The exceptionally lengthy career of Spanish veteran Oscar Sevilla was extended by another chapter this week when the 46-year-old won the opening stage of a race in Guatemala, the Vuelta Bantrab.
Sevilla, 46, crossed the finish line of stage 1 of the Vuelta Bantrab hand in hand and just ahead of Medellín-EPM teammate Miguel Angel López, who joined the squad shortly after the Colombian’s controversial exit from Astana Qazaqstan late last year.
While López then won the Vuelta a San Juan in January, Bantrab is the first victory for Sevilla in the 2023 season and the 45th, in races with UCI rankings of 1.2 or 2.2 or higher, of a career that began way back in 1998 in the long-defunct Kelme-Costa Blanca squad.
In the five-stage 2.2-ranked Vuelta Bantrab, the opening day was dominated by Medellín-EPM. López and Sevilla’s teammate Leandro Oyolo finished third on the opening stage, leading the pack home, while López also claimed the lead in the mountains ranking.
Sevilla finished second in the Vuelta a España over two decades ago in 2001 but after being implicated in the Operacion Puerto scandal and then testing positive for hydroxyethyl starch in 2010, he headed across the Atlantic and successfully rebuilt his career and life in Colombia.
In 2017, he told Cyclingnews that, bizarrely enough, long-term Puerto had proved beneficial in his life, saying, "If it wasn't for Operacion Puerto I'd probably still be in Europe, I'd have earned a lot more money, maybe more fame, but I'd never have been as happy as I am now.”
Sevilla has a contract with Team Medellín, but has rarely discussed retirement, telling El Colombiano in 2021 “I'm not the kid who said I'm going to win this and that, no. Now I think about enjoying myself, I think I can still contribute a lot, I love this sport.”
“I don't want a dream to turn into a nightmare or an obligation. The moment I get up and feel that I can no longer give the same as before, I will make the decision to retire. I know there is less than more, but I still want to race next year and from then on we will see what happens.”
Visibly keen to continue in 2023, Sevilla was briefly the subject of the interest of tech fans when he – appropriately enough for a veteran – sparked interest in his retro puncture protection at the Vuelta a San Juan. But Sevilla’s latest triumph will perhaps put off any thoughts of retirement for a little longer at least.
