Santiago Buitrago didn't think he'd even make it to the finish of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but ended up on the podium - the first Colombian ever to do so - having taken another step up in his young career.
Remco Evenepoel and Tom Pidcock are already well-established stars of pro cycling but Buitrago showed he can have a place at the top of the sport by making it a clean sweep of 23-year-olds on the podium - the most youthful at Liège since 1983.
Buitrago turned professional with Bahrain Victorious in 2020 and began his breakthrough last year, with stage wins at the Saudi Tour, Vuelta a Burgos and, most importantly, the Giro d'Italia.
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He has kicked on this season with overall podiums at Saudi Tour and Ruta del Sol, then placing 8th at the Tour of the Alps before making the journey to Liège.
"I'm very happy with this podium, in my first Monument," Buitrago said.
"At the start I didn't know how I'd feel, coming from the Tour of the Alps. It was a very strange race but to end up third is very big for me."
Buitrago didn't know how he'd feel at the start but even as the race went on he didn't have any idea of what would happen.
"Half-way through the race I wasn't feeling good. I told the team that I didn't think I'd finish," he revealed.
"In the end I stepped on it a bit and the legs responded."
Buitrago's initial plan was to give what he had for Mikel Landa, who was leading the team after his runner-up finish in La Flèche Wallonne. However, the Spaniard fell away early, leaving Buitrago with more responsibility to chase a result for his team as the key climbs racked up.
He slotted into the chase group after Evenepoel's assault on La Redoute and then repeatedly looked to get away from that group, succeeding on the Côte de Roche-aux-Faucons, where he jumped into a move with Ben Healy. The pair were soon joined by Pidcock and rode to the finish together, where Buitrago looked to surprise with a long-range sprint, making a strong bid for second place but ultimately watching Pidcock come around in the final metres.
"Maybe I opened the sprint too early," Buitrago said. "I knew Pidcock was faster than me, but I wanted to try. With 300 metres to go, the effort was endless, especially after a tough race and the week at the Tour of the Alps. This is my first podium in a Monument. I’m surprised to take it, and I’m super happy."
Buitrago was the first Colombian to make it to the podium of Liège, and only the fourth to finish on a Monument podium, after Esteban Chaves, Egan Bernal, and Rigoberto Urán, who all finished in the top three at Il Lombardia.
Colombian cycling has had a rough few months, with Nairo Quintana still without a team after his tramadol positives and Miguel Angel López stuck on the Continental circuit after his alleged links to a doctor under investigation for doping.
Urán is nearing the end of his career, Chaves has had his own struggles in the past few years, and Bernal is still on his way back from his life-threatening injuries of last year, but Buitrago showed the future is still bright for Colombia.
His next race comes at the Giro d'Italia, and he will be carrying fine form into the second Grand Tour of his career.
"I've been preparing well for it, and this gives me a lot of motivation for what's coming up," Buitrago said after Liège.
