipated. Bardet is 23 seconds shy of Froome's lead, while Uran is 29 seconds down.

With probably only one stage to make a difference in the overall standings now - Saturday's 22.5km technical time trial around the streets of Marseille - Cannondale-Drapac boss Jonathan Vaughters has admitted that Uran's hope of a shock victory are slim.

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"It would take an enormous turn of chance for it to go another way," he told Cycling Weekly. "We're going to race on Friday, Saturday and right to the line. You never know what will happen, but, listen, we'd have to be phenomenally lucky to turn it around this point, and Bardet too."

Vaughters said that he expected both Uran and Bardet to attack Froome on the slopes of the Alpine pass, but conceded that Sky executed their tactics flawlessly.

He reacted: "We knew there had to be a situation where [Mikel] Landa was in trouble before they would have been able to attack but that never happened. Landa was never in trouble and wasn't even close to being in trouble.

"We knew the difficult part to get to Froome was to get through Landa and, quite frankly, Sky played that really well in that they had Landa attack, as opposed to ride rhythm early on.

"Bardet and Rigo ended up spending their energy getting Landa back before they could even attack Froome. Rigo doesn't have the power to overcome two guys like that, and neither does Bardet. Sky teed it up perfectly well."

Uran is seen as the better time triallist to Bardet so should be looking at securing a second-place finish in Paris. Asked if the Colombian could overturn the 29 second deficit he has to Froome, Vaughters was doubtful, saying that Froome's bike-handing skills are no longer a problem for him.

"Froome has definitely improved his technical skills on the bike," he added. "A few years ago you could say that [Froome would struggle in a technical time trial] but he has made big improvements in his cornering."

Rigoberto Urán's move to take the bonus seconds after a day of following on in the Tour de France's stage 17 to Serre-Chevalier does not sit well with rival Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale).

Cannondale-Drapac's Colombian marked Bardet's attacks and flew down the Col du Galibier with him and race leader Chris Froome (Sky).

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Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo) won the stage in a solo move and Urán shot ahead at the final moment for second place, taking also the six bonus seconds.

He pulls even on time with Bardet, both 27 seconds adrift from Froome, but sits second overall due to fractions of a second in the opening time trial.

"He [Urán] didn't attack much today," Bardet said. "He's happy just to follow and take bonus seconds on the line."

"Urán is an old fox," Ag2r manager Vincent Lavenu said. "He is smart and feels the race well. He knows how not to make too much effort."

"We know Urán, he is not the most offensive rider of the peloton," added the team's sports director, Julien Jurdie. "That's his strategy. And for the moment it works because we are behind him."

Bardet, second overall in 2016 behind Froome, made the most moves of the day. He attacked at least three times on the Tour's highest pass, the Galibier at 2,642 metres.

A group with Froome, Urán, Bardet, Warren Barguil (Sunweb) and later Sky's Mikel Landa raced downhill. In the sprint to the ski resort town, Bardet placed fourth behind Urán and Froome.

"It's true, not a lot of gain [for all his work], I'm a bit disappointed but I did what I could do. It was an incredible attack I said, 'I'll go, I'll go. I'll attack,'" Bardet added.

The race finishes its climbs with a summit finish to the Col d'Izoard on Thursday, the first time the Tour has finished on the iconic climb.

"I'll go again tomorrow. I've done my best to encourage the race and take the yellow jersey, I have no regrets. I remain faithful to my philosophy of trying everything to pursue the overall win," Bardet said.

Staying with the Froome move, Urán and the others rode 31 seconds into Fabio Aru (Astana). Aru sits fourth at 53 seconds overall now.

30-year-old Urán later responded to the press about Bardet's comments, saying he raced the way he did on the Galibier because he doesn't have the team like Sky to support big attacks.

“I don’t want to say anything. Every one has their own manner of racing,” Urán said.

“When you don’t have a team as strong as Sky, with climb so far away and such a long downhill, it doesn’t make much sense to attack. In the end, I worked to take some time on [Fabio] Aru.”

When the journalist pressed Urán, and asked him if he would attack in Thursday’s mountain-top finale, Urán countered: “Why don’t you ask Bardet?”

Talking to Rigoberto Urán it’s hard to imagine that the Colombian is very much involved in the tightest finish in Tour de France history.

The Cannondale-Drapac rider is coolness personified and clearly confident about maintaining his challenge for the yellow jersey through the Alps and into the Marseille time trial on the penultimate day.

Thanks to Urán’s time trial ability, race leader Chris Froome has picked out his former Team Sky teammate as the dark horse for the title, and also one he’ll need to watch closely over two tough days in the Alps.

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“He’s right,” Urán told Cycling Weekly when it was put to him that Froome sees him as a threat.

“That’s because I know Froome well. We spent three years together at Sky, we’re good friends and that’s why he knows that I go well against the clock,” said the 30-year-old Colombian.

He added: “With the form that I have I’ve got now, I have a lot of confidence looking ahead to that time trial and I hope that I can produce a good performance on Saturday.”

Watch: Tour de France 2017 preview - what will happen in week three?

Of course, Urán, like his rivals, needs to negotiate the Serre Chevalier and Izoard stages over the next two days, but affirms he’s got good reason to be confident in the high-mountain terrain as well.

“My level in the mountains has been very similar to that of Froome, Bardet and Aru,” he said. “I’m 29 seconds down and, while there are still some complicated mountain stages ahead of us in the Alps, I’ll be ready. I’m in good form, I’ve been a pro for 11 years, I know all of the riders, I know their ways of riding.”

As for his chances of knocking Froome off his Tour throne, Urán admitted it will be an extremely difficult task, but not an impossible one.

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“In Sky, this Tour has a team that controls the race from start to finish. Its riders are very good, and as a result you always need to wait until they start to tire, which is at the end of stages. You always have to attempt something on the final climb,” he said.

With this in mind, Urán picked out Thursday’s stage to the summit of the Col d’Izoard as the most likely to provide an opportunity to put Froome to the test.

“That’s where things are most likely to happen,” the Colombian said, before highlighting the strength of his own team.

“Up to now they’ve done a good job, and we’ve now got Pierre [Rolland] getting stronger after having some difficult moments. We’ve still got all nine riders, a full team, and we’re all ready to give our best and be ready for anything.”

Team Sky's Chris Froome worries about all his Tour de France rivals heading into the final week, but Colombian Rigoberto Urán (Cannondale-Drapac) is the "dark horse flying under the radar."

