Carlos Betancur
Carlos Alberto Betancur Gómez (born 13 October 1989) is a Colombian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Colombia Tierra de Atletas–GW Bicicletas.
 Betancur at the 2011 Giro d'Italia | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Carlos Alberto Betancur Gómez | |||||||||||||
| Nickname | La Ronca, Bananito | |||||||||||||
| Born | 13 October 1989 Ciudad Bolívar, Colombia | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in) | |||||||||||||
| Weight | 60 kg (132 lb) | |||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||
| Current team | Colombia Tierra de Atletas–GW Bicicletas | |||||||||||||
| Discipline | Road | |||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | |||||||||||||
| Rider type | Climber | |||||||||||||
| Professional teams | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Acqua & Sapone | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Ag2r–La Mondiale[1] | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2020 | Movistar Team[2] | |||||||||||||
| 2021– | Colombia Tierra de Atletas–GW Bicicletas | |||||||||||||
| Major wins | ||||||||||||||
Grand Tours
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Medal record
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Career
In 2010 he won the Girobio stage race; the amateur version of the Giro d'Italia; and in 2011 he won his first professional race at the Giro dell'Emilia.
Betancur had been scheduled to join the Liquigas–Cannondale team in 2012,[3] but remained with Acqua & Sapone.[4] Betancur left Acqua & Sapone at the end of the 2012 season, and joined Ag2r–La Mondiale on a two-year contract from the 2013 season onwards.[1]
Ag2r–La Mondiale (2013–15)
He started his 2013 season with a seventh-place finish at the Tour of the Basque Country, including a second place on stage 3.[5] He went on to light up the Ardennes Classics, coming 3rd at La Flèche Wallonne after an early attack with just over 500 metres (1,600 feet) to go[6] and scoring a 4th place in Liège–Bastogne–Liège, where it was his attack which created the final select group of six who contested the finish.[7]
After a 12th-place finish at the Tour de Romandie, Betancur went in to the Giro d'Italia as an outsider for a top 10 GC position. Initially things went poorly, as he lost time on the descent of stage 3 and on the long time trial of stage 8, by the end of which he was down in 28th position, 6:08 down on the leader and eventual winner Nibali.[8] However, following second places on stages 9,[9] 10,[10] and 15,[11] and some brilliant performances in the other mountain stages, he worked himself up to 7th place and just two seconds off the white jersey for the best young rider (which he had actually gained on stage 15, but lost in the stage 18 time trial) by the penultimate stage. On the final mountain stage, although he punctured at the bottom of the final climb, he managed to catch up and overtake most of his GC rivals, finishing 4th on the day. He ended the Giro as best young rider and 5th in the general Classification.[12]
In December 2013, Betancur confirmed he would be focusing on the Tour de France for 2014. However, he failed to fly from his training base in Colombia to France on 3 June, blaming a viral infection, and changed his target to the Vuelta a España.[13]
In August 2015 AG2R La Mondiale announced that they had come to an agreement with Betancur to release him from his contract with the team, which was due to run until the end of 2016.[14]
Movistar Team (2016–20)
In October 2015, the Movistar Team announced that they had agreed an initial two-year deal with Betancur from 2016.[15] Betancur won his first race for the team – the first stage of the 2016 Vuelta a Castilla y León – ending a 760-day wait for a victory. The last race he had won was the 2014 Paris–Nice.[16]
In June 2017, he was named in the startlist for the 2017 Tour de France.[17]
Colombia Tierra de Atletas–GW Bicicletas
For the 2021 season, Betancur joined the Colombia Tierra de Atletas–GW Bicicletas team.[18]
Major results
- 2009
- 1st
Overall Vuelta a Colombia Sub-23
- 1st Stage 4
- 2nd
Road race, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships - 2010
- 1st
Overall Girobio
- 1st Stages 4 & 5
- 1st Stage 1 (TTT) Vuelta a Colombia
- 2011
- 1st Giro dell'Emilia
- 5th Gran Premio Industria e Commercio Artigianato Carnaghese
- 9th Giro di Lombardia
- 2012
- 1st Trofeo Melinda
- 1st Stage 5 Tour of Belgium
- 1st
Mountains classification Circuit de Lorraine - 2nd Giro di Toscana
- 4th Overall Giro del Trentino
- 1st
Young rider classification
- 1st
- 4th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
- 5th Milano–Torino
- 5th Gran Piemonte
- 7th Circuito de Getxo
