Confidant witnessed how López, his "biggest disappointment," spiraled into trouble: "The doping news didn’t surprise me"

Things could have turned out very differently, according to one of the men who discovered the talented rider. Vicente Belda, who rode for the famed Kelme team for many years, turned to scouting talent in Colombia after his racing career. He was involved in bringing Nairo Quintana, and also Superman López, onto the scene. However, he no longer has many good things to say about the latter, as Belda told Marca.

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López has been found guilty of doping use and possession. Belda witnessed the fall of the pocket climber. In 2022, after a dispute, he re-signed with Astana, where he had also raced until 2020. "After his withdrawal from the 2022 Giro, he had inexplicable knee pains. I called him, and he was panicking, running through Barcelona airport. I haven’t heard from him since that day."

Belda had always been involved with López, acting as a confidant for the Colombian. But then, after the news broke that the climber was suspected of being involved in doping, he suddenly saw his own family involved in the Maynar case, as it’s known. "I had meant a lot to him in Europe, especially when he first arrived. He was wary and cautious as a newcomer."

Until 2022, their relationship had been fine, but everything changed due to the doping case. "Because of his knee pain, I was looking for a physiotherapist and a biochemist for him. Suddenly, he got a new representative, and things quickly went downhill. In the media, he then claimed that my son and I were responsible for supplying the banned substances. That disappointed me the most. He is the biggest disappointment of my life." According to Belda, López was cornered and began making desperate moves. "The doping news didn’t surprise me, because he had already had many muscle problems."