Santiago Buitrago never thought he would make it to the Liège-Bastogne-Liège finish, but he took another step forward in his young career by becoming the first Colombian on the podium.

Lemko Evenpoel and Tom Pidcock are already stars of professional cycling, but Buitrago's podium sweep by a 23-year-old showed that he could be the first young Liège rider since 1983 to reach the top of the sport.

Buitrago turned pro in 2020 with Bahrain Victorious and began his breakthrough last year with stage wins at the Tour of Saudi Arabia, the Vuelta a Burgos, and most importantly, the Giro d'Italia.

This season, he took the overall podium at the Tour of Saudi Arabia and Ruta del Sol, and finished 8th at the Tour of the Alps before heading to Liège.

"I am very happy with this podium in my first Monument," Buitrago said.

"Coming from the Tour de l'Alps, I wasn't sure how I would feel at the start. It was a very strange race, but to finish third is very big for me."

Buitrago wasn't sure how he would feel at the start, but he also had no idea what to expect as the race progressed.

"I didn't feel good in the middle part of the race. I told the team I wasn't going to finish the race," he revealed.

"In the end, I held on a little bit and my legs responded.

Buitrago's initial plan was to do everything he could to help Mikel Landa, who was leading the team after finishing runner-up in La Flèche Wallonne. However, the Spaniard fell early in the race, leaving Buitrago with the responsibility of chasing results for the team as the important climb continued.

Buitrago joined the chase group after Evenpoel's attack on La Redoute and made several attempts to break away from it; the two soon joined up with Pidcock and rode together to the finish. Buitrago tried to surprise him with a long-distance sprint for second place, but in the end Pidcock was able to come back in the last few meters.

"Maybe I started the sprint too early," Buitrago said. I knew Pidcock was faster, but I wanted to give it a go." It was after a tough race and a week in the Tour de Alps. This was my first podium at Monument. I'm surprised and very happy to be on the podium.

Buitrago was the first Colombian to reach the podium in Liège and the fourth to do so in Monument, after Esteban Chaves, Egan Bernal, and Rigoberto Urán, who finished in the top three at Il Lombardia.

Colombian cycling is stuck on the continental circuit with Nairo Quintana still without a team due to a positive tramadol and Miguel Angel Lopez's alleged relationship with a doctor under investigation for doping.

Uran is nearing the end of his career, Chavez has had a difficult few years, and Bernal is still recovering from a life-threatening injury last year, but Buitrago has shown that Colombia's future is still bright.

His next race is the Giro d'Italia, where he will bring excellent form to his second career Grand Tour.

"I have prepared well for the Giro d'Italia and it motivates me for the races to come," Buitrago said after Liège.