A contemporary of Nairo Quintana, Esteban Chaves has often seemed to follow his compatriot’s career at something of a remove. Quintana won the Tour de l’Avenir in 2010, for instance, Colombia’s first in quarter of a century, and then Chaves duly matched the feat a year later.
When Quintana announced his arrival at senior level by winning the Route du Sud and a stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné in 2012, Chaves responded in turn by landing victory on the toughest stage of the Vuelta a Burgos later that summer.
Chaves was following Quintana once again on the slopes of the Alto de la Mesa in the finale of stage 2 of the Vuelta a España, though it had the feel of a watershed moment for the Orica-GreenEdge rider. With the spectacular Caminito del Rey as a backdrop, he caught and then dropped his fellow countryman in the finale to win the day and move into the overall lead.
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"It’s incredible, it’s my first win in a three-week stage race and it was amazing to win it the way that I did," Chaves said after pulling on the red jersey of race leader. "It’s a reward for all of my work with the team in the past two years."
While Quintana quickly confirmed his considerable potential by claiming Giro d’Italia victory and podium finishes at the Tour de France, Chaves has taken longer to establish himself at WorldTour level, due in no small part to the effects of his heavy crash at the 2013 Trofeo Laigueglia.
"It was early in the season and it made for a very tough year. I travelled back to Colombia for the operation on my arm, and I only have 80 percent mobility in it even now but that’s enough for it not to hinder me on the bike," Chaves explained.
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