'Future Tour de France winner in 10 years': 12-year-old Colombian cyclist keeps up with Tom Dumoulin and Rigo Urán for 15km
The video is a healthy sign of Colombia's future cycling talent
Do you remember the young Scottish boy riding alongside the Tour of Britain last year, keeping the breakaway at distance?
Well, Colombia has also got kids who are able to ride with the professionals, a video posted on the Instagram account of former pro Laurens Ten Dam showing how a local 12-year-old dressed in an unzipped jacket went out for a ride and was able to keep up with a bunch of esteemed pros for "at least 15km".
In the video, the young cyclist can be seen chatting to Jumbo-Visma rider and Tour de France podium finisher Jonas Vingegaard, with 2017 Giro d'Italia winner Tom Dumoulin just in front.
Behind the cyclist is Ten Dam, the now-retired 41-year-old now a major player in the world of gravel racing. Alongside him is Rigoberto Urán of EF Education - Easy Post.
Uran is the rider recording the video, and Ten Dam turns to the screen in disbelief, saying that the young child is "pushing out the watts" as he follows "the number two in the Tour de France, a Giro winner... and this little guy is already following for 15km. So much talent! I've never seen this."
In his Instagram post, Ten Dam added: "I was feeling really good about myself following this group of champions. Then this kid turned up. Being 12 years old he followed our group for at least 15km. Up, down, left, right. He didn’t drop. The amount of cycling talent in Colombia must be insane.
"A future Tour de France winner in 12 years. I think I spotted him today!"
A post shared by Laurens Dam (@laurens_ten_dam)
A photo posted by on
In another video posted to Twitter, the cyclist can be seen at the front of the mini-bunch alongside Urán.
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We still think Xander Graham's ride next to the Tour of Britain breakaway was great, but we tip our proverbial hats to this young Colombian, too.
We would say remember the name, but in the absence of his identity, we'll say: 'remember the footage'.
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A freelance sports journalist and podcaster, you'll mostly find Chris's byline attached to news scoops, profile interviews and long reads across a variety of different publications. He has been writing regularly for Cycling Weekly since 2013. In 2024 he released a seven-part podcast documentary, Ghost in the Machine, about motor doping in cycling.
Previously a ski, hiking and cycling guide in the Canadian Rockies and Spanish Pyrenees, he almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains. He lives in Valencia, Spain.
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