Froome walked into the small gravel parking lot outside the Hotel L'Ermitage with views of the Notre Dame of Le Puy-en-Velay, a town know for its rock-perched cathedral and where stage 15 ended on Sunday ahead of Monday's rest day.

"That's exactly it," Froome said when asked about Urán being a danger-man. "Rigoberto Urán flies under the radar a bit because he doesn't have a whole team at the front controlling the race for him, but he's finished second in the Giro d'Italia before, he's certainly capable of backing up three weeks."

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Sky know the 30-year-old Colombian well. The one they joked with, calling him Mick Jagger due to the physical similarities, raced for three years with the British team. After years of trying with Bradley Wiggins, Richie Porte and Mikel Landa, Urán's second place in 2013 remains Sky's best result in the Giro.

"He seems to be in great shape," Froome continued. "From that GC group, he's probably one of the best time trialists. At this point, I think Rigoberto is set to be on the podium and to challenge me for the yellow jersey."

The overall classification is the tightest-packed at this point in the race since 1951. Froome leads with 18 seconds on Fabio Aru (Astana), 23 on Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) and 29 on Urán. Aru looks the strongest, but Bardet has the best team.

Watch: Tour de France 2017 week three preview

"Rigoberto Urán is more of the dark horse that slips under the radar," Froome continued. "He is probably the strongest time trialist of the GC riders, and with Marseille in mind, he's a big threat as well."

Froome went through a mix-zone created for television journalists. Unusually, he did not sit for a long, typically a 40-minute press conference as he and other leaders have done in past Tours.

When the time ended, he left with his seven team-mates to train on the local roads and prepare for the final six stages and challenge ahead.

"No [I'm not surprised the classification is close]. When I got to Düsseldorf for the start of the Tour, I said then that this would be the biggest challenge of my career, the hardest-fought battle of my career so far," Froome said.

>>> Chris Froome: ‘It was panic stations. I had to get back on or it was game over’

"Each rival presents different threats, if you look at Fabio Aru, he won the first mountain-top finish on Planche des belles Filles. He perhaps didn't have a good day a couple of days ago, but he's been strong in the third week before.

"Bardet has always been strong in the last week of a Grand Tour and he also has the team to back him up. As we saw yesterday, he put me under a lot of pressure yesterday.

"I'm certainly not going to give any seconds away for free, but as I had a bad day in the Pyrenees, it could be the case again in the Alps. I'm feeling better and better as the race goes on. I felt pretty good yesterday. Hopefully that's a sign of timing things right coming into the Tour really fresh. I hope that this week I'll be at my best."

Teams and general classification riders will suffer the consequences of underestimating Rigoberto Uran, at this year's Tour de France, according to his Cannondale-Drapac teammate Andrew Talansky.

Uran has the been the surprise of the Tour so far, with him winning stage nine and being just 29 seconds adrift of race leader Chris Froome after stage 14.

Second at the Giro d’Italia in 2013 when riding for Team Sky and second the year after in Omega-Pharma Quick-Step colours, the Colombian’s talent has never been in question, but he has been unable to replicate that form in Grand Tours since.

But Talansky, who finished fifth at the Vuelta a España last year, believes that the 30-year-old can indeed win the yellow jersey.

“It’s great that people are maybe paying more attention to someone like [Romain] Bardet and [Fabio] Aru, but it’s at their cost that they will underestimate Rigo.

“If you look at Rigo’s history, you don’t arrive second at the Giro through breakaways, you arrive there because you are a world class rider and a Grand Tour podium contender.

“Maybe people forgot about him, as they do in this sport because he had a few years when he wasn’t up there, but now he’s back and he’s doing it on the biggest stage.

“If his form is unexpected to somebody, then they haven’t been paying attention to Rigo. “The last time I spent time with Rigo, it was before he was getting ready for the Giro last year and we were on a training camp in Tenerife. Seeing how he was riding then, and the training he was doing, you could see he was capable of riding the way he is doing now.”

There are likely just eight riders remaining who could win in Paris, and Uran is most probably the best time triallist in that select group, aside from Froome.

The consensus is that if any riders wishes to prevent Froome from winning a fourth Tour, they will need an advantage of at least a minute to the Briton going into the 22.5km time trial in Marseille on the penultimate day.

>>> Tour de France 2017: Latest news, reports and race info

Despite Uran’s ability against the clock, though, his teammates say that even he would need to be ahead of Froome in the standings ahead of stage 20.

“Chris is a really good time triallist and I don’t know if he can beat him in the time trial. Rigo can’t take 29 seconds on him in the time trial,” Dylan van Baarle said.

“But it’s a three week race so it’s different. We have seen in the last few days, apart from yesterday, that Chris has showed some weaknesses, so maybe Rigo can drop him on a climb and take extra time on him.

“He is riding on feel, he is looking strong and he is certainly capable of getting a podium. He looks really good and he is really confident.”

“The more time you are able to take before the time trial, the better, because Froome is on a different level to everyone else in a time trial, and especially at the end of a Grand Tour,” Talanksy added.

“The Tour is a tough race, we’re coming into the third week where it’s mind over matter, people tire, people make mistakes, and Rigo is calm, relaxed, so we’ll see what he can do.”

You might think that only having two gears would be a problem if you wanted to win a Tour de France stage, but try telling that to Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac) after his victory in Chambéry.

The Colombian climber suffered a bent derailleur hanger with nine kilometres to go, and with the race at full speed the only option was for the Mavic neutral service mechanic to put Uran in the 11 sprocket.

http://twitter.com/Vaughters/status/884065767544811524

With his front derailleur still functional, Uran had a choice between a 53/11 and a 39/11 for the rest of the race, hardly ideal as you look to win your first Tour de France stage.

Understandably the Cannondale-Drapac rider was a little slow to get up to speed when Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) made an early move for the line with 450m to go.

But this long sprint perhaps helped Uran, as once he got on top of the large gear he was able to reel in Fuglsang and then Warren Barguil (Team Sunweb) eventually winning the stage in a tight photo finish.

Chris Froome (Team Sky) held onto the overall lead of the 2017 Tour de France as Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac) pipped Warren Barguil (Sunweb) to victory on a dramatic ninth stage in the mountains.

>>> Richie Porte out of Tour de France after horrific crash on final descent of stage nine

Barguil thought he had beaten Uran to the line in a reduced sprint among climbers including Froome, Fabio Aru, Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) and Romain Bardet (Ag2r La  Mondiale), but the photo finish showed the Colombian had taken it by a tyre.

