Fernando Gaviria

Fernando Gaviria Rendón (born 19 August 1994) is a Colombian professional road and track racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He is well known as a sprinter. Riding for the Colombian national cycling team, Gaviria came to international attention at the 2015 Tour de San Luis, where he beat former world champion Mark Cavendish in two sprint finishes. His first major Grand Tour wins came at the 2017 Giro d'Italia. He is the brother of track cyclist Juliana Gaviria. His nickname is "Quetzal splendente", from the brightful and colourful South American bird Quetzal. Its colours recall his world championship titles, his Colombia and "la maglia Ciclamino" won at Giro d'Italia.
Career
Early career
Before his road career, Gaviria won the omnium and madison events at the 2012 UCI Juniors Track World Championships. In 2014, he won the under-23 Pan-American road race. He also competed in the 2014 Tour de l'Avenir. Although he did not win a stage, he won the bunch sprint behind the breakaway on the first stage and ended the race second in the points competition. Later that year he won the omnium in the London round of the 2014–15 UCI Track Cycling World Cup.
Gaviria's first major road cycling winning streak started in January 2015 at the Tour de San Luis, one of the major early-season cycling races. He won a surprise victory in the first stage of the race, opening his sprint early and beating 2011 world champion Mark Cavendish of the team into second place. Cavendish said after the race that he had not heard of Gaviria before the race. Gaviria then won the third stage of the race, again beating Cavendish into second place. Cavendish won the final stage of the event, with Gaviria finishing a close second.
Following these high-profile victories, there were reports that several UCI World Tour teams were seeking to sign Gaviria, including , though he committed his 2015 season to riding with the Colombian national team. Later reports suggested that his most likely 2016 team was Cavendish's own team. It was also revealed that Gaviria had been recommended in 2014 to Patrick Lefevere, the manager of , but the team declined to sign him. Following Gaviria's success at the Tour de San Luis, Lefevere called this a "mistake". In February 2015, Lefevere announced that Gaviria would be undergoing tests with after the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, a further move towards a contract for 2016. Lefevere also said that such a contract would not prevent Gaviria competing in the 2016 Summer Olympics. Following these tests, Gaviria signed a contract for 2016 with , along with fellow Colombian Rodrigo Contreras. Gaviria's plans to ride in the 2016 Olympic Games were affirmed by Lefevere; he also suggested that Gaviria might ride as a stagiaire for the team during 2015.
In February 2015, Gaviria competed for Colombia in the track World Championships in the omnium competition. Although he won none of the six events, he was consistent throughout. In the concluding points race, he was able to gain an early lap on the field, giving him a large advantage; he was then able to mark his closest rival, Elia Viviani, and secured a comfortable overall victory to win the rainbow jersey.
Etixx–Quick-Step (2015–2018)
Gaviria made his debut for as a stagiaire in August 2015 at the RideLondon–Surrey Classic. He finished in eighth position, the highest-placed rider. His next race for the team was in the Czech Cycling Tour, where won the first stage, a team time trial. The following day Gaviria won his first individual stage victory for the team, winning a reduced bunch sprint. After this race, it was the Tour of Britain, where Gaviria managed to take one stage win ahead of several world class sprinters including André Greipel and Elia Viviani.
2016 began almost as strongly as the previous season. He won the Team Time Trial with and also took another stage at the Tour de San Luis. He crashed out later in the race preventing another victory. In February he won a stage and the points classification at the new race Tour La Provence. In early March he became the first rider to win two gold medals in the Omnium at the Track Cycling World Championships by defending his title from the previous year. He won stage 3 of Tirreno–Adriatico, his first victory at World Tour level.
In 2017, he was named in the start list for the Giro d'Italia and won Stage 3 from Tortolì to Cagliari in a sprint finish, taking the lead in the general classification in the process. He achieved further success by winning Stages 5, 12 and 13 in bunch sprints, making him the first Colombian to win four stages in a single Giro d'Italia. In July 2018, he was named in the start list for the Tour de France. Gaviria won stage 1 of the Tour de France, starting Day 2 in the Yellow Jersey. Gaviria and other major sprinters such as André Greipel and Dylan Groenewegen were unable to finish stage 11 which was the third major hilly alps stage within the time limit and were eliminated. Gaviria suffered a broken collarbone at the Tour of Turkey and was forced to abandon, ending his 2018 campaign.
