As the Colombian national track coach for the past 15 years, Jose Julian Velasquez knows exceptional cycling talent when he sees it. That`s why the current Team Medellin director told Cyclingnews this week that he`s not surprised to see former pupil Fernando Gaviria transfer his track success to the road. It`s not the Colombian sprinter`s physical prowess that drives Gaviria`s success, Velasquez said, but his attitude. Velasquez saw this first-hand while coaching Gaviria on the track at the Pan American Games in Toronto, at the Olympic Games in Rio and for two World Championships, in London and in Paris. `Fernando has so much potential, and not just physically, but mentally, too,` Velasquez said. `The power in Fernando is his mentality. He has a winner`s mentality, a champion`s mentality. He only wants to win races, win stages.ADVERTISEMENT `For me, that`s the reason he beats the other riders. He works to win. I know all riders work to win, but he`s special,` he said of the UAE Team Emirates rider. In his other role as director of Team Medellin - a Colombian Continental team that consistently places near the top of the UCI Americas Tour - Velasquez is hoping to put together a schedule for his team this year that includes several US races, including the Joe Martin Stage Race in Arkansas, the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico and the Tour of Utah. Velasquez has been working with the race organisers to secure the invitations. Utah and Gila seem likely, but he`s still working on the Joe Martin race.
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