Colombia met its new champion of the Vuelta de la Juventud! The cyclist Juan Felipe Rodríguez of Team Sistecrédito regained the title of the Under-23 competition for Cundinamarca, which last won it with the zipaquireño Jesús David Peña in 2021.
This traditional cycling event, which celebrated its 58th edition, continues to be one of the main platforms of projection for under-23 cyclists in the country. For Rodríguez, 21 years old, this title marks the beginning of a new stage in his professional career.
The native of Tenjo, Cundinamarca, grew up in the village of Chitasuga, which is two kilometers from the town center of the municipality. He was always very sporty since he was a child, first he started playing soccer and basketball at Gimnasio Entremontes School.
After graduating from high school, he studied cooking at the Sena, another of his passions along with cycling, but he chose the sport of cranks. He took his first steps in the Instituto de Deportes de Tenjo under the guidance of Professor Javier Bernal.
Rodriguez began his career as an under-23 cyclist with the support of Alexander Soler, former president of the Cundinamarca Cycling League and his coach. His first team was the Alcaldía de la Vega in 2022 with which he competed in the National Road Championship and the Vuelta a Colombia, which he could not finish.
The following year, with the continental team Pío Rico-Alcaldía La Vega he had his first competitions abroad in Argentina, where he was fourth in the youth classification of the Tour of Catamarca, and as well as top 10 Vuelta a Potosí and in the Vuelta a Cochabamba, besides getting his first international title in Brazil where he won the GP Internacional de Ciclismo de Santa Catarina.
In 2024, he again competed in several races of the national calendar such as the Clasica de Rionegro, the Vuelta al Tolima, the Vuelta a Colombia, the Clasica de Girardot and the Clasico RCN, where he finished 17th overall and as the second best young rider.
What did Alexander Soler say about his pupil Juan Felipe Rodríguez?
“I met him in a call I made several years ago. A friend, the husband of Sonia Gonzalez, who at the time was the mayoress of Tenjo, recommended me two boys from Tenjo, and there appeared Juan Felipe, who showed some qualities, but he was a junior rider, then I recommended him to Fabio Chingaté in Canapro to take him to the Vuelta del Porvenir and then he returned to continue training with us for his first year as U-23.
When I was in the Clasico RCN last year I recommended him a lot and Sistecrédito was interested in him. I could not offer him a salary, so this opportunity was the best. Then, Don Gabriel Jaime Velez contacted him and fortunately everyone knows the story.
Source: Revista Mundo Ciclístico