Sergio Higuita, the Colombian who was baptized with a World Tour title and is excited about a grand tour

That Sergio Andrés Higuita has been crowned champion of the Vuelta a Catalunya is pleasant, but not surprising. It's no surprise that the Monster, who arrived at Bora-Hansgrohe to be one of his ranks this season, won his first World Tour title. He has been dedicating himself to it all his short life and, although last year he may not have the performance expected in today's EF Education EasyPost, it doesn't mean that he lacked the skills to hit a big hit, the first, in the cycling elite.

This is a blow because he managed to beat the current Olympic road cycling champion, Richard Carapaz, and on the penultimate day he dared to elope disrespecting the presence of perhaps the best Colombian cyclist of this century, Nairo Quintana, with two titles in three of the great laps. The way he danced on the pedals, as the competitor of Cómbita did years ago or recently Egan Bernal, excites the country. With 24 years of age, small body and 1.63 tall, this beetle will be one of the Colombian cards in the Vuelta a España, where it will lead the German squad — if it doesn't end up going to the Giro d'Italia, due to the highly mountainous route, where it usually dazzles.

Like other references in Colombian cycling, he began to crank since childhood, his first competition was when he was 5 years old, a classic organized by the newspaper El Mundo which he attended with his father. He did so after a teacher from the San Judas Tadeo school, where he attended elementary school, invited him and the rest of his students. He started cycling mountaineering, but then opted for the route.

What came next was the best: still in 2019 he won a stage in the Vuelta a España, from which Rigoberto Urán retired after a fall, and in 2020 he was crowned national road champion, as well as winner of Tour Colombia; in addition, he was third in Paris-Nice.

In 2021, the Antioquian compared to Julian Alaphilipp and for his profile as a classicomaniac — although the Frenchman has a top 5 in the Tour de France, showing that he can play a big one — he didn't look good. His best positions were the 10th in the Giro de Lombardy and the 25th in the gala round, where he helped Rigoberto Urán, who lost the top 2 on the penultimate mountain day.

And this year he has three triumphs that give us big thinking with the Monster: he won a stage of the Vuelta al Algarve, once again won the national road championship and, on March 27, he celebrated his first World Tour title at the Vuelta Catalunya. The best thing is that he is demonstrating explosiveness, the speed tip on short but steep climbs, which sometimes cost other coffee growers.

“I'm a versatile runner. Today, the men who fight for the classics, among others, are Pogacar and Roglic, who also win the big rounds. It's time to go strong on all terrains: mountain, sprint, time trial... today it's like that”, replied the Monster when asked if he considered himself a classicomaniac. The best thing is that his answer suggests that he is preparing for something else: a three-week race.

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