Nairo Quintana has finally announced that he will no longer run the Vuelta

Nairo Quintana will not ride in the Tour of Spain. The Colombian cyclist announced this Thursday his decision after being disqualified from the last Tour de France due to the use of an analgesic that has been banned since March 1, 2019.

“I will not participate in the Vuelta to assert my reasons before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). I will return to the racing calendar at the end of the season” announced the Colombian cyclist, who this Wednesday showed his surprise at the proposal made by the gala round.

“I found out what the media reported a few hours ago. I can only say that I will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to prove my total surprise at the fact reported by the UCI Medical Director.“, said a short statement from Nairo Quintana.

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This decision may have been prompted by the limited time frame, ten days, that the runner had to present his appeal to CAS and he may have been forced to withdraw in the middle of the Vuelta.

In its part, The Arkéa-Samsic team confirmed yesterday in another statement that it had “noticed” the UCI notice in what happened in the Tour de France with Nairo Quintana, but this decision did not bring a penalty or prevent him from running in the Spanish race.

Quintana was disqualified from the Tour de France by the International Cycling Union (UCI) for “violating the ban on the use of tramadol” in competitionan analgesic banned since March 1, 2019 to protect the health and safety of cyclists from the side effects of this substance.

Tests on two blood samples given by the cyclist on July 8 and 13 during the 2022 Tour de France revealed the presence of tramadol and its two main metabolites.

In accordance with the UCI’s medical rules, the runner is ineligible for the Tour de France 2022, a decision that can be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the next 10 days.