On the 5th of February, a photo showed a single tear rolling down the cheek of newly crowned Colombian national champion Esteban Chaves. The moment represented the culmination of years of hard work for the 33-year-old. It was a story of belief and resilience in the face of the seemingly impossible.
‘Today was the day that most people shouted my name,’ Chaves said. ‘That warmth made me push until the very end. People take the bus for ten hours… just to see us. The whole season with the Colombian jersey, that is like, I am the man, I am the boss! It is like, “Look at me. I am from Colombia!”’
The Colombian has always been proud to represent his home nation and now he has the honour of wearing the country’s flag in every road race for the next year. Despite surely being exhausted after tackling the gruelling 237km course, Chaves took the time to name everyone who had made his victory possible, including his family, his wife, and a man instrumental to his physical success: Dr Julio Sandoval.
Describing Sandoval as ‘somebody special’, Chaves added: ‘Without his help, this wouldn’t have been possible. He saved my career.’
So how exactly did Chaves reach this historic milestone in his career?
If you search for ‘adversity’ in the dictionary, a picture of Chaves would surely be below it. In 2013, Chaves’ career almost came to an end before it could truly take off. A crash at the Trofeo Laigueglia race in Italy left him with head trauma, broken ribs, blood-filled lungs, a partial tear in his suprascapular nerve and a completely torn axillary nerve. Numerous doctors told him that he would never race again. Chaves, and the final doctor he went to, Julio Sandoval, disagreed. Neil Stephens, then the directeur sportif of the Orica-GreenEdge cycling team, signed Chaves before he had even recuperated.
‘Chavito’ and Orica-GreenEdge were the perfect match when the then 23-year-old joined them in 2014. He climbed to new heights, literally and figuratively, up mountains and up general classifications. 2016 was a standout year in Chaves’ career, at the height of his fitness and at a time when only Vincenzo Nibali could match him in the Giro d’Italia. On the penultimate stage and penultimate climb, he was distanced by his Italian rival while wearing the coveted maglia rosa. Initially it was heartbreak, since a fairytale ending could have produced Orica-GreenEdge’s first Grand Tour victory. Yet Chaves was all smiles at the end of the stage, encircled by his fellow teammates.
‘Thank you… all the team, my family,’ Chaves said, ‘This is because you, you guys, Australia, believed in me. Gave me a hand in the most difficult moment of my life. And this is only the beginning.’
At the Vuelta a España that same year, Chaves climbed his way to third in the general classification and became the first Colombian to win Il Lombardia.
The Giro d’Italia in 2018 began perfectly for Chaves. He won atop Mount Etna on Stage 6 and, making the moment that much more glorious, his teammate Simon Yates finished directly behind him. It couldn’t have gone any worse afterwards, however. A few days after his win, Chaves started to struggle. He ended the Grand Tour in an uncharacteristic 72nd place on GC. He was diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes infectious mononucleosis (glandular fever) and it led him to take an eight-month break from racing. The virus can cause extreme fatigue and has forced the likes of Mark Cavendish and Stefan Küng off the bike for extended periods of time.
While it was an unfortunately timed setback, his belief didn’t falter.
On the 17th stage of the 2019 Giro d’Italia, Chaves launched an attack to the finish. Labelled ‘an emotional second place’, yes it was not a stage victory, but the climber had demonstrated that his fitness truly was returning after eight months away from the bike – a victory in itself. Just two days later, on a 151km stage from Treviso to San Martino di Castrozza, Chaves attacked on the category two final climb as a Colombian fan ran alongside him, draped in their national flag and shouting words of encouragement. The young rider flew around corners with gritted teeth and the gap to his former breakaway companions grew.
As commentater Rob Hatch told viewers: ‘Esteban Chaves is about to confirm that we should never, ever lose faith in a big champion like this.’
Approaching the finish, he drew a cross in the air with his hand and then let out an almighty roar of celebration over the line. It was clear how much this win meant to Chaves, the champion that had believed and refused to give up – just as he had demonstrated all those years ago after crashing at Trofeo Laigueglia, just as he had demonstrated during Stage 20 of the Giro d’Italia in 2016, just as he had demonstrated in the face of the Epstein-Barr virus.
Emotions overcame everyone at the finish line that day. The man that had overcome so much was crying in the arms of his parents, and they in turn were weeping. Taking to the podium, flashing his trademark smile and wearing the Colombian flag, he popped his champagne cork in celebration.
‘Keep trying, keep believing,’ he said to the team camera after the stage, ‘even when you can see the finish. Just keep going.’
Chaves’ win at the Colombian Road Race Championship marks his first victory in two years. While we haven’t seen him challenging for Grand Tour jerseys as he once did, the man from Bogotá always seems to dig deep and find an unwavering belief in himself in the face of seemingly impossible odds.
He also appears at home with EF Education-EasyPost, a team he joined in 2022 that prides itself on a roster packed with multiple nationalities and a sponsor that encourages worldwide language learning and cultural exchange. Hopefully Chaves will continue to find success on the bike this season, but as we all know, winning isn’t everything.
I want to leave you with one fleeting comment caught on video that has stuck with me throughout his career, an off-the-cuff reflective remark after Stage 20 of the 2017 Vuelta a España. The Mitchelton-Scott team car (which had died on the unsparing Angliru climb) met Chaves as he rode back towards them.
‘This is the hardest climb I have ever done in my life… but also, it’s a beautiful one.’
But Chaves, how can something labelled ‘the toughest climb in Spain’ be so beautiful?
‘Because you can feel at one with the people. It’s a really nice feeling. I think not many sports people can feel that. Cycling is beautiful… but it’s hard!’