The sports journalist Matt Rendell’s relationship with Colombia began in 1998 when he was working on his book Kings of the Mountains, which was later made into the documentary of the same name for Channel 4 (United Kingdom). At this year’s Hay Cartagena, Rendell, who has won various awards for his sports journalism, will present Colombia es pasión! This is a book about the achievements of the cyclist Egan Bernal who, when he won the 2019 Tour de France, became the youngest champion in the 110-year history of the race. Colombian cyclists are not the product of a rigorous sports system that makes them ascend to the pinnacle of globalized sport. They come from harsher environments that surprise, shock, and even, at times, enchant. This book is about the lives and dreams of Colombian cyclists; tells inspiring stories of overcoming poverty, violence, disease and corruption, and how the titles that this new generation of cyclists has brought to Colombia have changed the country’s image in the world. In conversation with Andrea Guerrero.

Event sponsored by RCN-Postobón