On Sunday, Oct. 11, the Gran Fondo Nairo Fest 2026 was held, part of an event on Oct. 9–11 in Cartagena and Bolívar (Caracol Radio, El Universal, Publimetro). There were three routes: 186, 106 and 50 kilometers. Before the race, more than 10,600 attendees were expected, 6,900 of them cyclists from 21 countries, along with figures such as Froome, Contador and Urán. The governor of Bolívar spoke of showing the department to the world (Caracol). Semana and Infobae picked up the debate over succession in Colombian cycling.
Quintana is one of the most successful Colombian cyclists of recent history, with the 2014 Giro and the 2016 Vuelta. His departure leaves open the question of who takes his place in the world elite and how cycling is financed in the country.
If you like cycling, it is the end of an era. If you live on the coast, the event shows the economic effect a major race can have in Cartagena and Bolívar.
For those celebrating it, the farewell is a well-deserved tribute and a tourism showcase for Bolívar.
For critics, the enthusiasm should not hide the lack of succession and of stable support for young cyclists.
The farewell was the easy part; what comes next is hard. We need to watch whether sponsorships and teams emerge for the new generation, and whether an official participant figure is published, which we do not have today.
Caracol Radio, El Universal, Publimetro, Semana, Infobae, Noticias RCN (Oct. 9–12, 2026)
Colombia bids farewell to Nairo Quintana at the Gran Fondo in Cartagena and Bolívar, amid tributes and the question of who succeeds him in cycling
On Sunday, Oct. 11, the farewell race of the Boyacá cyclist was held: three routes from 50 to 186 kilometers and a gathering of peloton figures. After the tribute, the debate is what comes after him.
On Sunday, Oct. 11, the Gran Fondo Nairo Fest 2026 was held, the public farewell of Nairo Quintana, on roads in Cartagena and Bolívar, according to Caracol Radio, which followed it minute by minute. The event lasted three days, from the 9th to the 11th, and offered three routes: the Gran Fondo, of 186 kilometers; the Medio Fondo, of 106; and the “Retadores” (Challengers), of 50, according to El Universal and Publimetro before the race. Those outlets expected more than 10,600 attendees, 6,900 of them cyclists, from 21 countries, and the presence of figures such as Chris Froome, Alberto Contador, Rigoberto Urán, Joaquim “Purito” Rodríguez and Samuel Sánchez. These are pre-race figures: DailyDrop found no official count of those who finally rode, although Infobae confirms that Froome, Contador, Urán and Egan Bernal accompanied him.
Caracol reported that the group rode through the Turbaco area and that the day was framed as sport and culture; the governor of Bolívar said that “it is time for the world to get to know Bolívar,” and the same station headlined that the race consolidated Cartagena as a venue for major sporting events. Quintana, born in Boyacá, won the 2014 Giro d’Italia and the 2016 Vuelta a España, and was second in the Tour de France in 2013 and 2015. After the tribute, the conversation turned to the future: Semana picked up his message to Santiago Buitrago and to the “new blood” of Colombian cycling, and Infobae gathered experts who speak of a crisis and a lack of succession in the world elite. Quintana had already warned, according to Noticias RCN, that “we could be left without cycling.” What comes next is to see whether sponsors, federations and local tours respond to that call.