The Colombian will not start the Tour of Spain this Friday in order to “prepare his defense”.
Colombian Nairo Quintana, disqualified from the last Tour de France on Wednesday for a medical offence, announced Thursday that he will not participate in the Tour of Spain, which starts on Friday in the Netherlands, explaining that he does not have “the head nor the body to the competition“.
“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, in a message published on his Instagram account.
Indicating to have “could think during the night“, the rider of the Arkéa-Samsic team judges not to be “in good conditions“.
“So, during the next ten (days), I will work to prove that I have no problem, and I hope that we will see each other on the next competitions“, he concludes, suggesting that he was going to appeal the sanction against him.
The International Cycling Union (UCI) announced in a statement on Wednesday that Nairo Quintana was “disqualified from the Tour de France 2022“, which he had finished in 6th place, for “a violation of the ban on the use of tramadol in competition“. It’s not about “anti-doping rule violations“, and the runner can appeal within ten days, added the UCI.
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.
In a statement released Wednesday evening, Arkea-Samsic, its French team, said it had “taken note of the notification emanating from the UCI and received by Nairo Quintana”, noting the absence of 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.
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