Former Colombian pro cyclist Jaime Restrepo shot and killed

The former professional cyclist Jaime Restrepo was shot and killed in Antioquia, Colombia on Monday.

The Colombian was shot by a man travelling on a motorbike around 6:30pm on Monday, according to Colombian news website El Tiempo. Antioquia Police said two armed suspects travelling on a motorbike approached Restrepo, with one repeatedly shooting him, causing his death within a "matter of minutes".

According to reports, the reasons behind the murder are not yet known. One of the suspects, a 35-year-old man, was arrest close to the place where the crime took place, and a "38-caliber revolver was seized from the alleged perpetrator", according to local media.

Restrepo never made it past Conti level in professional terms, riding for Orgullo Paisa in Colombia, and then Team Novák in Romania. The 25-year-old was the 2014 Pan-American junior time trial champion, and later that year finished ninth in the junior individual time trial at the Road World Championships, in Ponferrada, Spain.

He finished 1-43 behind Lennard Kämna, the Bora-Hansgrohe rider who is currently racing the Giro d'Italia, and was also beaten by the current world time trial champion Filippo Ganna, and Team DSM rider Michael Storer.

In 2014, he was also a junior world champion squad in the team pursuit on the track,  racing for Colombia.

After moving to Europe for the 2019 season and joining Novák, Restrepo raced in 2.1 ranked events including the Cycling Tour of Bihor, the Tour de Hongrie, and the Sibiu Cycling Tour. He finished fifth overall at the Cycling Tour of Szeklerland, a Romanian domestic race.

His career was interrupted by the pandemic, but news reports said that he was continuing to train at the time of his death, in the hope that he could return to professional cycling.