When he leaves Europe, Vuelta a España winner Nairo Quintana (Movistar) heads home to a region in Colombia that has some of the worst statistics of spousal abuse of women, and he is hoping to parlay some of his fame into creating change.
According to statistics from the Council for the Equality of Women in Colombia, a woman is killed by her partner there every 2.5 days, and four women are victims of violence every hour.
A vocal supporter of the fight against social inequality in Colombia, Quintana has joined with the Mayor of Tunja, the capital of his home department of Boyacá in an initiative called "Enrédate con la equidad de género" (Get involved with gender equity).
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"The campaign aims to make women more valued, we want them to feel more protected (...) and that has made it so that the rates [of violence] are going down more and more," Quintana said to BBC.com.
Quintana says he feels that part of the problem stems from the country's culture of machismo, and he wants to show other men that they can value women as equals and share in the responsibilities of the household.
Part of his inspiration comes from his new daughter, Mariana, and his wife Yeimi Paola Hernández, who might not have the same opportunities that he enjoys simply because of their gender.
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