Nairo Quintana has confirmed that he will return to the Giro d’Italia next month, ten years on from his overall victory at the corsa rosa. The race will mark Quintana’s first appearance in a Grand Tour since he was disqualified from the 2022 Tour de France after testing positive for Tramadol.
Although the offence was not punishable with a suspension at the time – Tramadol was only added to the WADA banned list on January 1 of this year – Quintana parted company with Arkéa-Samsic shortly afterwards and he was unable to find a team for 2023.
Last Autumn, Quintana was surprisingly thrown a lifeline by his old team Movistar, and he began his second stint with the squad on home roads in Colombia. He contracted COVID-19 at the Tour Colombia, however, which delayed the start of his European season, while a crash at the Volta a Catalunya left Quintana with a displaced collarbone and put his Giro participation in doubt.
Speaking at a press conference in Bogotá on Tuesday to promote his sportive ride, Quintana confirmed that he would race the Giro, but he indicated that he would chase stage wins rather than his initial objective of a high overall finish. He is slated to ride in support of Enric Mas at the Vuelta a España later in the year.
“We’ll get to the Giro d'Italia, maybe not in the shape we want or in the best conditions, but we will ride well,” Quintana said, according to AS. “For sure, at the end of the last week I will be much better than at the beginning.”
Quintana will be accompanied by compatriots Einer Rubio and Fernando Gaviria in the Movistar line-up in Italy. “I know that I won’t be at my best level, but we’re going to try for stage wins and for the mountain stages,” said Quintana, who conceded that his start to the 2024 season had been “complicated.”
Quintana’s return to the WorldTour was a controversial one. In a since-deleted exchange on Geraint Thomas’ podcast, the Welshman said Quintana “shouldn’t even be racing,” while his teammate Luke Rowe described the Colombian as “a little fucking rat.”
Their former Sky teammate Wout Poels, meanwhile, admitted to taunting Quintana about his positive test for Tramadol when they jostled for position at the Volta a Catalunya.
“We know that some people like us and some people don't like us. We have done very nice things for our country and that is what should fill our hearts,” Quintana said in Bogotá when asked about his reception in the peloton.
He proceeded to compare his situation to that of the fable of the deaf frog, in which the eponymous amphibian perseveres in leaping his way out of a pit because he is unable to hear the words of discouragement of his peers.
“We’re going ahead like the deaf frog, going in search of the objectives we want and with our chests full of pride, knowing who we are and where we come from. That’s what fills me with joy.”
