Juan Sebastián Molano

Juan Sebastián Molano Benavides (born 11 April 1994) is a Colombian professional racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam UAE Team Emirates XRG.^[4]

Juan Sebastián Molano

Molano in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Juan Sebastián Molano Benavides
Born	(1994-04-11) 11 April 1994 (age 31) Paipa, Colombia
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	70 kg (154 lb)
Team information
Current team	UAE Team Emirates XRG
Disciplines	Road Track
Role	Rider
Rider type	Sprinter
Amateur teams
2011–2012	Proyectos Alcaldía Paipa
2013	Fuerzas Armadas–Ejército Nacional
2014	Coldeportes–Claro
Professional teams
2015	Colombia
2016–2018	Team Manzana Postobón[1]
2019–	UAE Team Emirates[2][3]
Major wins
Grand Tours Vuelta a España 2 individual stages (2022, 2023) One-day races and Classics Classic Brugge–De Panne (2025) GP de Denain (2023)
Medal record Men's road bicycle racing Representing  Colombia Pan American Championships 2018 San Juan Road race 2017 Santo Domingo Road race

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

Career

Molano was named in the startlist for the 2017 Vuelta a España.^[5]

He started riding in the 2019 Giro d'Italia,^[6] but he was suspended by his team following stage 3 after "seemingly unusual physiological results". The team refrained from commenting further until more tests were carried out. Molano did not start stage 4.^[7] Molano was later cleared to resume racing at the Adriatica Ionica Race in late-July 2019 after further tests found he was "highly sensitive to altitude changes."^[8]

In June 2022, Molano was disqualified from the Critérium du Dauphiné after he punched Hugo Page in the head.^[9][10] In September of the same year, he won the final stage of the 2022 Vuelta a España ahead of his team-mate Pascal Ackermann, despite the expectation that Ackermann would be the final man in the team's lead-out train.^[11]

Molano competed in the 2023 Vuelta a España. He took a win on Stage 12 of the race, finishing ahead of Kaden Groves.^[12]

Major results

2014

Pan American Track Championships

1st Omnium

1st Team pursuit

2016 (1 pro win)

1st Stage 1 Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid

1st Stage 4 Vuelta a Colombia

2017 (2)

Volta ao Alentejo

1st Stages 3 & 5

3rd Road race, Pan American Road Championships

3rd Grand Prix de Denain

2018 (6)

1st Road race, Pan American Road Championships

1st Overall Tour of China I

1st Points classification

1st Stage 2

Tour of Xingtai

1st Stages 2 & 3

1st Stage 2 Tour of China II

10th Overall Tour of Taihu Lake

1st Points classification

1st Stages 1 & 2

2019 (1)

1st Stage 3 Tour Colombia

2020 (3)

Tour Colombia

1st Points classification

1st Stages 2, 3 & 5

2021 (4)

Vuelta a Burgos

1st Points classification

1st Stages 2 & 4

Giro di Sicilia

1st Points classification

1st Stages 1 & 2

7th Coppa Bernocchi

2022 (2)

1st Stage 21 Vuelta a España

1st Stage 4 Boucles de la Mayenne

2nd Trofeo Playa de Palma

5th Clásica de Almería

2023 (5)

1st Grand Prix de Denain

1st Stage 12 Vuelta a España

1st Stage 4 UAE Tour

1st Stage 5 Tour of Guangxi

1st Stage 1 Vuelta a Burgos

5th Trofeo Palma

7th Bredene Koksijde Classic

9th Classic Brugge–De Panne

10th Clásica de Almería

2024 (1)

1st Stage 2 CRO Race

6th Brussels Cycling Classic

7th Classic Brugge–De Panne

2025 (1)

1st Classic Brugge–De Panne

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Grand Tour	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Giro d'Italia	—	—	DNF	DNF	126	—	—	125
Tour de France	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Vuelta a España	152	—	143	—	DNF	126	147	—

Legend

—	Did not compete
DNF	Did not finish