Colombian climber Ardila inks 4-yr contract with Team Emirates
- 06 Aug 2019
Dubai: The talented Colombian climber and winner of the Under 23 ‘Baby’ Giro 2019 Camilo Ardila, has signed a four-year contract with the team from UAE.
Joxean Fernandez Matxin, general manager of UAE Team Emirates: “Camilo is one of the finest climbers in the Under 23 category. He is a rider with a clear head and willing to work hard and make sacrifices to reach his objectives.
“At just 19 years old he made the move from his home in Marquita Tolima to live in Medillín to be able to train in better conditions.
At UAE Team Emirates we believe he has a very bright future we want to work to help him to reach his full potential.”
After signing the contract, Adrila said: “I had a lot of offers from the World Tour category teams, but the plan UAE Team Emirates presented to me impressed me a lot.
“I think it’s the right choice because I will have the chance to grow gradually and adapt to the highest category.
“I started talking with Matxin before my victory in the Under 23 Giro, and he immediately believed in me.
“To be a good stage racer and to be strong in the mountains. The dream is the Tour de France. One day I would like to go to the Tour to try to win the most important race in the world”.
“I am inspired by Nairo Quintana. He is a strong climber who managed to win the Giro d’Italia, the Vuelta a España and get on the podium of the Tour de France.
“To my family that allowed me to follow my dream and to my EPM team, which helped me grow as young rider.”
Meanwhile, UAE Team Emirates continues its youth development into 2020 with another young talent, Mikkel Bjerg, signing a three-year contract.
Born in Copenhagen in 1998, Bjerg has proved himself as a top class time triallist, winning the world Under 23 title twice in a row (2017 and 2018).
Matxin commented: “Mikkel is one of the hottest prospects in the world when it comes to the time trial, he holds two u-23 World titles and now to have him along with McNulty they will both be a real force in that discipline.
“It’s also important to point out how close he has come in his attempts to break the World Hour record, and to do that at such a young age is extremely impressive.”
