Germán Gómez, Colombian talent for EOLO KOMETA
The young Colombian climber, with important results in this 2023 in the U23 calendar, joins EOLO KOMETA to contribute to the team with his youth and ability in the most demanding days. He comes from GW Shimano Sidermec and signs until 2025.
A project for the future is built with young cyclists. And in this line, Germán Gómez joins the team looking to reinforce the group of climbers. “I like the mountains because of the conditions for training in my country. But I’m versatile and I’m also good on time trial”. It is an increasingly important discipline when it comes to fighting for overall classifications in races, and of course an important value that complements his quality when the road goes uphill.
“It is a discipline that you have to work hard, I was national under-23 champion of Colombia. It is an effort that I like to face, of endurance and intensity, as in the case of the mountains,” explains Germán. This year he had the opportunity to shine in the Vuelta a la Juventud, he was on the edge of the podium in the Giro sub-23 (fourth overall) with two top-10 in the hardest stages and 4th overall in the Clasico RCN with stage victory included.
Germán is aware of his step forward this season: “The Giro under-23 helped me go forward on my confidence, to show that the good feelings were becoming a reality. I made a very specific preparation, I went from less to more, it was hard to get into the race but I was feeling better and better and to compete in the general classification every day I had to be always attentive”.
“Seeing myself with the best riders is also important and helps me to be more confident. All the great riders have shone in the Giro under-23”, he comments. A race that many great champions have won and competed in before becoming professionals. “It motivates me a lot to take on high mountain stages, hard races and of course to compete in the Giro d’Italia with EOLO KOMETA is a great illusion”.
It’s always a special moment when it becomes a reality, when you get in touch with your new team and everything comes together: “I was very happy from the first phone call to know that I was going to come to this team. I spoke to Giovanni Elena and Iván Basso, who immediately gave me their confidence. It’s a project that I’ve been following for a long time and I like the way they work at the Alberto Contador Foundation”. In addition, he has already had the opportunity to ride against the structure, in different categories. “I have competed against them in Valle d’Aosta, Giro under-23 and big races in which we have coincided, as well as the professional team as Giro dell’Apenino, Coppi e Bartali…”.
And of course, a mention to the founders of the project. But also about his feelings after meeting them at the training camp in Malta: “Fran Contador, Ivan Basso, Alberto… they are the ones responsible for making everything work. But the team is much more than that. You can feel the good atmosphere, the energy and above all that family that unites and paves the way to achieve the objectives. I’m sure it’s going to be a great season”.
Jesús Hernández, sport director: “Germán is a Colombian talent, who follows the team’s philosophy of supporting emerging riders from both the Contador Foundation and other projects. He is a rider with a lot of quality, capable of winning the Vuelta de la Juventud in Colombia two years in a row and doing very well in the Giro d’Italia under-23. We hope that he grows with us and confirms with results everything he is already showing”.
