Juliana Londoño, her goals now that she is part of the World Tour and her sights set on the next Olympic Games

The Colombian cyclist Juliana Londono He came to DSM at the age of 19 and has big goals for what’s next in his career. In conversation with AM850 Cycling He talked about his career as an athlete, his transition from skating to cycling and his desire to be in the next Olympic Games.

The balance of your 2024

“Everything was a win for me really, being able to be on the world cycling center team this year opened the door to what I think will be my next two seasons, which is being able to reach the World Tour, which was the goal I had from the beginning. Living there, being alone, surrounded by new people, in a country different from mine with a different culture, was both personally and sportingly a great step from which I learned a lot and there are beautiful experiences, some not so good, but it was all profit for me.”

What good and bad experiences do you take away from all this?

“When I got there I think I saw another cycling totally different from the one I had experienced in all this time in Colombia, the opportunities there are greater, racing at the level that is raced there, having races with World Tour teams and seeing that it was there fighting, that for me was very nice. It is very different from how we run in Colombia, starting with the quantity, there were at least 150 runners in any race, with very technical routes and narrow roads, so it is not only the physical demand but also the mental one because you always have to take care of your position, move here and there, it was a little hard at first, little by little I loosened up and every time I felt better within such a big lot.”

The track, the road and the goal of going to the Olympics

“They are two totally different disciplines for me, I like both a lot, I have big goals on the track like going to the next 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, but I know that when joining a professional team your goals are on the road, however, I believe “That by having a good calendar you can work on both.”

He looks at her in the Olympics.

“I want to work in this next Olympic cycle for that goal and to be able to represent Colombia in Los Angeles.”

And the road?

“I know that you enter a place, I know there are runners with experience, that I am still very new at this, but that does not mean that I cannot shine next year, I know that I have the ability, I still have a process to learn, but little by little I can let go of little easily and be a support for the team.”

How was your arrival at the DSM?

“Since last year when I was world track champion there were approaches, there I made myself known and people started talking, the decision was made this year to be part of the world center team, because I was going to take a first preparatory step where I was not going to have pressure, I was going to learn and throughout the year I was in contact with the agency and my coach Gabriel López, I trust him and the decision was made to go to the dsm because the profile that the team has adapts to the runner profile that I am.”

What other teams contacted you?

“There were contacts with the Visma and Movistar Team, obviously they were great opportunities, very prominent teams, but it was not only about the money and prestige, but it was also about visualizing where I was going to fit best and in which team I was going to have the best projection.”

How do you live with reaching the cycling elite?

“Due to my personality, I am more of a shy person, I never thought that cycling was going to give me all these opportunities, in these years because of the results I have obtained. I have had to know how to live with the media, because of my shyness it was complicated at first, I already know that it is part of cycling, I know that my support is obviously my family and I only focused on my training, I know that one must know that the Cycling is my lifestyle, but also what I live off of and you have to know how to exploit that image.”

What was it like going from skating to cycling?

“I spent approximately nine years in skating, a long part of my life, it was a beautiful process because thanks to that I trained as an athlete, I learned discipline, it is a very demanding sport because it involves gym and cycling, I think that’s where it happened. The cycling thing began to happen since two or three times a week we trained on a bicycle, I didn’t like them at that time, they seemed very hard to me, I thought that if I rode a bicycle every day I wouldn’t be able to, but there came a time that in skating I didn’t feel the same desire and I decided to take a total break from the sport, but it hurt me to leave because it wasn’t me, that’s when I made the decision to try cycling although I wasn’t convinced because it seemed very demanding.”

Your references

Paula Patiño is a great reference for Colombian women’s cycling, she has been on the world tour for many years with a lot of experience and well now I am the second Colombian there. Also having Charlotte on the team who performed in the Tour de France, being there with a top rider is something that I really like.

your dreams

The truth is that there are many and little by little I have been assimilating what is coming next year, because I did not expect things to come so quickly, I have worked for it and I think it is difficult for cyclists on this side to be able to get there and I know that There are many challenges ahead for me, I want to be an outstanding cyclist, be among the best, my dream is to be an elite world champion on road and track.”