Carlos Betancur’s place at the Tour de France has been thrown into doubt by visa issues, after he determined himself to be too ill to fly to the Tour de Suisse. If he does compete, however, he will be keen to prove his climbing prowess – which was in evidence by the bucket-load at last year’s Giro d’Italia and, indeed, at Paris-Nice this time out to a lesser extent.

The Colombian climbing ace was at his best on his way to winning at Paris-Nice, excelling over the short, punchy stages but the Giro d’Italia proved he is equally at home on the long, steep stuff too. That he recovered from a puncture to finish fourth on the Tre Cime di Lavaredo and claim the white jersey last year showed he is certainly built in the same mould as the other Colombian aces currently shining on the WorldTour.

Betancur’s form has dropped since Paris-Nice, injury and illness taking hold before his latest problems ahead of the Tour de Suisse. A lack of competitive racing could stop him from performing to the fullest of his ability but at his best, Betancur has proved he could be one of the WorldTour’s next big things.