Bogota (AFP)

The nose is difficult to reproduce. But nothing prevents the ability of Nicolas Molano to immortalize Egan Bernal, Colombian champion of the Tour de France. His gouge delicately emerges from the wood the "soul" of the youngest winner of the century of this legendary race.

If the hero of July has renounced the World Road Cycling, which ends Sunday in Yorkshire, England, the Colombian selection has sent among its most experienced champion, Nairo Quintana, who already has his wooden statue.

Planks, sawdust, cutting machines ... in his modest workshop, hung on the mountainsides of southern Bogota, the sculptor prepared a sketch of Bernal, the first "scarab" of the Andes to win the yellow jersey.

This 57-year-old carpenter carefully traced Bernal's drawing on a piece of trunk, the first step in shaping the figure of the fourth cyclist that he will convert into a work of art.

"Carving for me is helping the soul of the wood to emerge," he told AFP among its tools, in the poor neighborhood of Ciudad Bolivar, whose brick hovels clump together on slopes of the Andean peaks that surround the capital.

His passion for cycling dates back only a few years. But he has already sculpted Chris Froome, British winner of four Tours de France, a Giro d'Italia and two Vueltas of Spain, as well as Quintana, champion of the Vuelta 2016 and Giro 2014, and Rigoberto Uran, another compatriot.

"I admire Colombian cyclists (...) They fall, get up and go again, like all Colombians who, complicated as things may be, find solutions and move forward," he adds. .

- The smile of Egan -

A small door separates the studio from his room, from which he follows each of the competitions in which his favorite riders participate.

Sitting on his bed facing the TV, he enthuses and gives a big punch on the mattress when the "little", as he calls Sergio Higuita, wins the 18th stage of the Vuelta 2019.

The retransmissions of the big races allow him to observe his models attentively. He studies each line, each expression so that his articulated characters are identifiable at first sight.

"When they go on TV, I look at their gestures, their profile, I enter the intimacy of their being (...) the emotional part," he says.

Although the image of Bernal in tears during his victory in France has been around the world, Nicolas Molano preferred to carve his big smile.

"I started sketching Egan when he was hired by Sky" in 2017, since renamed Ineos. "I thought that this kid had a great future and I studied him," he adds.

From one tool to the next, the craftsman gradually turns the face of the young cyclist, paying particular attention to the aquiline nose and slightly twisted.

Thanks to the photos he printed, he does not miss the look of the yellow jersey, which touched the firmament of cycling just 22 years.

- The Geppetto of cyclists -

He has refined his sense of detail over four decades of practice in various workshops and, between two more traditional carpentry pieces, he likes to devote himself to carving characters, the largest of which reach 90 cm high.

"How long does it take for a tree to grow?" He says, explaining his "idea of ​​creating objects to use all those bits and pieces," tired of seeing wasted wood on workbenches.

The champions of the little queen are next to others of her favorite figures, such as the legendary Pinocchio and an elegant sitting Don Quixote.

Some require weeks, months of work and cost the equivalent of 7.000 euros. His works have been exhibited, until Italy.

But Nicolas Molano dreams that a "beetle" will one day buy his own wooden representation.

In the meantime, his passion is not about to die: Colombia has won almost all the competitions of the calendar and he crosses the fingers for the Mondial in Angelterre.

In the absence of Bernal, it may be the opportunity for his compatriots Esteban Chaves, Fernando Gaviria or Alvaro Hodeg to ensure in turn a "soul" of wood.

© 2019 AFP