Carlos Jaramillo is the national coach for Colombian in the golden era for the South American team. Last year, Colombia won the Tour de l’Avenir with Miguel Angel Lopez and yesterday another talent, Fernando Gaviria, created a surprise by beating Mark Cavendish in the first stage of the Tour de San Luis.

Jaramillo praised the qualities of his protégé who is only 20 years old. “He is an excellent rider and it an honour for us and for him to beat Cavendish, a rider with much experience and as strong team. Fernando is on the right track, has much experience and a great track record even though he is young. I think he will be a giant in the cycling world and has demonstrated that with this win.

“In the Tour de l'Avenir, he fought for the green jersey. This is great for the Colombian cycling and especially for him. He is on a good way, hopefully it stays that way.”

The race could not have started better for Colombia and Gaviria but it was certainly no fluke. “Since Ramiro Valencia (the president of the Colombian Federation) told me he had an invitation, I spoke with Fernando and told him he had many opportunities to prepare for this important event:  the Pan-American Games (silver in the individual time trial and gold in the omnium) and the World Cup in London (gold in the omnium).”

Weimar Roldan, Juan Arango, Luis Felipe Laverde, Rodrigo Contreras and Germán Chávez are the other riders in the national team in San LuisJaramillo. "We have very good riders," said Jaramillo satisfied after Gaviria’s win.