Uran from cycling to football: “I’m chasing a dream”

Bogota, January 15 – After an entire career dedicated to cycling, the Colombian Rigoberto Uranium Uranium has decided to change his life, sportingly speaking, dedicating himself to football. A choice that came about following his retirement from the world of two wheels last year, after long seasons studded with important successes with the silver medal in the road race at the London Olympic Games in 2012, two consecutive second places in the general classification of the Giro d'Italia in 2013 and 2014, and second place in the Tour de France 2017. Initially it was thought that the former cyclist could become a minority shareholder of the Ceif Fortress, a club from the capital Bogota that plays in the top South American league, has instead been spotted on the pitch in recent weeks during training with the team in view of the first day of the Colombian championship scheduled for next January 23. Although his age – 38 years old – may make one think that perhaps it is too late, Uran is ready to surprise us again, but this time he intends to do it in a sport far from the world of two wheels.

The reason for this choice? A dream he has had since he was a child, and which can now become reality: "Yes, I want to dedicate myself to professional football, it is an unrealized dream and now I will try to make it come true" he declared in an interview with the newspaper "El Colombianò", "We will see what happens. It is crazy, but I want to be a footballer. I have nothing to lose, but you know that I am crazy and that I do many things".

For the record, the South American cyclist trained as a midfielder, as confirmed by Carlos Barato, president and founder of the Ceif Fortress: "Rigoberto will be with us for a trial period, because he absolutely wants to become a professional footballer. In what role? He wants to play as a creative midfielder." Now we are just waiting to see him on the pitch in his role to understand if he will be able to surprise his fans in this new sport too.