Colombian cyclist Nairo Quintana announced that he will not be in the Giro d’Italia, to which his team has access by world classification, despite not being a World Tour.
Quintana already won the Giro in 2014 and was second in 2017. However, the man from Boyacá aspires again to fight for the general of both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España.
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Nairo does not give up the ‘yellow dream’
“They tell me that there is a lot of wind and a lot of time, but anything can happen. The motivation is there, the legs are there. There are many who say ‘Nairo can’t take it anymore’, but I’m fine, we just made another record on the climb of the Tour de la Provence”, said Quintana in a live broadcast on Instagram.
“They tell me that there is a lot of wind and a lot of time, but anything can happen. The motivation is there, the legs are there.”
The French portal Ouest-France had assured this week that Arkea would be thinking of declining its participation in the Giro, due to its intentions to be a World Tour team in 2023, for which they hope to score points in other types of competitions.
Nairo ends his contract with Arkea-Samsic this year, but he did not want to talk about a renewal or his future. “It’s the question I don’t want to be asked: I close my eyes and I don’t even want to think, I want to dedicate myself to hitting the pedals really hard and having a spectacular season. I’m excited and I want to do it.”
He also ruled out his presence in the Vuelta al País Vasco, a race in which he was third in 2016. “I don’t do it in the Basque Country. It is a time when there are a lot of allergies and allergies have killed me all my life. I preferred to run away from pollen and thus finish part of the initial season away from pollen”, he explained.
“I am going to do Turkey and then the Tour of Asturias. There I will take a break and I will go to rest, I will go to Colombia to finish my preparation for the Tour, ”he added.
Quintana asked for safety for cyclists on the road
Quintana referred to what happened with Egan Bernaly called for greater safety for cyclists on Colombian roads.
“It is unfortunate every day to see episodes of people run over by the road. Now it has gone viral because it was our Egan: we have him all the time and we carry him in our hearts for everything he has given us, but it happens every day, ”he said.
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Quintana recalled an accident he also suffered in Colombia. “Two years ago I had a vehicle behind me taking care of me in training, another overtook it and hit me. Those injuries have affected me and that issue is in the Prosecutor’s Office. There are people who do not understand that this is our job and that we also have the right, that we must have tolerance and put ourselves in the other’s wheel, ”he concluded.
Nairo confirmed that his brother Dayer tested positive for covid-19 and for this reason he will not accompany him in the Tour of the two Alps, which starts this Friday.
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