This site features games from many different countries, and I am aware of the existence of games from even more countries, which I hope I can include on the site some day. Among the countries which were not included yet was Colombia. Even though I know there are at least two or three Colombian cycling games, and I have been in contact with Colombian game makers for a while, I had not managed to get a copy of any Colombian game so far. Sending them overseas is not always easy. However, the race to be the first Colombian game featured on this site is over, and the honour goes to a print-and-play game that has been available for a few years. The game was made for Señal Colombia, a state-owned public broadcast television channel founded in 1970 that offers educational, cultural, and sports content, and has been available on their website since 2018. I admit I had not seen this one coming. I must thank Ricardo León Peralta (of whom I hope to have very interesting news soon) for the tip.

 

What is offered in this download is a simple, well-explained (as long as you read Spanish -or know how to use a translator-) set of rules to play a cycling race using cards (which is not the same thing as a cycling-themed card game, as visitors of this site may already know). Along with the rules, of course, there are the cards to be downloaded and printed. I admit I have not done it yet, and therefore I have not played the game. I will let you know when I do, and I will update this description. For the moment I place this game in the non-race games, though it has strong elements of a card trick-taking game.

The rules mention 18 cyclist cards, though there are 30 actually in version 2.0 of the rules, which is the only one you need to have the complete game. In this game we find a mix of "real" and generic riders. For instance, in the picture above we see Rigoberto Urán and Nairo Quintana flanked by Camilo Breakaway and Mauricio Climber. Whether real or generic, riders are classified in two types: "escalador" (climber) and "embalador" (sprinter). Furthermore, all riders have their own set of strengths in six categories (power, resistance, sprint, time trial, climb, and attack). Finally, on the bottom left corner we find two characteristics for weather conditions: a strength and a weakness.

 

Again, on the right, a couple of generic riders: Juan Quick and Ruben Domestique.

 

The first version of the rules (the one that was released in 2018) had 18 riders indeed, as mentioned, but some of them were repeated (a mistake, I assume), and there were only 13 different riders. Subsequently, some riders were offered as extra downloads until, in 2020, version 2.0 of the rules included all the riders offered so far and a few more as a bonus.  Now we have 21 actual riders and 9 generic ones.
 

Among the actual riders, four of them are women: Diana Peñuela, Liliana Moreno, Ana Sanabria, and Jessica Parra. In this game they compete with men.

 

Then we have 20 bonus/malus cards to give some flavour to the race. Speaking of flavour, the "Bocadillo Veleño", seen above, is a sweet made with guava pulp and panela, very popular in Colombia and neighbouring countries. I presume that it was used by Colombian riders before the availability of modern energy bars.

Finally, we have 28 terrain cards, which form the stages (we will use as many terrain cards as riders in every player's hand), and 8 climate cards, only one of which is used in each stage; it affects the whole stage, and it has different effects on each rider. The maillot cards seen above belong to the bonus/malus deck.

All the actual riders, both male and female, are Colombian except one. I wonder why it is precisely Elia Viviani.
I cannot think of any relation between him and Colombia. Any idea?

Thanks to Ricardo León Peralta for the link