ARNAVAL, COLOMBIA

Any doubt about the extent of Colombia’s 21st century cycling renaissance can be erased by a quick perusal of its riders’ achievements in 2016. To list just a few highlights: wins in the Vuelta a España, Giro di Lombardia, Volta a Catalunya, Tour de Romandie, Tour de Suisse, Tour de San Luis, Milano-Torino, the Route du Sud and the Giro dell’Emilia; a day in the leader’s jersey and second place overall at the Giro d’Italia; stage wins at all three major tours; a world Omnium championship; 59 UCI wins courtesy of 30 different riders… Or, to summarise, a combined haul that only Spain could rival in terms of prestige.

A similar annus mirabilis may be a lot to ask, and yet the architects of last year’s miracles are setting their sights even higher in 2017. Having won the Vuelta last autumn, Nairo Quintana is aiming to become the first winner of the Giro-Tour double since Marco Pantani in 1998. Esteban Chaves, the 2016 Giro runner-up, will debut at the Tour and hope to show why some at home rate him even more of a natural talent than Quintana. Based on recent evidence, these won’t be the only Colombians to light up the Tour, either, even if not everything works out on the road. In recent years, the best and most boisterous fans at the roadside of major tours have been those sporting the yellow, blue and red colours of the country frequently named in studies and surveys as not only South America’s but the world’s “happiest nation”.