It'll come as a bitter blow to Frenchman Barguil, who found himself among the GC contenders having been in the breakaway all day on the 181.5km stage that took in seven categorised climbs.

He had gone solo over the final climb of Mont du Chat before being caught on the flat towards Chambéry by his countryman Bardet, but in the end the final group came together to fight it out for the stage win in the sprint.

Uran had suffered gear problems in the final 20km, but was able to lead the sprint towards the line, with Barguil rushing up to his right hand side.

The Cannondale man was able to hold his speed enough and his bike throw was good enough to pip Barguil to the victory, with Barguil initially thinking he had taken it.

Froome was able to take third in the sprint to grab four bonus seconds on the line and extend his overall lead.

However, thoughts will certainly be with Australian Richie Porte (BMC) after he suffered a horrific crash on the final descent from Mont du Chat and was taken away in an ambulance.

Dan Martin (Quick-Step) lost time after being caught up in the Richie Porte crash, while Nairo Quintana (Movistar) finished with him having been dropped by Froome's accelerations over the top of Mont du Chat, losing 1-15 to the yellow jersey.

Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) lost even more time after cracking on the final climb, and looks to have dropped out of contention for the overall.

How it happened

The day began uphill towards the first of seven categorised climbs and as expected, a breakaway tried to get away as soon as the flag dropped.

Unlike stage eight, which was a huge, drawn out fight for the break to get clear, 40 men were able to free themselves before the summit of the second climb.

Team Sky, once again controlling the peloton for Froome, were happy to let them get a gap, and after much fighting for mountains points, the breakaway was eventually slimmed down to a more manageable group on the first hors categorie climb of the Col de la Biche.

Behind, there was a blow for Team Sky on the descent off of the Col de la Biche as Geraint Thomas was forced to abandon the race after crashing and breaking his collarbone. Thomas, who won the opening time trial of the Tour, was second overall on GC at 12 seconds behind Froome.

By the time the breakaway were on the next HC climb of the Grand Colombier, Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo), Alexis Vuillermoz (Ag2r La Mondiale), Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), Warren Barguil (Sunweb) and Tiesj Benoot (Lotto-Soudal) had gone clear towards the ascent.

With 72km left on the stage, Carlos Betancur (Movistar), Michael Matthews (Sunweb), Jan Bakelants (Ag2r), Daniel Navarro (Cofidis), Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal), Jarlinson Pantano (Trek-Segafredo) were then able to bridge back across to form the break group, getting a maximum gap of almost five minutes on the peloton.

Bakelants and Gallopin went away from the group after Matthews took the intermediate sprint points and hit the final climb of the Mont du Chat with 3-30 in hand on the yellow jersey group.

Gallopin was first to try his luck on his own, but after much toing and froing, it was Barguil that found himself heading to the summit of the HC climb alone with around 30km to go.

Behind, the GC riders began shedding the rest of the peloton and controversy struck with around 33km to the finish.

Froome, appearing to suffer a mechanical, raised him arm to alert the team car that he wanted a bike change. Fabio Aru then tried to attack, quickly distancing Froome but taking Quintana and Porte with him.

As Froome made his bike change, the Aru group then slowed up allowing the race leader to climb back.

With Porte trying his luck further up the climb, it was Froome that split the group with a stinging attack at 26km to go.

Contador and Quintana were the first to drop off, with Dan Martin also in trouble but able to clamber his way back.

Barguil was able to summit the climb with 25 seconds on the Froome group, with the race leader beginning the ascent with Fuglsang, Aru, Porte, Uran and Martin.

It was with 22km to go though that disaster struck for Porte, who appeared to hit the dirt on the left side of the road on the descent before being thrown across to the right and into the stone wall, taking down Martin.

The rest of the contenders were able to safely pass, though Uran damaged his gears trying to avoid the incident.

They successfully negotiated the rest of the descent to the flat roads at the bottom, where they eventually caught Barguil and a late attack from Bardet to set it up for a sprint finish.

The Tour de France heads into a rest day on Monday before resuming with a sprint stage on Tuesday to Bergerac.

Results

Tour de France 2017, stage nine: Nantua to Chambéry (181.5km)

1 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac, in 5-07-22

2 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Sunweb

3 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky

4 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale

5 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team

6 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team, all same time

7 George Bennett (NZl) Team LottoNl-Jumbo, at 1-15

8 Mikel Landa (Spa) Team Sky

9 Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors

10 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team, all same time

General classification after stage nine

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky, in 38-26-28

2 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team, at 18s

3 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale, at 51s

4 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac, at 55s

5 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team, at 1-37

6 Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors, at 1-44

7 Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott, at 2-02

8 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team, at 2-13

9 Mikel Landa (Spa) Team Sky , at 3-06

10 George Bennett (NZl) Team LottoNl-Jumbo, at 3-53

There are some great odds available for the Giro d'Italia if you dig below the surface - do you fancy Caleb Ewan to win stage two?

Rigoburto Uran to finish on the podium - 11/4

Rigoburto Uran is a two-time Giro d'Italia runner-up, so he knows what it's like to compete in this race over the course of the full three weeks.

Last year he suffered a few setbacks in a team that wasn't really designed to help him do well in the general classification, but now he's at Cannondale that could all change.

He will face some major challenges to reach the podium, with an incredibly strong GC competition in store, but should some of his rivals slip up, Uran could capitalise with another podium finish.

He's 11/4 for a podium finish on PaddyPower.

Bob Jungels to win stage one - 13/1

Fabian Cancellara's illness has lengthened his odds to 3/1, with Tom Dumoulin the new favourite for Friday's time trial in Apeldoorn.

But of the longer shots, Bet365 are offering Etixx-Quick Step's time trial specialist Bob Jungels at 13/1, and Jos vam Emden (LottoNL-Jumbo) is at 11/1.

Both could be good shouts, especially with SkyBet offering 1/3 odds on an each way bet for the top two finishers.

Caleb Ewan to win stage two - 8/1

Marcel Kittel (Etixx-Quick Step) will be the man to beat in the first sprint stage on Saturday, but Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEdge) is certainly a threat for this stage.

It's flat and it's not massively technical at the end, so expect it to be a flat-out bun fight between the best leadout trains.

Orica-GreenEdge love to get early stage wins in the Giro - they've done it in each of the last two years - so you can back Ewan at 8/1 on SkyBet to cross the line first.

Marcel Kittel is confident of success at the Giro d'Italia

Ian Boswell to win the young rider classification - 50/1

Davide Formolo (Cannondale) is the strong favourite to win the young rider's classification, but Team Sky's youngster Ian Boswell has some huge odds.

