Rigoberto Uran closed his professional cycling career with a farewell event at the Athanasio Girardeau Stadium in Medellin on Sunday. The Colombians won the Medala category Aoro, the highest award given by the Mayor's office, among 8,000 fans.

"This is a very special moment for all cyclists. I could not do it in the Vuelta a España, but God knows how he does these things. Today, in Medellin, in front of all my people and the participants of Giro d'ERIGO, a witness to what will happen, I have professionally retired from cycling," Ulan said in a report published in Marca.

"I just want to say: Thanks, bike. Thanks to you, I was able to achieve a lot, I was able to support the family, I was able to fight and inspire the whole country."

Uranium took part in the festival earlier in the day, riding with cyclists at the annual Giro de Rigo, an event for amateur riders . 

He also joined Alejandro Valverde, Joaquin Rodriguez, Daniel Felipe Martinez, Sergio Iguita, Santiago Buitlago and Fernando Gaviria to share memorable career moments.

"It was always a pleasure to be with him. There were a lot of things he gave to this country," Valverde said.

The celebration ended in the evening with additional tributes organized by his wife, Michel Durango, and the mayor of Medellin, Federico Gutierrez, his professional cycling career

Uranium's career began with an Italian team registered in Ireland in 2006, according to the Times. Nax Salmilano when he was just 19 years old. He participated in 19 years of career races with the team Unibet, Caisse d'peggne, Sky Pro Cycling and QuickStep, and closed his career with EF Education-EasyPost.

Highlights of his career include the Giro d'Italia (2013 and 2014) in 2nd place overall, the Tour de France (2017) in 2nd place overall and stage wins in all 3 grand tours, winning silver in the Men's Road Race at the London Olympics in 2012. He also competed at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

"We lost a gold medal in London, but we won a gold medal in Medellin," Uranium laughed while talking about his career experience, such as while representing Colombia at the Olympics.

Uranium confirmed that 2024 is his last season as a professional rider and made an official announcement at the end of the tour Colombia held on May 2. His final season did not go as planned, as he crashed in Stage 8 of the Vuelta a España, forcing him to give up the race with a broken hip. He did not compete for the rest of the season.