Pablo Hernández

In the 1960s Pablo Hernández was part of a famous quartet of Colombian cyclists that also consisted of Rubén Darío Goméz (“El Tigrillo”), Luis Alfonso Galviz, and Carlos Ariel Betancurt. As a member of the Sedelana team, Hernández won the second stage of the 1959 Vuelta de Colombia when just 19-years-of-age.

Hernández was a member of the Relojes Pierce (Pierce Watches) team, and finished third in the 1963 and 1964 Vuelta de Colombia. In the second of those years he won the National Road Race Championship, was runner-up to Rubén Goméz in the Vuelta de Guatemala, and also competed at the Tokyo Olympics. He was runner-up in the 1965 national championship, and after a couple of spells away from the Pierce team, he returned in 1969 in time for him to fulfill his ambition and win the individual title at the Vuelta de Colombia, assisted by team-mates Álvaro Pachón, Miguel Samacá, and Evaristo Fino.

After his racing career, Hernández lived in Mexico for a while before returning to Colombia and setting up a business selling cycles. After being ill for a couple of years, which resulted in the amputation of his left leg due to poor circulation in 2018, Hernández died on New Year’s Day 2021.