UAE Team Emirates (2019–2022)
Shortly after his injury at the Tour of Turkey, it was announced that Gaviria was joining the team on a three-year contract from the 2019 season. In August 2019, he was named in the startlist for the Vuelta a España.
Movistar Team (2023–)
For the 2023 season, Gaviria joined on a one-year contract.
Major results
Road
2012
1st Time trial, National Junior Championships
2013
1st Road race, Bolivarian Games
2014
1st Road race, Pan American Under-23 Championships
Central American and Caribbean Games
2nd Time trial
4th Road race
2015 (4 pro wins)
Tour de San Luis
1st Stages 1 & 3
Czech Cycling Tour
1st Stages 1 (TTT) & 2
1st Stage 4 Tour of Britain
Pan American Games
8th Time trial
9th Road race
8th RideLondon–Surrey Classic
2016 (7)
1st Paris–Tours
1st Grand Prix Impanis-Van Petegem
Tour La Provence
1st Points classification
1st Stage 3
Tour de Pologne
1st Stages 2 & 4
Tour de San Luis
1st Stages 1 (TTT) & 2
1st Stage 3 Tirreno–Adriatico
2nd Gran Piemonte
2nd Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
6th Gent–Wevelgem
7th Halle–Ingooigem
10th Dwars door Vlaanderen
2017 (14)
1st Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
Giro d'Italia
1st Points classification
1st Stages 3, 5, 12 & 13
Held & after Stage 3
Tour of Guangxi
1st Points classification
1st Stages 1, 2, 3 & 6
Vuelta a San Juan
1st Stages 1 & 4
1st Stage 6 Tirreno–Adriatico
1st Stage 1 Volta ao Algarve
1st Stage 4 Tour of Britain
4th Primus Classic
5th Milan–San Remo
8th Road race, UCI World Championships
9th Gent–Wevelgem
2018 (9)
Tour de France
1st Stages 1 & 4
Held & after Stage 1
Held after Stages 1–2
Tour of California
1st Points classification
1st Stages 1, 5 & 7
Colombia Oro y Paz
1st Points classification
1st Stages 1, 2 & 3
1st Stage 1 Vuelta a San Juan
2019 (6)
Giro d'Italia
1st Stage 3
Held after Stage 3
Tour of Guangxi
1st Stages 1 & 5
Vuelta a San Juan
1st Stages 1 & 4
1st Stage 2 UAE Tour
2nd Three Days of Bruges–De Panne
4th Münsterland Giro
2020 (6)
1st Giro della Toscana
Vuelta a San Juan
1st Stages 2, 4 & 7
1st Stage 2 Vuelta a Burgos
1st Stage 2 Tour du Limousin
7th Milano–Torino
2021 (1)
1st Stage 3 Tour de Pologne
3rd Grand Prix de Fourmies
10th Brussels Cycling Classic
2022 (2)
Tour of Oman
1st Points classification
1st Stages 1 & 6
2nd Eschborn–Frankfurt
2023 (2)
1st Stage 5 Tour de Romandie
1st Stage 4 Vuelta a San Juan
2nd Milano–Torino
7th Clásica de Almería
Grand Tour general classification results timeline
Classic results timeline
Track
2012
UCI World Junior Championships
1st Omnium
1st Madison (with Jordan Parra)
2013
Pan American Championships
1st Omnium
2nd Team pursuit
Bolivarian Games
1st Omnium
1st Madison (with Juan Arango)
2nd Omnium, National Championships
2014
1st Omnium, Central American and Caribbean Games
1st Omnium, South American Games
1st Omnium, UCI World Cup, London
2015
Pan American Games
1st Omnium
1st Team pursuit
1st Omnium, UCI World Championships
2016
1st Omnium, UCI World Championships
2019
Torneo Internacional de Pista de Cali
1st Madison (with Juan Arango)
2nd Omnium
2023
Pan American Championships
2nd Omnium
2nd Madison (with Juan Arango)
2nd Team pursuit
2nd Elimination
References
External links
1994 births
Living people
Colombian male cyclists
Colombian track cyclists
Cyclists at the 2015 Pan American Games
Olympic cyclists for Colombia
Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Pan American Games medalists in cycling
Pan American Games gold medalists for Colombia
Colombian Giro d'Italia stage winners
Colombian Tour de France stage winners
South American Games gold medalists for Colombia
South American Games medalists in cycling
Competitors at the 2014 South American Games
Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games
Cyclists from Antioquia Department
21st-century Colombian people
Competitors at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games
Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Colombia
Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in cycling