Dramatic death in Colombia from the former cyclist Marlon Alirio Pérezthe former world champion and rider of the Movistar Team in 2008 and 2009 – then we called it Savings Bank–. The Colombian was murdered at the age of 48 after being the victim of an armed robbery during which he received several stab wounds to the neck. After the incident, he was taken to hospital. Antiochwhere he ended up losing his life.
Marlon was the youth points race champion in the Ecuador World Cup in 1994 and became one of the most important athletes in the history of his country. The governor of Antioquia, Andrés Julián Rendónit was the one who announced his death: “The Police Colombian and Prosecutor’s Office “They have undertaken the investigation which will quickly shed light on the assassination of Marlon Pérez, a sporting glory from Antioquia.”
Rendón adds that Pérez, born in the town of River Thames“was found on the public highway in the Carmen de Viboral with a stab. “He was very sorry about this news and sent a heartfelt hug to his family.” THE Colombian Cycling Federation He also regretted this fact and defined Pérez in a statement as an “exceptional cyclist and former world champion in athletics and para-cycling, who unfortunately lost his life in a violent incident during a robbery attempt on Thursday evening” .
After leaving his mark on Colombian cycling, Marlon joined Selle Italia and was later part of the Tenax Team (2006), Universal coffee (2007) and Caisse d’Epargne (2008-2009). The man from Antioquia was world points champion in 1994, world champion in tandem para-cycling as Javier Serna in 2017 and Pan American time trial champion in Guadalajara Pan American Games 2011.
The great career of Marlon Pérez
He was also a three-time national time trial champion, also winning six stages in the Return to Colombia. Likewise, he represented his country in three Olympic Games (Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004) and in some Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020). Inside Classic MRC He reigned in five stages and three of Return to Táchira (Venezuela). As if that were not enough, he participated in the editions of the prestigious Tour of Italy in 2004, 2005 and 2008.
Marlon Pérez will forever be remembered in Colombia because he managed the arrival of some riders from his country in major European teams. one of them was Rigoberto Uranarrived in Tenax from Italy in 2006, who began his career in elite cycling during which he achieved two second places at the Giro d’Italia in 2013 and 2014, in addition to another second place at the Tour de France in 2017.