He'll be there primarily to support Mikel Landa to the overall title, but if he can put in some good performances of his own - a la Geraint Thomas at the 2015 Tour de France - there's no reason why he can't finish high in the white jersey competition.

His teammate Sebastian Henao is tipped to do well in this classification, but at just 6/1 he's not so much of a tempting proposition.

Boswell's been out training hard with Chris Froome this spring, so if you think he's picked up a few tips and tricks from the double Tour winner, you can get him at 50/1 at PaddyPower.

Cannondale to win the team classification - 20/1

I promise to stop banging on about Cannondale soon, but I think their Giro squad has the potential to excel and surprise a few people this year.

With the each team's best three riders on the general classification taken into account, Cannondale have a strong chance of winning this prize, so long as Uran manages to keep himself in the GC hunt.

With Uran, Formolo and Joe Dombrowski among a list of young climbing talent, the team in green may well upset the likes of Movistar and Astana for the team title.

Back them at 20/1 at PaddyPower

Anyone but Landa to win the mountains classification - starts at 6/1

Landa is the overwhelming favourite to win the climber's blue jersey at this Giro d'Italia, which means there are some great odds on literally everyone else.

Bearing in mind that Giovanni Visconti won this title last year by just relentlessly getting in breakaways, that could be the case again this time around and I can't see Landa doing that if he's still in contention to win the overall.

Steven Kruijswijk finished third in the mountains race last year by also getting in most of the breakaways and he's available at 8/1 at Ladbrokes.

Visconti is available at 16/1 (Bet365) to repeat his feat, but with Movistar actually taking a leader this year in Alejandro Valverde it'll be unlikely to see him out the front too much in the mountains.

Former Giro winner Ryder Hesjedal has some great odds for this classification too, standing at 25/1 across the board. He may struggle to get into the top five overall this year, so instead could get away in a few breaks in the second and third weeks to hoover up some points.

The danger to this bet is that Landa loses time in the time trial and then goes on the attack for stage wins to get it all back - like he did last year, when he came second in the blue jersey battle.

Cannondale team manager Jonathan Vaughters believes Rigoberto Uran can recapture the form that saw him finish second in consecutive years at the Giro d'Italia, and maybe go one better this year.

The Colombian hasn't managed to hit the heights he achieved in 2013 and 2014 in recent seasons, but will lead Cannondale into the year's first Grand Tour with a strong team around him.

Unlike in recent years with Etixx-Quick Step, Uran will have a team of domestiques dedicated to helping his title shot, with a lot of young climbing talent.

"Rigo is our leader in the Giro because he is a tough rider over three weeks," Vaughters said, quoted on Biciciclismo. "He is a tough, smart rider. Consistency is the key to making a great result, and that's what I see in Rigo at the moment.

"He has finished second twice in the Giro and has two stage wins. He may lack the power of [Vincenzo] Nibali, but he is a very smart rider."

Secrets of the Cannondale toolbox

Vaughters brought in Uran to lead his Giro squad in the offseason following the departure of Ryder Hesjedal to Trek-Segafredo.

Uran will be surrounded by the likes of Davide Formolo - stage winner in the 2015 Giro, Ramunas Navardauskas and Joe Dombrowski over the three weeks in Italy, a team that has the average age of just 26.

"We have made no secret that the Giro is our goal for the season," Vaughters continued. "It's a big goal for us, and the riders have proper preparation.

"This is the Giro, so you're never completely ready, although the team is ready. Rigo is going well and has a very good squad around him. He has a very good chance to win."

Rigoberto Uran (Etixx-QuickStep) netted his first WorldTour victory of the season in the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec in Canada on Friday.

The Colombian chanced a late attack to try his luck - and the crafty move paid off as he hit the line before Australian Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge). Norwegian Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) placed third.

Uran's win was the second for Etixx-QuickStep on Friday after Matteo Trentin won the sixth stage of the Tour of Britain.

The 201.6-kilometre event saw the riders traverse a 12.6km circuit a total of 16 times. Each lap includes four distinct climbs, with a race total of 2967 metres of climbing

The GP Quebec is part of a double-header of WorldTour one-day events in Canada with the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal taking place on Sunday, September 13.

Many riders are using the two North American events to hone their form ahead of the forthcoming 2015 UCI Road World Championships, taking place on the same continent in Richmond, USA.

Result

Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec, 201.6km

1. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Etixx-QuickStep

2. Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge

3. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha

4. Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin

5. Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida

6. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing

7. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing

8. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Soudal

9. Warren Barguil (Fra) Giant-Alpecin

10. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team

Cannondale-Garmin have confirmed the signing of Rigoberto Uran from Etixx - Quick-Step for the 2016 season, with the Colombian climber targeting overall victory at the Giro d'Italia.

Uran has twice finished on the podium at the Giro, second in both 2013, when he rode for Team Sky, and 2014 with the then Omega-Pharma - Quick-Step team.

>>> Etixx-Quick-Step signs Dan Martin on two-year contract

With Ryder Hesjedal leaving for Trek Factory Racing and Daniel Martin moving in the opposite direction as Uran to Etixx, American team Cannondale looked to have a GC hole to fill in their squad and now add the 2012 Olympic silver medalist to their line-up, with Slipstream CEO Jonathan Vaughters having cryptically hinted at the signing of Uran on Sunday via Twitter.

“Rigo is a leader not just for his excellent skills on the road, but for his charisma," Vaughters said on his new signing.

"He brings style and passion to racing and he will be a huge asset to the team. Rigo has one more step to climb in the Giro and I will put my heart into helping make that happen. We are very excited to add him to our 2016 line up.”

You can keep up to date with all the latest ins and outs of the cycling transfer market with our dedicated transfer tracker here.

It seems Etixx-Quick-Step are not sold on Rigoberto Uran as a potential Grand Tour winner, with boss Patrick Lefevere hypothesising the Colombian's second place in the 2014 Giro d'Italia may be his high point.

Uran was sitting pretty in the top-10 overall in the Tour de France, but a poor result on stage 11 saw him lose 10 minutes to race leader Chris Froome over the Tourmalet.

And Lefevere says Uran's days with his team may be numbered, depending on his wage expectations for next year, but he wasn't prepared to say that the Colombian was a bad buy.

"Last year he was second in the Giro and he wore a few days the pink," Lefevere is quoted as saying on Sporza.

