After iliac artery surgery Ivan Ramiro Sosa can win again: "I want to return to my best level"

For years, Iván Ramiro Sosa rode out of the spotlight, until the third stage of the 2026 Tour of Turkey. On the mountain stage to Kiran, the 28-year-old Colombian rediscovered his climbing legs of old and managed to win solo. A significant boost for Sosa, who hopes this victory will put an end to a difficult period during which he suffered from an iliac artery injury. He even told WielerFlits in Turkey that the end of his career had come close.

“He comes from a long period with issues related to the iliac artery, and after the surgery, we hoped for the best for him. He has struggled for the past three years, and last year the operation finally took place,” team director Mikel Ezkieta of Equipo Kern Pharma explained in an interview with us shortly after the finish. This explains the decline Sosa experienced after previously standing out at Androni, INEOS Grenadiers, and Movistar.

Two overall wins at the Tour of Burgos, overall victory at the Tour de la Provence, and success at the Tour de Langkawi are etched in many fans’ memories, yet in recent years, Sosa was never able to reach that level again. The situation was even so dire that an early end to Sosa’s career was considered.

“Yes, that’s true,” the climber says himself about that. “It was an incredibly tough period, which makes winning now even more special. Fortunately, the recovery went well, and hopefully, we can aim for more victories. I hope to return to the best form of my career now.”

'Difficult period has made me stronger'
“I’m glad I could win again because I missed it enormously. That’s what we train for and ride for every day. The recovery period after the operation has made me stronger,” Sosa believes. Yet his recent results at the start of the 2026 season were not impressive enough for us to count him among the favorites in Turkey. “I did come here with the intention to win, to at least try. I knew I could do it, so I gave everything I had, and that led to this victory.”

Within the team, Sosa’s win—who went solo early on the Kıran climb (9 km at 9.7%) and ultimately held Sebastian Berwick nine seconds behind—was somewhat of a surprise. “A small surprise,” said team director Ezkieta. “We know both this stage and the sixth stage feature very steep climbs, which suit his strengths perfectly. Last week he crashed during O Gran Camiño, so we weren’t sure if he’d be in top form, but his feeling throughout the day was perfect.”

Confidence
With the mountain stage to Feslikan (21 km at 8.4%) still to come, a 13-second lead in the general classification isn’t much. “First, we have to make it to the sixth stage, and I think the other teams will make it tough for us. As a team, we hope to go into that mountain stage with this advantage and hope he has the same legs as today,” he said.

The whole situation with the iliac artery problems has had a big impact on Sosa and the team, Ezkieta acknowledges. “Iván is a good guy who works very hard. Right now we’re mainly working on his confidence because that’s important after three such tough years. He keeps improving, and we hope to contend for the overall win this week,” he says.

“The UCI points are very important as well. This is a ProSeries race, and the fight for points is currently intense. Our priority is to stay in the top 30, so we have the opportunity to come back to the Vuelta next year.”