Peña "deceived" by agent Acquadro: "My manager no longer responds to calls and messages"

The Colombian Peña rode for Team Jayco AlUla for the past three seasons. His first pro year was tough. "It was a culture shock," Peña told ADN Cycling. He had some problems adapting, which led to substandard performances from the now 24-year-old rider. "From the first year, they wanted me gone; they wanted to end the contract. In the end, the manager later said he had realized how big a step it was for me to start a new life on my own in Europe. He decided to give me a chance for the second year."

Peña jumped at the chance with both hands. He finished fifth in the Tour of Slovenia, won a stage there, took third place in the Tour of Austria, and finished eighth in the WorldTour race Gree-Tour of Guangxi. These were promising results, but unfortunately, he did not manage to continue that success this year. "Starting at the Tour of Catalunya, I suffered again from an old knee injury, which forced me off the bike for a week. I started therapies, and the pain seemed to improve a bit, but in the Tour de Romandie, the pain returned." The climber was removed from the Vuelta team because of this setback and the resulting disappointing performance. On top of that came the news in August that he would not receive a renewal of his contract from the Australian team.

To make matters worse, his agent, Giuseppe Acquadro, also let him down. Acquadro, who has been involved in conflicts in the cycling world before, abandoned Peña. "My manager did not seek timely contact with teams. Some teams said afterward that they would have been interested if he had informed them earlier, but that never happened. He did the same with Diego Camargo and others. He claimed he was in contact with teams, but later I discovered this was untrue."

When he could use all the support he needed, Peña was alone. "I am doing everything myself now, and my manager no longer responds to my calls and messages. Everything is very uncertain. I want to stay in Europe, but at this point in the season, it is challenging," concluded the Colombian, who swallowed a bitter pill during his three seasons. "I feel I have a lot of strength, and some trainers have said the same. That motivates me to keep fighting," he concludes with vigor.