The Court of Arbitration for Sports (TAS) dismissed this Thursday the appeal of the Colombian cyclist Nairo Quintana against the sanction imposed by the International Cycling Union (UCI), which disqualified him from the last Tour de France for violating its medical regulations.
After knowing the sanction, Quintana replied: “The storm has to pass”.
(The UCI pronounces: Nairo Quintana: forceful pronouncement of the UCI after decision of the TAS).
The UCI made this decision after analyzes of two blood samples provided by the cyclist on July 8 and 13 during the 2022 Tour de France revealed the presence of tramadol and its two main metabolites.
Tramadol is an analgesic banned by the UCI since March 1, 2019 to protect the health and safety of cyclists from the side effects of this substance, but it is not on the list of prohibited substances of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). ).
After the hearing of the case held on October 12, the CAS panel ruled that the UCI’s in-competition ban on tramadol was due to medical reasons and not doping reasons and, therefore, is within the powers and jurisdiction of the body.
The panel also concluded that the scientific evidence confirms that Nairo Quintana’s samples contained both tramadol and its two metabolites and on this basis determined that the contested decision should be upheld, thus dismissing the cyclist’s appeal.
The UCI announced on August 17 the disqualification of Quintana from the last Tour, in which he finished sixth, for violating his medical regulations and imposed a fine of 5,000 Swiss francs, after which the runner decided to resort to the TAS and resigned from participating in the Vuelta a España although the regulations allowed him to compete in it. The UCI welcomed this Thursday “with satisfaction” the decision of the CAS which, as explained in a brief statement, “reinforces the validity of the prohibition of tramadol in the UCI Medical Regulations to protect the health and safety of runners”.
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Nairo Quintana speaks
“Unfortunately, the ruling was not good for me, with sadness I say it. I proudly say that in my career I have had more than 300 anti-doping tests and I have never had any doping problems. I have many reasons why I have not taken this product (tramadol). Unfortunately, the result came out like this,” Quintana said in a video shared by his communications team.
“That’s right friends, life happens, life goes on. The storm has to pass, we keep looking forward, I have a nice family, a country and great friends who support me. Thank you for this, and we continue,” she added.
The cyclist plans to give a press conference with members of his legal team to tell in detail how his defense was before the CAS and the details of the process.
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