Jonathan Caicedo's success in the general classification of the Tour of Magnificent Qinghai is not merely a victory, but represents the Ecuadorian rider's desire to make his voice heard and continue chasing his dreams. The Wheeltop Rotor Chengdu team athlete believed in it until the end, despite the rain, the cold, despite the cancelled and shortened stages, he fought until the last day giving himself something that goes beyond the trophy.

Even in the final stage he didn't hold back, he kept his eyes open and we even saw him attacking in the last 40 kilometers, playing all his cards. "This morning I was very motivated, but honestly I had no certainties. The stage was quite complicated, anything could happen, a small group of riders could break away and gain a good advantage and then we would have been out of the game. I tried to always be vigilant, always present, I wanted to keep the situation under control and not be caught off guard, especially near the intermediate sprints that awarded bonus seconds. At one point I found myself up front with a nice group, the second-placed rider in the general classification was there too and we were taking regular turns, but then the peloton wanted to close the gap and at that point I just had to maintain a good position and reach the finish line. Only when I crossed the finish line did I say to myself 'it's done, I've won'" Caicedo tells us, and on the podium he displayed a gigantic smile that made all his Chinese fans happy.

As we told you a few days ago, his adventure at the Tour of Magnificent Qinghai represents a true starting point, the desire to begin again after hellish months in which he had even questioned the possibility of being a professional rider. Due to the difficult situation of the Petrolike team, Jonathan Caicedo and all his teammates found themselves without races and without certainties. Some decided to leave, some found places elsewhere, but he was welcomed by the Wheeltop team who accepted the gamble and obtained the greatest of rewards. "This race was a gamble for both me and the team, I hadn't raced for months, apart from national championships and I had few certainties. The team gave me a reason to fight for and being able to win the general classification is a success that finally makes me feel good after so long. I believe that more than for me, it's the reward for the team that took a chance and also for my family, for everyone who has always stood by me and saw me hit rock bottom"

It's quite striking to think that perhaps none of this could have happened at the beginning of the season, the Ecuadorian hit rock bottom but it was precisely in those difficulties that he understood he had to start over. "Those were terrible months, nobody wanted to give me a chance anymore and I even came to question my entire cycling career. I reached a point where I didn't even believe in myself anymore. A few weeks ago the meeting with this new team gave me something to hope for and when I arrived here I suddenly felt good. After so long I felt like a real rider again, I was ready to fight, to give my all as I've always done. It wasn't an easy race, but I believe that at some point we all started to dream big and we were driven by that dream, we didn't want to give up anymore. I hope this is just the beginning of this new story, both for me and for the team, alongside me there are many young riders who want to learn and I hope to contribute my part."