Santiago Botero had hoped to ride the Tour de France this year, but after being named in the Fuentes affair and fired by Team Phonak, he was unable to find a new European team, even though the Columbian cycling federation cleared him of all charges. So he stayed home in South America and this past weekend won his homeland Tour of Colombia.
"It was the one crown missing from my resume and the focus of my training all year," the 34 year-old told AP. He rides for the local UNE-Orbitel team.
Botero dominated the race, winning three stages and wearing the leader's jersey for all but three of the race's 15 stages. He won the closing time trial through downtown by Bogota by 1'31", and took the overall win by 4'45".
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