If one knows Fernando Gaviria's background, it is clearly no surprise that the Colombian has been the big revelation of the Tour de San Luis. Hernando Gaviria and José María del Carmen Rendón were both cyclists and their children have followed that tradition. His older sister Juliana, was just five when she saw a neighbor riding a bike and followed him to his house just to see it. Today she is one of the best Colombian riders and has already been at the Olympics (London 2012), competing on the track. And she is married to Fabian Puerta who has won gold and bronze in the World Cup.
His father tells Prensa Grandes Eventos Deportivos de San Luis that Fernando was only three years old when he took off the training wheels and managed to ride his bike withour crashing. Today, at 20 years of age, he has beaten Mark Cavendish twice in a row and caught the eyes of the cycling world. Gaviria has shown a determination that has impressed a lot of observers. As a child, he told his father. “Pá, I want to win the Tour de France," recalls José Hernando.
After his win in stage 3, his cell phone kept ringing and he constantly received messages. "Yes, it's busy, it seems that everyone wants to congratulate me, but I am calm," said the Colombian. "I have always been in love with the bike. Today it is my job but it is still my passion. Cycling is my life. I train for six hours and then I go out for an ice cream with my friends," he says with a mix of professionalism and innocence.
With the ease that characterizes him, Gaviria explains that this is only his second career path after a bright and early career on the track where he was junior world champion in 2012 and he recently won the omnium at the Track World Cup in Londo "But I prefer the road," said Gaviria who spent all of December preparing for this race. "I'm in the best shape of life," he says and thus explains why he has been able to beat Cavendish and Sacha Modolo. Those results have caught the attention of five WorldTour teams. "I'll take my time to define what I will," he says.
Gaviria’s admits that some may have though that his first win was just a case of luck. "Because I maybe passed unnoticed and was out of the spotlight. But in the third stage, they were aware of me. Luckily my team did a great job to position me in the end and I could finish it off to reward my teammates,” he says. He makes it clear that he prefers uphill sprints. "The harder the better," he says. And when you ask how far you can get, he explains "that because of my age, I know my limits. I am still learning. Yes, I know I have to improve details like positioning in the bunch and hydrating. I want to be the best I can and I want to win. Above all, win!”
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