Carlos Betancur

Not to be confused with Carlos Betancourt (disambiguation).

Carlos Alberto Betancur Gómez (born 13 October 1989) is a Colombian road racing cyclist, who most recently rode for Colombian amateur team Colombia Tierra de Atletas–GW Bicicletas.^[3]

Carlos Betancur

Betancur at the 2011 Giro d'Italia
Personal information
Full name	Carlos Alberto Betancur Gómez
Nickname	La Ronca, Bananito
Born	(1989-10-13) 13 October 1989 (age 35) Ciudad Bolívar, Colombia
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 5+1⁄2 in)
Weight	60 kg (132 lb)
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Climber
Amateur team
2021	Colombia Tierra de Atletas–GW Bicicletas
Professional teams
2011–2012	Acqua & Sapone
2013–2015	Ag2r–La Mondiale[1]
2016–2020	Movistar Team[2]
Major wins
Grand Tours Giro d'Italia Young rider classification (2013) Stage races Paris–Nice (2014) Single-day races and Classics Giro dell'Emilia (2011)
Medal record Representing  Colombia Men's road bicycle racing World Championships 2009 Mendrisio Under-23 road rade

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Betancur and the second or maternal family name is Gómez.

Career

In 2010 he won the Girobio stage race; the amateur version of the Giro d'Italia; and in 2011 he won his first professional race at the Giro dell'Emilia.

Betancur had been scheduled to join the Liquigas–Cannondale team in 2012,^[4] but remained with Acqua & Sapone.^[5] Betancur left Acqua & Sapone at the end of the 2012 season, and joined Ag2r–La Mondiale on a two-year contract from the 2013 season onwards.^[1]

Ag2r–La Mondiale (2013–15)

He started his 2013 season with a seventh-place finish at the Tour of the Basque Country, including a second place on stage 3.^[6] He went on to light up the Ardennes Classics, coming 3rd at La Flèche Wallonne after an early attack with just over 500 metres (1,600 feet) to go^[7] and scoring a 4th place in Liège–Bastogne–Liège, where it was his attack which created the final select group of six who contested the finish.^[8]

After a 12th-place finish at the Tour de Romandie, Betancur went in to the Giro d'Italia as an outsider for a top 10 GC position. Initially things went poorly, as he lost time on the descent of stage 3 and on the long time trial of stage 8, by the end of which he was down in 28th position, 6:08 down on the leader and eventual winner Nibali.^[9] However, following second places on stages 9,^[10] 10,^[11] and 15,^[12] and some brilliant performances in the other mountain stages, he worked himself up to 7th place and just two seconds off the white jersey for the best young rider (which he had actually gained on stage 15, but lost in the stage 18 time trial) by the penultimate stage. On the final mountain stage, although he punctured at the bottom of the final climb, he managed to catch up and overtake most of his GC rivals, finishing 4th on the day. He ended the Giro as best young rider and 5th in the general Classification.^[13]

In December 2013, Betancur confirmed he would be focusing on the Tour de France for 2014. However, he failed to fly from his training base in Colombia to France on 3 June, blaming a viral infection, and changed his target to the Vuelta a España.^[14]

In August 2015 AG2R La Mondiale announced that they had come to an agreement with Betancur to release him from his contract with the team, which was due to run until the end of 2016.^[15]

Movistar Team (2016–20)

In October 2015, the Movistar Team announced that they had agreed an initial two-year deal with Betancur from 2016.^[16] Betancur won his first race for the team – the first stage of the 2016 Vuelta a Castilla y León – ending a 760-day wait for a victory. The last race he had won was the 2014 Paris–Nice.^[17]

In June 2017, he was named in the startlist for the 2017 Tour de France.^[18]

Colombia Tierra de Atletas–GW Bicicletas

For the 2021 season, Betancur joined the Colombia Tierra de Atletas–GW Bicicletas team.^[19] In April, he announced that he was taking a break from cycling.^[3]

Major results

2009

1st Overall Vuelta de la Juventud de Colombia

1st Stage 4

2nd Road race, UCI Road World Under-23 Championships

2010

1st Overall Girobio

1st Stages 4 & 5

1st Stage 1 (TTT) Vuelta a Colombia

2011

1st Giro dell'Emilia

5th Gran Premio Industria e Commercio Artigianato Carnaghese

9th Giro di Lombardia

2012

1st Trofeo Melinda

1st Stage 5 Tour of Belgium

1st Mountains classification, Circuit de Lorraine

2nd Giro di Toscana

4th Overall Giro del Trentino

1st Young rider classification

4th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk

5th Milano–Torino

5th Gran Piemonte

7th Circuito de Getxo

8th Overall Monviso-Venezia

1st Young rider classification

1st Stage 5

8th Trofeo Matteotti

9th GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano

2013

3rd La Flèche Wallonne

4th Liège–Bastogne–Liège

5th Overall Giro d'Italia

1st Young rider classification

7th Overall Tour of the Basque Country

2014

1st Overall Paris–Nice

1st Young rider classification

1st Stages 5 & 6

1st Overall Tour du Haut Var

1st Points classification

1st Stage 1

2016

1st Stage 2 Vuelta a Asturias

9th Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León

1st Stage 1

2018

4th Klasika Primavera

5th GP Miguel Induráin

2019

1st Klasika Primavera

8th Overall Tour de Suisse

General classification results timeline

Grand Tour general classification results
Grand Tour	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Giro d'Italia	58	—	5	—	20	DNF	—	15	—
Tour de France	—	—	—	—	—	—	18	—	—
Vuelta a España	—	—	126	158	—	—	DNF	—	—
Major stage race general classification results
Race	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Paris–Nice	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	—
Tirreno–Adriatico	—	44	—	—	116	—	—	—	—
Volta a Catalunya	—	—	46	DNS	DNF	—	—	—	—
Tour of the Basque Country	—	—	7	DNF	98	—	—	27	DNF
Tour de Romandie	—	—	13	—	DNF	—	43	DNF	11
Critérium du Dauphiné	Has not contested during his career
Tour de Suisse	—	—	—	—	—	—	17	—	8