"You have to put things into perspective. I know what I paid for him. Alberto Contador and Vincenzo Nibali are earning perhaps as much as three times more, but also fail in this Tour.

"Uran is and remains an outsider. I never expected that he would win the Tour. Maybe that second place in the Giro is the highest [he can go]. I have already said several times that there are only four riders who can win the Tour."

Lefevere says that he's glad to wait until the Tour de France before opening contract negotiations with riders - Zdenek Stybar penned a new deal after his stage six win.

But with the team's only real general classification contender seemingly on his way out, Lefevere has already turned his attentions elsewhere - notably Giant-Alpecin's Warren Barguil.

"The four [best riders] are under contract and unachievable. Then you look at the level just below," Lefevere told Het Laastse Nieuws.

"It's wait and see. The Frenchman Warren Barguil may come, but that is still a little while off. Meanwhile, Uran is perhaps the best I can get."

 Watch highlights from stage 11 of the Tour de France

There was a distinctly Classics feel to the Tour de France this year, and yesterday's stage from Seraing to Cambrai was the main attraction. With the main challenge being the seven sectors of cobbles along the way, it was an afternoon that saw much of the peloton out of their comfort zone as flyweight climbers battled against classics specialists over the rough roads of northern France.

Once the day's racing was over, the peloton took to Twitter to share their experiences and air their views. We've sifted through the noise to bring you the best rider reactions.

Giant-Alpecin's Simon Geschke won the prize for the most straightforward statement of the day.

Geschke's fellow countryman, Bora-Argon 18's Paul Voss, had a humourous take of the stage.

Last year's runner-up Jean-Christophe Péraud posted before and after shots, noting that he was "less fresh at the arrival in Cambrai".

Cobbled specialist Sep Vanmarcke has found himself on the wrong side of Lady Luck this season, and yesterday was no different as the LottoNL-Jumbo man saw his chances fade thanks to two punctures.

Lotto-Soudal's Adam Hansen, riding his twelfth Grand Tour in a row, didn't enjoy his day either.

Over at Cannondale-Garmin, Ryder Hesjedal's frames were gleaming. The rest of him, not so much.

Movistar's Alex Dowsett was in the wars, injuring his elbow in a crash before soldiering on to last on the day.

The GC men didn't have a lot of fun either. Here's Rigoberto Uran showing off a painful reminder of his day in the saddle.

While Sky's Chris Froome looked back and realised how lucky he was to stay upright this time around.

The final word goes to the day's winner, Etixx-QuickStep's Tony Martin, who finally got the yellow jersey after a series of near-misses during the opening stages of the race.

The Giro d'Italia, after several shifts and crashes, heads down the road to Treviso for the start of Saturday's long 59.4-kilometre time trail to Valdobbiadene.

Barring any major problems that could arise overnight from the crashes, the big teams lean towards Alberto Contador taking advantage and new race leader, Fabio Aru, losing time.

It will be the longest time trial at the Giro since 2009, when the race had a 61.7-kilometre stage, and will surely cause more splits between the Giro’s stars. Italian Fabio Aru (Astana) currently sits on top of the classification,

Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) at 19 seconds, Rigoberto Urán (Etixx-Quick Step) at 2-02 minutes and Richie Porte (Sky) at 5-05.

Cycling Weekly asked the teams' top brass what could happen in the stage to Valdobbiandene.

 Steven De Jongh, Tinkoff-Saxo sports director

"Alberto's previewed it twice, he'll do it again in the morning tomorrow. The climbs at the end are not serious ones, you don't have to think about switching to a normal bike.

"It's good for Alberto that this time trial comes after 13 stages because his recovery is always very good. He can't use his position like he used to, but he's confident he should do well. He has to move his arms a little out, but that's the way it is. We're lucky he's still here in the race.*

"If Richie has a good day, he can take some time back, but with a rainy time trial, if things go well, Alberto can control his place. Porte, Urán and Alberto will challenge each other, and Aru will lose time. Seeing Aru the last few days, he has to worry the most."

*Contador had to ice his left calf after a crash in stage 13 today.

>>>  Alberto Contador adjusts position ahead of crucial Giro d’Italia time trial

Giuseppe Martinelli, Astana team manager

"It's Fabio’s longest time trial yet. He did the Saltara time trial in 2013, which went pretty well [lost 2-44 minutes - ed.]. He's previewed it once and worked on his time trialling quite a bit.

"You can lose a lot in the final, more than the flat part leading up. He told me, 'I've known since the start of the Giro that this time trial – with respect to Contador, Urán and Porte – I can lose time.' I think that he will lose less time than what many think.

"Given the bad day to Imola and the sugar bonk yesterday, I still think he's OK and we won't have problems. The time trial tomorrow won't be influenced by those days."

>>> Dr. Hutch’s guide to the Giro d’Italia time trial (video)

Patrick Lefevere, Etixx-Quick-Step general manager

"We hope that Rigoberto can repeat what he did last year in Barolo and win. It's a completely different parcours, though. The final is tough, where the time trial last year was tough from start to finish.

"Rigo had a good Tour de Romandie, but then the last days were rainy and cold, he got a cold. He had bronchitis. He lost time, he crashed in Imola, but you can see that he has good legs now.

"He has to recover time to the guys in front of him and then see where we are afterwards. I think the podium is possible for him in Milan. In his last time trials, he's done well, so he's confident, and he's trained for the distance.

"Is he the best of the four? It's difficult to say, this Giro's been very tough, they stared like fools, riding every day like it was a one-day race. A lot of guys are tired."

David Brailsford, Sky team principal

"Pacing will be key. Some riders will be tempted to go too hard in the flat and if they do that, they will pay the price in the second half.

"It'll be interesting to see who has the physical capability, but who also masters the pacing strategy the best. With all time trials, the real stars are absolutely amazing at pacing, that's the difference.

"A time trial like this calls for experience. Richie has that. He's represented Australia a few times in championships, he's Australian champion... Rigo's upped his time trial, the longer the better for him. Alberto has stacks of experience, he'll know how to do it.

“Can Richie can pull back time? You can't call it, for now he just has to focus on the best he can be."

Porte crashed and hurt his knee in Friday’s crash.

