These are uncertain times for Colombian cycling. Egan Bernal's comeback from a career-threatening injury gave a glimmer of hope, but the stigma of Nairo Quintana and Miguel Angel Lopez has banished him from the top of the cycling world.

With the Tour Colombia fading from the calendar, the country's golden age of the past decade is about to go dormant, just as the generation of riders who followed the glory days of Herrera and Parra in the 1980s and went to Europe were ordered to serve, rather than lead The sense that we are about to enter a period is only growing.

Rumors of Quintana's impending retirement have so far proved premature, but his options are limited after he was disqualified from last year's Tour de France due to two positive tests for the painkiller Tramadol. As El País noted this week, his situation is "a symptom of the malaise that afflicts Colombian cycling."

But while the very different travails of Bernal, Quintana, and Lopez have dominated thoughts and headlines throughout the offseason, even in the dark, such as national champion Sergio Igita, who quietly enjoyed the best year of his career in his debut campaign in Bora-Hansgrohe in 2022 A few bright spots remain.

Iguita turned pro in 2019 and emerged as part of a new wave of Colombian riders born in the late 1990s, including Bernal, Daniel Martinez, and Ivan Sosa. Speaking to Cycling News at this week's Vuelta a San Juan, Iguita appealed for calm, noting that his generation, Bernal's generation, still hopes to continue racing for 10 more years.

"We need to remain calm. I think people are anxious now because they want Colombian cycling to keep achieving what it has in the last few years. But you have to look at countries like France, for example. They haven't won the Tour de France for many years. Slovenia, on the other hand, is a country without a big history, but they are very successful right now.

"It means that the level of cycling in the world is very high. The most important thing in Colombia is to continue to develop young cyclists. That is the key."

The problem, of course, is that relatively few Colombian riders who have reached the World Tour since Higuain have made a similar impact. Like Quintana, the 25-year-old raced under the tutelage of Colombian Luis Fernando Saldarriaga before gradually moving closer to the World Tour. He spent six months at the continental level with Euskaltel before joining EF in mid-2019.

The disappearance of the Manzana Postobon team due to repeated doping incidents undoubtedly brought an end to Colombia's most developmentally focused team, but Higuita also believes that the recent trend of World Tour teams pulling players directly from the junior ranks is also a sign that Colombian players are at a disadvantage in integrating into the European peloton.

"It's complicated because European cycling is different from what we are used to," says Igita. 'Because the European teams want more and more Colombian riders. But at the same time it is very difficult. Because they want young Colombian riders to arrive in Europe and immediately perform at a very high level,

"World Tour teams are now signing very young riders, and they may skip the under-23 level altogether. They may be skipping the under-23 level altogether. Athletes like Egan, Dani, and myself, when we first came to Europe, we raced at the continental and pro-continental level.

"I think it is something that World Tour managers should consider, as Jonathan Vaughters did for me, for example. Like, for example, Jonathan Vaughters did with me. He gave me six months at Euskaltel to adapt to European racing before moving me to EF. I think this kind of adjustment period is necessary for a Colombian rider. "

When Iguita moved from EF to Bora-Hansgrohe in 2022, he had little trouble adapting. The Medellín native won his second road race title in Colombia, and he started his European campaign by winning the final day of the Volta ao Algarve shortly thereafter.

He followed that up with a win in the Volta Catalunya, a second in the Tour de Suisse, and stage wins in the Tour de Romandie and Tour de Pollogne. He also finished in the top five at Il Lombardia and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. His only disappointment was a modest ride at the Vuelta a España.

"In every race I was competing at my maximum level. But it wore me out and my performance dropped off a bit at the Vuelta a España," Higuain said. This year, I'm thinking about how I can manage things better and be in better physical condition going into the Grand Tours."

Higuchi has yet to decide between the Tour de France and the Vuelta this year, but has ruled out the Giro in light of a busy spring.

"I want to be on the podium in a short stage race and also in the Ardennes.

"Maybe in the future, but I've been a bit short in the Grand Tours so far; I need to adapt my body a bit more to get used to three weeks of racing."

The scale of the Vuelta a San Juan is more to his liking at this stage of his development, and he is in contention for the overall win before the crucial climb to Alto Colorado on Friday. He starts stage 5 with the same time as Remco Evenpole, Bernal, and Lopez, knowing that the winner of the day will likely take the overall win.

"On Friday, I want to see what happens to my legs when it comes down to a one-on-one battle between climbers," said Higuita, who is looking to defend his national title next week in Bucaramanga. I'll work hard to keep the jersey, but the most important thing for me is to enjoy the race."