Colombian cycling idol Nairo Quintana has been retroactively disqualified from this summer’s Tour de France. The announcement was made by the International Cycling Union (UCI) following the analysis of two of Quintana’s blood samples taken on 8 and 13 July 2022. Traces of the painkiller Tramadol were found in them.
Quintana could appeal the disqualification to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within ten days. The UCI clarified that it was not a doping offence but a violation of the federation’s medical rules.
UCI statement concerning Nairo Quintana Rojas https://t.co/XI0QLJ35XR pic.twitter.com/7C5PmlAnt5
– UCI_media (@UCI_media) August 17, 2022
As the 32-year-old is a first-time offender, he will be able to take part in other competitions such as the Tour of Spain, which starts next Friday in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The mountain specialist won the Vuelta in 2016. It was his biggest triumph besides the overall victory in the Giro d’Italia in 2014 and two second places in the Tour de France.
Quintana finished sixth in this year’s Tour de France, which he is now being stripped of. Only on Tuesday, Quintana’s racing team Arkea-Samsic had extended his contract until 2025.