Favourites against the clock this year

Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo)

Feb. 2: Ruta del Sol, stage 1b – 4th – 8.2km at 6s to Javier Moreno

Mar 11: Tirreno-Adriatico prologue – 67th – 5.4km at 19s to Adriano Malori

Mar 17: Tirreno-Adriatico stage 7 – 16th – 10km at 32s to Fabian Cancellara

Fabio Aru (Astana)

Mar 15: Paris-Nice – stage 7 – 38th – 9.6km at 1m 55s to Richie Porte

Rigoberto Urán (Etixx-Quick-Step)

Feb. 7: Colombian championships – 1st – 40.6km in 51m 20s

Mar. 11: Tirreno-Adriatico prologue – 19th – 5.4km at 10s to Adriano Malori

Mar.17: Tirreno-Adriatico stage 7 – 26th – 10km at 38s to Fabian Cancellara

May 3: Tour de Romandie stage 6 – 11th – 17.3km at 32s to Tony Martin

Richie Porte (Team Sky)

Jan 1: Australian championships – 1st – 40.9km in 51m 50s

Feb 2: Volta ao Algarve – 19th – 19km at 1m 03s to Tony Martin

Mar 15: Paris-Nice stage 7 up Col d'Eze – 1st - 9.6km in 20m 23s

 Dr Hutch talks us through the Giro d'Italia time trial

When you're as decorated a cyclist as Tom Boonen you sometimes get the luxury of choosing your destiny in races. As such, Boonen's schedule isn't forcing him to finish the Giro d'Italia, which has still almost two weeks to run.

The Belgian admits that he will be on the last stage to Milan if there's something for him to drive for, such as the final stage win.

If he feels he's not strong enough to win that sprint, he's well aware that he won't be much use for Rigoberto Uran in the mountains and thus sees no point in carrying on.

"My schedule does not depend on what the rest of the team does," Boonen told Sporza. "I will not be much help in the last week. Uran is now in a situation where he can move forward slowly and he doesn't need as many teammates as [Alberto] Contador and [Fabio] Aru.

"It's my plan to go to Milan to drive, but the you should only do the last week of a Grand Tour if there is something attached to it.

"I have finished the Tour twice: once I won the final stage in Paris, one time I took home the green jersey. "

"All the other times I've ridden it there has been nothing to strive for. I prefer to go home with energy to spare. I hear that riders like to say they have finished the Tour. But many of them are worth nothing for the rest of the season."

Belgian team Etixx-QuickStep has announced its roster for the 2015 Giro d'Italia, which starts this Saturday, May 9.

There's no surprise that Rigoberto Uran is announced as the team leader, the Colombian having placed runner-up in the past two editions of the Italian Grand Tour.

Uran is one of the leading contenders heading into the three-week event, particularly since last year's winner Nairo Quintana (Movistar) is absent as he prepares for July's Tour de France.

>>> Team Sky confirms Giro d’Italia line-up

Uran's main rivals for the overall title will be Richie Porte (Sky), Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Fabio Aru (Astana). Uran's sole victory so far this season is his Colombian national time trial title, though fifth in the Tour de Romandie last week shows he is in good shape.

Uran will be backed by eight men in his bid to win the coveted maglia rosa: Tom Boonen (Belgium), Maxime Bouet (France), Pieter Serry (Belgium), Gianni Meersman (Belgium), Fabio Sabatini (Italy), David De La Cruz (Spain), Iljo Keisse (Belgium) and Petr Vakoc (Czech Republic).

As previously announced, this will be Boonen's first ever appearance at the Giro d'Italia. Boonen made his return to racing at last week's Tour of Turkey having been forced to miss the Classics due to a shoulder injury sustained at Paris-Nice. The 34 year old will use his experience to captain the team on the road, and also have a free hand to take stage wins if the opportunity arises, particularly as the team does not field a dedicated sprinter.

British sprinter Mark Cavendish is not riding in the Giro this season as he once again takes part in the Tour of California in America (May 10-17), which runs concurrently with the Giro.

>>> Giro d'Italia 2015: Stage by stage preview

The 2015 Giro d'Italia starts with a team time trial in San Lorenzo al Mare San Remo on Saturday, May 9, and concludes in Milan on Sunday, May 31.

Mark Cavendish will compete at Tirreno-Adriatico this week despite picking up an illness in South Africa, Etixx-Quick-Step have confirmed, and will also be joined by Mark Renshaw, who suffered from the same virus as the British sprinter.

The pair picked up the stomach bug after visiting South Africa last weekend for the Cape Town Cycle Tour, but will line-up at the start of the week-long race in an Etixx team built for taking both stage wins and a shot at the GC.

Sport director Davide Bramati admitted it had been difficult for both Cavendish and Renshaw, but they would assess the situation day-by-day.

"We go into this race with a good team, even if we know we have complications with Mark Cavendish and Mark Renshaw who are still dealing with a stomach virus they both suffered with in South Africa this past weekend," Bramati said in a press statement.

"This virus has weakened them and will affect their performances at least at the beginning of this race. But they will be at the start and we will see day-by-day about their individual situations."

Chris Froome's withdrawal from Tirreno-Adriatico shows 'lack of respect', says organiser

Tirreno-Adriatico organiser RCS Sport is upset after Chris Froome's last-minute withdrawal due to a chest infection

Colombian climber Rigoberto Uran is also confirmed for Tirreno, as he builds form towards another attempt at the Giro d'Italia in May, having finished second last year.

Uran will come up against the likes of Vincenzo Nibali, Alberto Contador and compatriot Nairo Quintana at the race, but will not have to deal with another GC contender in Chris Froome, who dropped out of the race after illness.

With the team time trial on stage one being altered to an individual time trial due to poor weather conditions, the race parcours looks to suit the 28-year-old Uran, who has significantly improved his time trialing over recent years to compliment his climbing ability.

"For the GC, we can count on Rigoberto Uran," said Bramati, "individual time trials are something he loves, even if the distance is not so long.

"It is no secret he is also a good climber. So we will race for him in the overall. He's surrounded by a good team that already showed its potential at the last races. The team is motivated after the victories and are ready to do their part in this race."

Etixx - Quick-Step team for Tirreno-Adriatico 2015:

Gianluca Brambilla

Mark Cavendish

Mark Renshaw

Fabio Sabatini

Zdenek Stybar

Niki Terpstra

Rigoberto Uran Uran

Julien Vermote

Rigoberto Uran hopes to top the Giro d’Italia podium in 2015, after two years of playing the bridesmaid to Vincenzo Nibali and Nairo Quintana.

But standing between the Etixx-Quick-Step rider and the maglia rosa is a daunting 59.2km time trial on stage 14, but the Colombian insists he loves the route.

It is the longest time trial the Giro has held since 2009, when riders had to suffer through 60.6km, and former Team Sky rider Uran says the length makes it hard to predict his rivals’ performances.

