The Marcelino Oliver Foundation in the Women's Tour of Colombia

On September 28th, the 6th Edition of the Women's Tour of Colombia kicked off in the city of Villavicencio, where we had the pleasure of being represented by the Soltec Team IMR.

Hand in hand with (Soltec-Team IMR), the Fundación Marcelino Oliver and GSPORT were present in this competition. A women's road cycling race lasting 6 days, which was part of the 2021 UCI Women's Calendar in the 2.2 category. Out of the 170 athletes who participated, a total of 72 riders completed the race. They covered a total distance of 524.20 km spread over different stages.

As notable results, Natalia Franco (Soltec-Team IMR) showed strong performance in the tour. She achieved an 8th place in the first stage (85.30 km) from Villavicencio to Puerto López (Alto de Menegua), a manageable stage with a final climb of 0.8 km and 5.3% gradient. Despite an unfortunate fall in the last 100 meters of the finish line of the second stage of this Women's Tour of Colombia, she regained prominence in the fourth stage (117.1 km) with a 6th place finish. She maintained this position in the last stages of the Women's Tour of Colombia.

This 2021 edition was supported by a huge number of fans who filled the streets of Colombia to cheer on their riders. Finally, the podium was completed by Venezuelan cyclist Lilibeth del Carmen Chacón García from the Merquimia-Proyecta Team, Chilean Aranza Villalón from the Avinal-Sistecredito-GW team, and Ecuadorian Miryam Núñez from the Liro Sport-El Faro team.

Here are some of the statements that Natalia Franco, a rider in the Women's Tour of Colombia for the (Soltec-Team IMR) team, shared on the 'Femenino Singular' podcast on Radio MARCA in support of Colombian women's cycling:

“Colombian women are also talented cyclists on the world stage, but we need more opportunities to prove it.”

To achieve this, it's common for Colombian cyclists to go to international destinations, as Natalia Franco did when she moved to the United States.

“I was offered a scholarship to study in Colorado and at the same time train in cycling.”

The Colombian studied sports psychology and currently balances her professional activities with her training to prepare for the cycling events in which she competes.

"We have to seize the opportunities we have to make ourselves known and prove that women can also race hard, that we can also represent a brand and generate revenue for those brands."

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