The Tour Colombia 2.1 (open in new tab) has been the sole domain of the sprinters so far. Sebastian Morano (open in new tab) (UAE Team Emirates), in particular, won the second and third stages in a bunch sprint after EF Pro Cycling won the team time trial.

However, the race's first summit finish is coming up on Friday. For the third day in a row, the peloton will start in Pipa with a Category 3 climb to Santa Rosa de Viterbo at 2,760 meters, 169 km from the finish.

EF Pro Cycling's Tejay Van Garderen (open in new tab), whose teammate Jonathan Caicedo is currently leading the race, told Cycling News that he expects an overall battle to unfold on this stage.

Van Garderen is racing to support Caicedo and his Colombian teammates Daniel Martinez, Sergio Iguita, and Rigoberto Uran.

"It's definitely a nice way to ease into the season," Van Garderen said of starting in the warmer South American climate instead of cold and rainy Europe.

This "ease" is somewhat complicated by the altitude, with not a single stage below 2,500 meters in elevation and the final stage finishing in Alto del Bergeon at 3,290 meters. Van Garderen said he is already feeling the effects of the thin air.

"Sometimes it feels like my lungs are more in my throat than my chest," he said. I'm sure I'll be flying high on the final day's climb."

Although Van Garderen is not afraid of heights, the Columbia race takes riders to extreme heights throughout the week that can wear them down. Van Garderen hopes that his roots in the American West will help him adjust and perform.

"I've spent a lot of time in Colorado, so I should be a little more comfortable with the altitude. Hopefully that will help a little bit, but I'm definitely feeling the altitude."

Van Garderen tied with Caicedo, Martinez, and Iguita in the team time trial on stage 1 and is now fourth overall. Morano is in fifth place with a time bonus from his stage win.

EF Pro Cycling's overall contenders, Richard Calapaz and Egan Bernal of Team Ineos, are in eighth and ninth, respectively, 46 seconds behind. Pro Continental Team Rally Cycling's Gavin Mannion and Kyle Murphy are 59 seconds back, while UAE Team Emirates' Colombian climber Sergio Henao is one minute back in 17th place overall.

Friday may be the first chance for the GC men to show how well they are doing before Saturday's stage 5. The stage has some familiar climbs, but the course is long and flat all the way to the finish, and the big battle for GC will be in Sunday's Alto del Velhon.