“It’s a nice parcours that I really love,” Uran said, who was in northern Italy to recce the route this week. “This time trial comes after two weeks of racing at the Giro. So it can be key, because energy levels of all riders will be at the limit after that amount of racing.

“It could be important for the GC because after about an an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and 20 minutes of time trialing, time differences can be pretty significant.

“How a rider can do in this kind of time trial is difficult to predict, because yes, the first stretch is really flat. But when you enter into the small hills you have to pay attention and really keep the effort even in the final kilometers with the difficult sections.

“It’s a completely different chrono if you compare it with the time trial I won last year. But I am confident.”

The absence of Nibali and Quintana this year will not make Uran’s task any easier, however, with Alberto Contador also targeting the race.

Leopold König and Richie Porte will line up for Team Sky, while the Astana youngster Fabio Aru also among the favourites.

Etixx-Quick-Step has confirmed that Rigoberto Uran will make an attempt at the Giro d'Italia title in 2015, before riding for stage wins at the Tour de France shortly afterwards.

The Colombian finished second in the 2014 edition of the Giro behind compatriot Nairo Quintana, but will come up against the likes of Alberto Contador in 2015 as he challenges for the pink jersey.

Uran held the maglia rosa for five days in this year's race and took a stage win, but will not be looking to challenge for the yellow jersey at the Tour de France almost two months later.

"I plan on racing 'The Double' [Giro and Tour]," said Uran. "I will be racing two big grand tours, which changes my calendar needs a bit. About the Giro, I saw the parcours and I think I can do well. It is suited to my skills.

"In the past two years I was on the overall podium of the Giro, so of course my objective is to be there among the best, even this year."

Having not ridden the Tour for three years, Uran is sure that his differing objectives in both the grand tours will help him to overcome the difficulty of riding both races back-to-back.

"I know it is difficult to do the Giro and the Tour at a high level," he said, "but as you know I like to think about things race-by-race and I am able to focus on two different objectives during my season in this way.

"My approach will be different at the Tour than at the Giro. I will try to go there to do well, but it will be more linked to rediscovering the race and to stage hunt. But of course I'd also like to do well in the last week, and give a hand to the team when necessary."

Uran's team also confirmed the climber would be competing at both the Colombian National Championship Road Race and Time Trial in February, before moving onto the likes of Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour de Romandie as part of his Giro build-up.

Quick-Step are currently at a training camp in Oliva, Spain to prepare for the new season in January.

Race or not? At the top of the Passo dello Stelvio, the Giro d'Italia's highest point, that was the question for some cyclists and team managers.

"Yeah," Fabio Aru said, "I heard about [the neutralisation]." Domenico Pozzovivo added: "I didn't know."

Italian television RAI reported that due to the weather, snow and wet roads, the organiser, RCS would neutralise the descent and use motorbikes to escort the different groups down the pass. Shortly after this was reported, the Giro's Twitter feed read, "Wrong communication: no neutralisation for the descent from the Passo dello Stelvio. Sorry for the wrong information. #Giro"

The communication had also gone out to the teams, although they seemed to have interpreted it very differently. "The communication was that for the top and first three kilometres descent that it was important to go without taking risks," race director, Mauro Vegni said after the 16th stage.

"It was probably interpreted badly, but it was for the riders to take first six or seven switchbacks easy and to avoid danger, but that didn't mean that we were neutralising the race. If they had any questions, they could have ridden up to the race jury car and asked the president."

Somewhere near the top of the 24.8-kilometre descent, where snow fell heavily and the temperature read 0°C, Nairo Quintana (Movistar) attacked. By the base, he was clear of the lead group with two team mates, Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) and Pierre Rolland (Europcar) and held a 1-39-minute lead over race leader Rigoberto Urán (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) and other favourites.

"They said they would signal the dangerous curves," Quintana said after putting on the race leader's pink jersey. "We all knew the curves were going to be dangerous. I took it easy, but I was also going at a good pace and we continued to do so down the descent."

Some team managers disagreed with Quintana and Vegni. Cannondale's Roberto Amadio and Trek's Luca Guercilena both said that they heard that motorbikes would escort the riders down a neutralised descent.

Matt White, Orica-GreenEdge sports director, agreed with what Vegni said.

The miscommunication may not have mattered, however, because Quintana's major gains came up the 22.35-kilometre climb to Val Martello. By the top, at 2059 metres, he gained 4-11 minutes on Urán and took the race lead by 1-41.

"What happened may have penalised Urán," said Amadio, "but I'm not sure if it would've made a difference as Quintana clearly showed he was the strongest rider today.

https://twitter.com/mickrogers/statuses/471344614621052928

https://twitter.com/CadelOfficial/statuses/471336567223889920

Update: Giro directors issue statement

On Tuesday evening, the Giro race directors issued a statement relating to the issue:

"In consideration of audio recordings of instructions relayed to directeurs sportifs during today's stage, the Directors of the Giro d'Italia would like to clarify that Race Radio provided an inaccurate interpretation of the indications stipulated by the Directors.

"As previously stated, the intention was to guarantee rider safety during the first section of the descent (the first 6 hairpins, approximately 1500 m) of the Passo dello Stelvio, where visibility was restricted due to low cloud and fog.

"At no point did Race Radio or the Directors of the Giro make reference to the possible neutralisation of any part of the descent."

Nairo Quintana takes control on stage 16 of Giro d'Italia

Nairo Quintana goes on rampage on mountainous stage 16 to take stage win and the overall race lead from Rigoberto

Rigoberto Urán won the Giro d'Italia's time trial to Barolo and became the first Colombian in race history to wear the leader's pink jersey. He put 1-34 minutes into former race leader Cadel Evans to take head the general classification by 37 seconds.

"This Giro d'Italia means a lot to me and today I was able to go better than I thought to get this pink jersey," Urán said. "I've worked in the wind tunnel and I've worked on my time trial bike to get this result."

The first-place result also marked the 27-year-old's first time trial win. He steadily improved over the years. With Sky, he won the best young rider's jersey of the 2012 Giro. Last year, he placed 12th behind winner Alex Dowsett in the 54.8-kilometre Saltara time trial.

The team Omega Pharma rider pushed Diego Ulissi out of the hot seat to win the 42.2-kiloemetre stage through Piedmont’s win hills. He won by 1-17 minutes over Ulissi. He put 1-34 into Rafal Majka, who sits third overall at 1-52.

Colombian Nairo Quintana lost 2-41. He now sits in sixth at 3-29.

