Tour of Colombia rich in tradition, competition

The fame associated with the Tour's early years has been steadily eroded by the popularity of soccer, car racing and other sports. But live radio broadcasts of the Tour still saturate airwaves nationwide and entire villages can still be counted to cheer on the passing peloton.

The wholesome look of the Tour can be deceiving, however. The pressure to win, and catch the eye of a European team, makes the competition fierce.

As with major European races, doping is widespread. In last year's race, seven riders were disqualified for abnormally high red blood cell counts, three of them, including the race leader, hours before the final stage.

And although the prize money is negligible, in a country where half the population survives in poverty on less than $355 a month, it's still a significant carrot.

"Cycling in Colombia pays barely enough to live day to day whereas in Europe even a second-division rider can make at least 25,000 euros ($33,000) a year," said Gianni Savio, coach of Italian team Selle Italia DiQuiGiovanni, one of four foreign teams confirmed to compete this year.

This year's favorite to be crowned with the traditional "collar de arepa," a wreath made up of fried maize pancakes, is former world champion Santiago Botero. The Colombian native, who stands out from his compatriot beetles for his middle-class background and speed on the flats, is riding in his first Vuelta in a decade after he was dropped last year by Swiss-based team Phonak, for his connection to a short-lived Spanish doping probe.

"It's the toughest race course in the world," said Botero, one of only four riders to ever outpace Armstrong in a Tour de France time trial.

Hoping to steal the limelight, and the great hope for the future of Colombia's cycling, is 21-year old Fabio Duarte, who was invited by Savio to compete to Europe after finishing fourth in his 2006 Tour debut.

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Breaking into the cycling big leagues isn't easy - the beetles' reputation within their sport is surpassed only by the black mark of drug trafficking that immigration officers all too often associate with their passport.

The government-sponsored "Colombia is Passion" team was barred last year from competing at the prestigious Tour de l'Avenir, in France, after visas for the team were rejected. The rebuff may have arisen from the fact that during the heyday of Colombian cycling in the 1980's, several cyclists - among them the brother of deceased cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar - were known to smuggle drugs stashed inside bike frames.

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Even though Europe remains the goal of most cyclists, in the wake of doping scandals at the Tour de France and the unsung role Colombians play on most teams, the dream has lost some its glitter.

Juan Pablo Forero, 23, who won three stages at last year's Tour, said he turned down an offer to race for a Belgian team in order to compete at home. "For any racer in Colombia, there's no greater achievement than the Tour."

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