He explains that he has neither “the head nor the body for competition”. Nairo Quintana, disqualified Wednesday from the last Tour de France for a medical offense, announced Thursday in a video story on Instagram that he would not participate in the Tour of Spain, which starts on Friday in the Netherlands.
“I prefer to go home, organize and prepare my defense about the news that reached me yesterday” (Wednesday), said the 32-year-old Colombian, winner of the Vuelta in 2016. Indicating that he “was able to think for at night”, the rider from the Arkéa-Samsic team considers that he is not “in good conditions”. “So during the next ten [jours]I will work to prove that I have no problem, and I hope that we will see each other in the next competitions, ”he concludes, suggesting that he was going to appeal the sanction against him.
In turmoil since Wednesday
The International Cycling Union (UCI) announced in a press release on Wednesday that Nairo Quintana was “disqualified from the Tour de France 2022”, which he had finished in 6th place, for “a breach of the ban on the use of tramadol in competition “. These are not “anti-doping rule violations”, and the rider can appeal within ten days, the UCI added.
The authority had specified that two samples of dried blood provided by the runner had been analyzed on July 8 (seventh stage) and July 13 (eleventh stage) during the Big Loop, revealing the presence of tramadol, a painkiller which does not is not on the list of prohibited products by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
As it is a first offense, Quintana also remained eligible and could continue to take part in competitions, including the Vuelta, which leaves Friday from Utrecht, in the Netherlands.
Arkea-Samsic prefers not to communicate
In a press release issued Wednesday evening, Arkéa-Samsic, its French team, indicated that it had “taken note of the notification from the UCI and received by Nairo Quintana”, noting the absence of the suspension of the cyclist. “The Arkéa-Samsic team will not provide any further comment,” she added. The Breton formation announced Tuesday the extension of the Colombian until 2025.