Quintana, not Urán, was seen as the race favourite when the Giro left Belfast a week and a half ago. He placed second overall behind Chris Froome and won the young rider's white jersey at the Tour de France last year.

Including Quintana and Urán, 14 Colombians began this year's Giro. Nine are part of team Colombia, a team sponsored by the private companies and the government but based in Italy. However, none has worn the pink jersey, or maglia rosa, until today.

Traditional cycling-strong countries Italy, Belgium and Spain lead the way in pink jersey counts. Italians pulled on the top 1163 times, Belgians 158 and Spaniards 125.

Urán also positioned himself to become the Giro's first Colombian winner in a week and a half's time, on June 2, in Trieste.

"Am I the favourite? I feel like I'm going well but we still have all the hard stages to come in the mountains," Urán said. "We have a good team, though, and I'm feeling good about this Giro.

“I left Sky and joined Omega Pharma to have my chance to lead a Grand Tour team. I placed second last year. This year, I came here ready to win.”

The Giro hits the high mountains after tomorrow with stage to the Oropa Sanctuary. The 11.8-kilometre climb kicks off the Giro's final mountain phase and run east towards Trieste with stages to Val Martello, Panarotta and Monte Zoncolan.

Rigoberto Uran in Giro d'Italia lead after convincing time trial victory

Spills and thrills animate hilly and wet 12th stage of the 2014 Giro d'Italia that saw Cadel Evans concede the

Rigoberto Uran has become the first Colombian to wear the maglia rosa after winning the stage 12 time trial at the Giro d’Italia today.

Uran tore the pink jersey off the shoulders of Australian Cadel Evans, whom many thought would gain precious time on his general classification rivals, ahead of the high mountain stages, but did not. Evans (BMC) made up time in the final kilometres but more than once overshot corners on the slippery course.

The 27-year-old Uran in his first ever individual time trial victory eclipsed the 41.9km hilly route in 57 minutes and 37 seconds with Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) finishing one minute and 17 seconds adrift in second and Evans one minute and 34 seconds in arrears for third.

Uran transferred from Sky to trade team time trial world champions Omega Pharma-Quick Step at the end of last year and the move has evidently suited him. He’s jumped from second overall to top spot on the overall standings and has a 37 second advantage over Evans and a one minute and 52 second margin to third place Rafal Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo).

Ivan Basso (Cannondale) had a day to forget crashing on the course and undergoing a bike change. Giant-Shimano is yet to issue an update on its Swedish rider Tobias Ludvigsson who crashed over a barrier and landed in a ditch en route.

Results
Giro d'Italia 2014, stage 12: Barbaresco - Barolo 41.9km
1. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 57-34

2. Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida at 1-17

3. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC at 1-34

4. Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo at 1-39

5. Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quick Step at 1-53

6. Wouter Poels (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quick Step at 2-00

7. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Belkin at 2-03

8. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step at 2-07

9. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R at 2-09

10. Patrick Gretsch (Ger) AG2R at 2-12

Overall classification after stage 12
1. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 49-37-35

2. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC at 37 secs

3. Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo at 1-52

4. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R at 2-32

5. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Belkin at 2-50

6. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar 3-29

7. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana at 3-37

8. Wouter Poels (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quick Step at 4-06

9. Steve Morabito (Sui) BMC 4-20

10. Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Trek 4-41

Rigoberto Urán showed he is ready to challenge for the Giro d'Italia this week despite doubts circling his form in the early season. The Colombian, who rode to second last year after first helping Bradley Wiggins, now sits second among the overall favourites.

"It's going well," Urán told Cycling Weekly. "I don't know why people put question marks on me ahead of the Giro d'Italia. They can say what they want because up until now, it's gone well."

Urán had a stomach infection this spring which set him back. In Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour of Catalonia he suffered, but at the Tour of Romandy he bounced back to place fourth in the time trial behind winner Chris Froome.

"Now, it's going very well. I was able to train well even with the setback," Urán said. "I wasn't in form in Tirreno and Catalunya, but that doesn't matter. The Giro d'Italia matters."

Sky signed him to help its Grand Tour team through 2011 to 2013. He supported both Wiggins and Froome, and when given his space, rode for himself. In 2012, he won the young rider's white jersey at the Giro and last year, the mountain stage to Altopiano del Montasio. On the final mountain day to Tre Cime di Lavaredo, he overtook Evans to place second overall.

The Colombian jumped from Sky to Omega Pharma-QuickStep for the 2014 season with the promise of team leadership at Grand Tours.

After yesterday's mountain-top finish in Montecassino, Urán sits third overall. Only Cadel Evans sits higher up by 57 seconds in second place. Michael Matthews leads the race.

Urán crashed with team-mate Pieter Serry and many others at 11.2 kilometres out, but was able to catch the chasing group with Nairo Quintana. Only Evans' group stayed clear.

"What matters in these early stages is that he doesn't lose time. We have two weeks to go, and in the last week, anything can happen," team sports director, Tom Steels said.

"He placed second overall last year, but the goal for him is just to get a top five. That'd be a great job. To win a Grand Tour is the hardest thing to do in cycling."

Urán also aims for a modest goal. He said that anything less than a win, even if he finished second last year, would not be a failure.

"No, no," he explained. "Even the top five would be good. To get on the podium is hard. The Giro's hard."

Joaquim Rodriguez out of Giro d'Italia after stage six crash

Spanish overall hope Joaquim Rodriguez requires hospital treatment after Giro crash

RIGOBERTO URAN
Date of birth: 26/01/1987

From: Urrao, Colombia

Team: Omega Pharma-QuickStep

Previous teams: Team Sky (2013-2011), Caisse d'Epargne (2010-2008), Unibet.com (2007)

Twitter: @UranRigoberto

Rigoberto Uran career profile

While Uran's palmares remains a little thin on the ground in terms of wins, there is no doubting the Colombian's talent. Second at the 2013 Giro d'Italia to an unstoppable Vincenzo Nibali, Uran proved that he could challenge for grand tours no matter the terrain or the climate.

After a few quiet years with the Spanish Caisse d'Epargne team, Uran shot to prominence when he joined Team Sky as one of Bradley Wiggins's key mountain domestiques. However, the two forged different paths as Uran rode for himself, often in Italy, rather than in Sky's Tour de France squad.

Uran will now lead Omega Pharma-QuickStep in grand tours along with sprinter Mark Cavendish.

Rigoberto Uran results

2014

Giro d'Italia: stage 12 (ITT)

2013

Giro d'Italia: Stage 10