Eight years ago a young Colombian rider entered the spotlight of European cycling by taking his first pro victory in France, at the Tour de l’Ain. In contrast to many of his fellow Colombian cycling prospects, he was not a pure climbing specialist – but rather a sprinter. His name was Leonardo Fabio Duque.

Today, once again at the Tour de l’Ain, Leonardo Duque unleashed a splendid sprint to register his ninth career win, and the first for Team Colombia after joining Claudio Corti’s squad at the beginning of the 2013 season. Duque won the 1st stage of the French race, 156km from Lagnieu to Bourg-en-Bresse (156,3) ahead of Yannick Martinez (Pomme Marseille) and Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil), stretching the momentum of the Colombian outfit that recently rejoiced in another exciting win as Darwin Atapuma claimed a noteworthy stage win in the Tour de Pologne.

“It feels great to get another crucial win here, in the place where everything began for me, – an excited Leonardo Duque said on the team website –we have been working hard all season long, and now [we are] celebrating two great successes in 10 days [which] is really huge. Of course many things changed in 8 years, and I took more wins on my way, but this is also my first win with Team Colombia, so it’s really special. This success is for the whole team, who worked patiently for the whole season and is now starting to get rewarded, and of course for Colombia and our fans all over the world.”