- 8th Overall Monviso-Venezia — Il Padania
- 1st Young rider classification
- 1st Stage 5
- 1st
- 8th Trofeo Matteotti
- 9th GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
- 2013
- 3rd La Flèche Wallonne
- 4th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
- 5th Overall Giro d'Italia
- 7th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
- 2014
- 1st Overall Paris–Nice
- 1st Young rider classification
- 1st Stages 5 & 6
- 1st
- 1st Overall Tour du Haut Var
- 1st
Points classification - 1st Stage 1
- 1st
- 2016
- 1st Stage 2 Vuelta a Asturias
- 9th Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León
- 1st Stage 1
- 2018
- 4th Klasika Primavera
- 5th GP Miguel Induráin
- 2019
- 1st Klasika Primavera
- 8th Overall Tour de Suisse
General classification results timeline
| Grand Tour general classification results | ||||||||||
| Grand Tour | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giro d'Italia |
58 | — | 5 | — | 20 | DNF | — | 15 | — | — |
| Tour de France |
— | — | — | — | — | — | 18 | — | — | — |
 Vuelta a España |
— | — | 126 | 158 | — | — | DNF | — | — | — |
| Major stage race general classification results | ||||||||||
| Race | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
| Paris–Nice |
— | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
 Tirreno–Adriatico |
— | 44 | — | — | 116 | — | — | — | — | — |
 Volta a Catalunya |
— | — | 46 | DNS | DNF | — | — | — | — | NH |
| Tour of the Basque Country |
— | — | 7 | DNF | 98 | — | — | 27 | DNF | |
| Tour de Romandie |
— | — | 13 | — | DNF | — | 43 | DNF | 11 | |
 Critérium du Dauphiné |
Has not contested during his career | |||||||||
| Tour de Suisse |
— | — | — | — | — | — | 17 | — | 8 | NH |
References
- "Appollonio and Betancur sign for Ag2R-La Mondiale". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- "Movistar Team launches 2019 season with highest hopes". Telefónica. Telefónica, S.A. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
- "Liquigas-Cannondale Confirms Betancur For 2012 Roster". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2011-11-23.
- "Garzelli considers retirement after Giro d'Italia exclusion". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 10 January 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
Garzelli revealed that he had planned to retire after racing one last Giro d'Italia, and had hoped to win a 10th stage or another green mountains classification jersey, and that he was prepared to give his best for his final race. He had hoped to pass his knowledge onto his young teammate Carlos Betancur.
- "Henao narrowly edges out Betancur for Vuelta al Pais Vasco stage win". Velonation.com. 2013-04-03. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
- Cycling. "La Flèche Wallonne 2013: Daniel Moreno triumphs on Mur de Huy while Marianne Vos wins women's edition". Telegraph. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
- Alasdair Fotheringham (2013-04-21). "Dan Martin Takes Breakthrough Classics Win In Liege-Bastogne-Liege". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
- ProCyclingStats. "Giro d´Italia 2013 Time Trial: Gabicce Mare " Saltara". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
- "Maxim Belkov takes solo win in Giro d'Italia stage nine | Latest News". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
- "Rigoberto Uran wins Giro stage 10 as Wiggins and Hesjedal lose time | Latest News". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
- "Giovanni Visconti wins Giro d'Italia's Col du Galibier stage | Latest News". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
- Stephen Farrand (2013-05-25). "Betancur Takes Back The White Jersey At The Giro D'Italia". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
- Stephen Farrand (2014-06-12). "Report: Betancur to miss the Tour de France due to virus". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2014-07-26.
- "Ag2r-La Mondiale and Carlos Betancur part ways". cyclingnews.com. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- "Betancur signs two-year deal with Movistar". cyclingnews.com. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- "Carlos Betancur vuelve a sonreir" [Carlos Betancur smiles again]. Vanguardia.com (in Spanish). 15 April 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
- "2017: 104th Tour de France: Start List". Pro Cycling Stats. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- Videla, Franco Xavier (16 December 2020). "Carlos Betancur correrá en el Colombia Tierra de Atletas" [Carlos Betancur will race at Colombia Tierra de Atletas]. CiclismoInternacional.com (in Spanish). Ciclismo Internacional. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
