his article was originally published in issue 83 of Cyclist magazine
Words Giles Belbin Photography Danny Bird
In the closing moments of the 12th stage of the 1985 Tour de France, two Cafe de Colombia riders were at the head of affairs.
Lucho Herrera and Fabio Parra had raced for more than 265km, from Morzine to Lans-en-Vercors, over seven classified Alpine climbs.
Now, as the finish beckoned, they were finally alone, having left the world’s very best riders behind on the final climb of the day.
With the two Colombians no real threat in the general classification, riders such as Bernard Hinault, Greg LeMond and Stephen Roche were riding the race’s longest stage with one eye on the following day’s pivotal time-trial.
And how the two Colombians grabbed their opportunity.
With Parra already up the road and the flamme rouge in sight, commentators covering the race for Caracol Radio in Colombia were in raptures.
Herrera, who had already won the stage to Avoriaz the previous day while wearing the polka-dot jersey of best climber, was bridging across to his teammate.
‘Primero e Segundo!’ they shouted as Herrera reached Parra and went straight to the front to lead his teammate to the finish line, speeding under the Cafe de Colombia banners that spanned the road (the organisation also sponsored the King of the Mountains competition) as he did so.
Around the final corner Herrera calmly reached into his jersey pocket and pulled out his team cap as Parra took the lead.
‘Colombia! Colombia! Colombia! Colombia! Colombia!… Parrrrraaaa!’ cried Caracol Radio in ecstasy as Parra and Herrera recorded a famous one-two finish for their team and their country.
Two days later Herrera escaped with more than 30km to go and soloed to another stage win despite falling on the final descent into Saint-Étienne and ending the day in an ambulance.
The following day the Colombian daily El Tiempo featured a bloodied Herrera on its front page above the caption ‘The price of boldness’.
Three stage wins in four days represented a remarkable return for the team, but it didn’t end there.
In Paris both Herrera and Parra made the podium, Herrera as the winner of the polka-dot jersey and Parra in the white jersey of best novice (the white jersey competition changed to best young rider in 1987).
It all added up to an incredible Tour for the Cafe de Colombia team, which was still in its first season.
Colombia had entered the cycling elite, reported Jairo Anchique of Associated Press. ‘From now on they are firm candidates for [the yellow jersey in] 1986.’
Reportedly up to two million people welcomed the team home, bringing the centre of Bogotá to a standstill.
Small beginnings, grand plans
Although 1985 represented a watershed moment for Colombian cycling it wasn’t the first time the nation had lit up racing in Europe.
In 1980 Alfonso Florez won the Tour de l’Avenir, a race regarded as the amateur Tour de France.
Three years later the national team, backed by the battery maker Varta and populated by Colombian amateur riders, gained entry to the Tour itself.
There, Patrocinio Jiménez led the race over the legendary Tourmalet and spent time in the polka-dot jersey.
The outfit returned the following year with Herrera, who was riding his first Tour.
On the slopes of Alpe d’Huez he escaped the duelling Bernard Hinault and Laurent Fignon to record his first Tour stage win and the first by an amateur.
It was an astounding result made all the more impressive for coming on the summit of one of cycling’s most storied climbs.
Coffee had long been one of Colombia’s most important commodities and the country’s national federation of coffee growers took on title sponsorship of the team in 1985, adopting the name Cafe de Colombia.
That enabled the likes of Herrera and Parra to turn professional and for the next six seasons the Cafe de Colombia jersey was a regular sight around Europe as the team competed at the sport’s most important races.
The Colombian riders became known as the escarabajos – or beetles – because of their distinctive climbing style.
The team’s best result came in 1987 when Herrera won the Vuelta a España, becoming the first South American to win a Grand Tour.
Herrera inherited the leader’s jersey from the German Reimund Dietzen after winning a stage to the famous Lagos de Covadonga.
He held the lead until the final time-trial, where he lost it to Sean Kelly, only to regain the jersey when Kelly abandoned the next day with a saddle sore.
This time Herrera kept it all the way to Madrid, recording an overall win of just over a minute.
With Colombia in a state of delirium the nation’s then-president, Virgilio Barco, congratulated Herrera from the presidential palace via the Colombian broadcaster RCN.
He told Herrera that it was a historic day for the country and that he wanted to send him ‘the emotional embrace of all Colombians’.
For his part Herrera told his president that he hoped his win would serve ‘so that one day there will be peace in our country’.
Other notable results for the team and Herrera included fifth and a second polka-dot jersey at the 1987 Tour and an overall win at the 1988 Dauphiné Libéré.
Herrera also secured the climber’s jersey at all three Grand Tours for the team.
For his part, Parra recorded a podium finish at the Tour of Switzerland before moving to Kelme in 1988.
Amid turbulence in the coffee industry, Colombia’s coffee federation pulled its sponsorship after the 1990 season, bringing an end to the European adventure.
Cafe de Colombia would return to cycling in 2010, spending two seasons as a title sponsor alongside Colombia Es Passion and with the likes of Esteban Chaves and Nairo Quintana on the roster.