“He chose to race in Colombia next year, where he will be able to grow in technical and physical terms with less pressure on him”
Team Colombia and the 2013 neo-pro Alexis Camacho have decided to end their association, with the Pro Continental squad announcing a parting of ways. The 23 year old signed on earlier this year and rode a number of events, but didn’t settle in as expected.
He was a non-finisher in the Tour of the Mediterranean, the Critérium International, Flèche Wallonne and the Vuelta a Burgos, but did put in some other good rides such as 21st in the Giro dell’Appennino and 26th in the Trofeo Matteotti.
He also completed the Presidential Tour of Turkey and the USA Pro Challenge, getting thorough those stage races.
However the team said that it and the rider reached a mutual agreement to end the contract.
“Camacho, who had joined the team as a rookie in 2013, represented Team Colombia in several important fixtures, including Fleche Wallonne, Tour of Turkey and USA Pro Challenge, but he consistently struggled to blend into European top-level cycling,” it stated.
“[He] therefore opted to return to Colombia to complete his maturation ahead of trying to jump back to Europe later in his career.”
According to general manager Claudio Corti, Camacho accepted that things haven’t gone to plan. “We have been talking with Alexis, and after experiencing European cycling, he did not feel he could give the team the contribution he wished to,” he said. “Moving to Europe is a big jump, so he chose to race in Colombia next year, where he will be able to grow in technical and physical terms with less pressure on him.”
“Alexis is a nice guy, and we loved working with him in 2013. Hopefully he can work hard and we will see him back in Europe at some point – we wish him all the very best.”
The team said that it is looking at signing up a replacement rider in the coming days. It has not made clear who that could be.