Colombia, one step from its record of victories at the Tour de France

In the 1985 edition, Lucho Herrera and Fabio Parra also gave the country three stages.

The triumph of Nairo Quintana Wednesday at the Tour de France, joined with the two partial victories this year Fernando Gaviria, allowed Colombia to add three stages, equaling the record reached by Lucho Herrera and Fabio Parra in 1985.

Read more: Despite the fall, Nairo Quintana arrived with the lot of favorites in stage 18 of the Tour de France

Gaviria had won first, with arrival at Fontenay Le Comte, and fourth, with an end to Sarzeau, of this Tour, while Quintana won in the seventeenth, between Bagneres de Luchon and Saint Lary Soulan, for cyclists the Hardest this year in the French round, bringing to 19 the number of Colombian wins since the imposition of Lucho Herrera in 1984.

The gardener Fusagasugá had won year in a seventeenth stage, between Grenoble and France. Alpe d'Huez, while there

Read more: The luster of Nairo Quintana in the Tour de France

The following year, in 1985, two new victories Party of Lucho Herrera, in the eleventh stage, between Pontarlier and Morzine Avoriaz, and in the fourteenth, between Autrans and Saint Etienne, to which is added the contribution of Fabio Parra, winner in the twelfth, between Morzine and Lans in the Vercors.

Gaviria and Quintana equaled this record of three, although the Boyacá Condor, or his compatriots Egan Bernal, Daniel Martínez Poveda and Darwin Atapuma, the four Colombian survivors in this Tour, after the retirements from Gaviria and Rigoberto Urán, still have a ball in the room to achieve a fourth stage victory, which would be a record, Friday, the last Pyrenees, between Lourdes and Laruns, on 200.5 km, with six ports , two of special category and one of first.

(In context: Win the Tour, the long-term goal of Daniel Felipe Martínez.)

With Bernal focused on his work helping his leader in Sky, Geraint Thomas, the options fall to Quintana in his last option to reach the podium, and in the combative Martinez Poveda, who desperately seeks a partial victory in this Tour, and Atapuma

Against the possibilities of the Colombians are the fact that After the last port of Friday, Aubisque, special category, arrives 20 km downhill.

– Last option –

The stages of Saturday, an individual time trial, and Sunday, the arrival of a sprinter on the Champs-Elysees, give little chance of victory to Colombians.

Quintana before Wednesday's victory, had won in 2013, at his Tour debut, in the twentieth and penultimate stage, in Annecy-Semnoz.

Quintana has two victories, like Gaviria and Fabio Parra, winner once in 1985 and once in 1988.

A new stage victory would allow Quintana to equal the number of three wins that Lucho Herrera has (one in 1984 and two in 1985) and Santiago Botero (one in 2000 and two in 2002).

Oliverio Rincon (1993), Nelson Rodriguez (1994), Chepe Gonzalez (1996), Félix Cárdenas (2001) Mauricio Soler (2007), Jarlinson Pantano (2016) and Rigoberto Urán (2017).

With 19 wins, Colo Mbia is ranked eleventh in the history of the winning countries, tied with the United States and Denmark.

A new victory would leave him alone in this position, even if he still had a way to get into the Top 10, since the 10th place is for Australia with 30 wins, very far from the absolute record of France (704), Belgium (472), Italy (267), Holland (173) or Spain (129). France was served by Colombia to overtake Norway, which is at 17.

Colombia has this last shot, Friday, to reach the symbolic figure of 20 victories.