Retired Sergio Henao is back in the peloton with a small team. The Colombian climber was part of the Puerto Rico-based Emmanuel Ibarri & 2ndbike team that finished fourth in the first stage of the Joe Martin Stage Race.

It was a hot and windy day in Fayetteville, Arkansas, but it didn't matter to Henao. Henao spoke Friday about retirement and finding a team to get him back into competition."

"This is my team in the United States and it gives me joy in different bike races. Now I come here for a week to enjoy America (Jo Martin Stage Race). The race was super hard. After this week, I'm moving on to New Jersey to race the Tour of Somerville. The Tour of California was a super race. It's great here and there are a lot of different roads to enjoy."

Henao raced professionally for 15 years before announcing his retirement in March of this year. He spent nine years at the WorldTour level with UAE Team Emirates and Team Sky before spending just one season with a South African team. During that time, he recorded 19 UCI wins, including three WorldTour races. [In 2011, he won the prologue and mountain stages of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, finishing second overall. The following year, he jumped up to the World Tour level with Sky Pro Cycling and raced for the next seven seasons.

Emmanuel Ibarri & the 2ndbike team is an elite team with riders from Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States. The team competed in Speed Week in the southern United States in early May and placed two riders, Jaime Castaneda and Elvis Reyes, in the top 20 at the Sunny King Criterium, the first of 10 races on the American Criterium Cup calendar. Castaneda joins five riders in the Henao and Joe Martin stage races.

"The race got off to a good start. Great teamwork put me in 4th with Sergio Henao and 6th with Juan Arango. We got off to a good start and were very motivated to finish the day. But we'll take it one day at a time. Tomorrow we have another hard day of racing at @joemartinstage," the team posted on Instagram.

The team will register Henao for the Tour of Somerville on Monday, May 30, the American Memorial Day holiday. The team expects to continue racing in the American Criterium Cup events, but it is unclear if Henao will be on those rosters.

The four-day UCI 2.2 Jo Martin stage will continue through Sunday, with professional men's and women's races.